Ecocritical reading of Atukwei Okai’s ‘the anthills in the sea’ and ‘a slim queen in a palanquin - (verses and chants for children)

Abstract

The survival of nature is dependent on today’s children who are being trained to be the adults of tomorrow. To sustain the earth for tomorrow, it is paramount to create awareness and regard for nature among the younger generations and to teach them the need for protection and preservation of the environment for their survival tomorrow. This fissure forms the frame of this research which seeks to analyse texts from Atukwei Okai’s ‘Anthill in the Sea: Verses and Chants for Children’ (1988) and ‘A Slim Queen in a Palanquin; Verses and Chants for Children’ (2010) to unearth the representation of the environment and how these environmental issues are foregrounded in creating eco-consciousness in the African child. Using Ecocriticism and Semiotics, an analysis was made on the selected materials. Familiar factors like human beings, plants, animals, the light, air, water, land, soil and so on form the centre of the analysis. The African culture is employed to create an anthropocentric environment or anthropomorphic environment, which has implications in forming an ecoconscious ecocitizen. The study identified the human dominance over the other factors of the environment and the need to foster harmony between all factors because all factors of the environment are interrelated. The study recommends for writers to be conscious when they write about the environment for the child reader.