Human, Earth and Fauna; Negotiating Man’s Bond with Nature in Son of the Native Soil by S.A. Ambanasom and the Buffalo Rider by Nsahlai Athanasius

The world is suffering from ecological problems like global warming, deforestation, desertification, wildfires, pollution, soil erosion and the extinction of some species of living things. This research scrutinizes the ecological perspectives in Shadrach Ambanasom’s Son of the Native Soil and Nsahlai Athanasius’s The Buffalo Rider. It attempts to provide an answer to the question: How do Shadrach Ambanasom and Nsahlai Athanasius project the human – nature dynamics in Son of the Native Soil and The Buffalo Rider respectively? The corresponding hypothesis is that mankind’s relationship with nature is variedly conflicting and friendly for different reasons. Using Second Wave Ecocriticism as propounded by Lawrence Buell as the analytical lens, the paper concludes that the interaction between human beings and nature is two-fold; with instances in which nature is cherished and protected by man; but also, situations in which it is destroyed by humans in a manner that is not sustainable. This shows that Cameroonian writers, in consideration of the country’s cultural and ecological specificities, represent different dimensions of man’s interactions with nature in their novels; offering their readers both glimpses of the ecological realities of the areas, and prospects on how man should relate with the flora and fauna for the sustainable interest of all parties.