ECOCRITICAL PROTEST AND MARGINALIZATION IN OBARI GOMBA’S PEARL OF THE MANGROVE AND SOPHIA OBI’S TEARS IN A BASKET

The environment contributes immensely to the growth and development of man both in social and economic aspects but the exploitation of it by human activities has brought disaster and hardship upon man. This is the focus of this work which examines ecocritical protest and marginalisation in Obari Gomba's Pearls of the Mangrove and Sophia Obi's Tears in a Basket. This research highlights the imperative of protest for ecological justice and fairness in the aforementioned texts. This is a qualitative research which involves textual analysis. The primary sources of data are Obari Gomba's Pearls of the Mangrove and Sophia Obi's Tears in a Basket while textbooks and internet sources constitute the study's secondary sources of data. The study adopts Ecocriticism as its analytical theory and uses it to interpret the ecocritical issues as represented in the primary texts. The study notes that environmental exploitation impedes economic growth and communal development. Also, environmental exploitation does not only affect humans but also the non human environment. The work submits that a society can achieve more economic and manpower developments if the environment is protected and all the citizens are recognised in the social scheme of things.