ABSTRACT

Unanimously, water is believed to be a source of life. Its significance in our daily life cannot be

overemphasized. The life of human beings, animals and even plants depend to a great extent on

water. It is therefore not an exaggeration to say that water is life. However, water which is

considered to be life can sometimes stand for the opposite of life: death. In several parts of the

world, people lose their lives either due to water borne diseases or as a result of heavy rains

which are part of the consequences of climate change. It is therefore with a view to finding out

what water really stands for that we decided to analyze two works written by the 2008 Nobel

Prize winner for literature, Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio. Also, we decided to take a look at the

issue of water because critics of Le Clézio’s works have not done much in that area despite the

fact that issues related to water abound in his works. So, this work is intended to on the one hand

bridge this gap and on the other hand sensitize people on the need for an adequate utilization and

protection of water resources specifically and natural resources as a whole. Issues related to

water are first and foremost societal issues. This fact makes it necessary for us to examine water-

related issues from a sociological perspective. Also, in the two works studied, we notice that it is

impossible, for example, to discuss themes such initiation, purification, death, without making

reference to the role played by water. That is what informs the use of the thematic approach in

this study. Lastly, we used the psychoanalytical approach in this work for a proper analysis of

the reoccurrence of images of water in the two works studied and in some other works by Le

Clézio. Our research findings are as follows: first, water does not only stand for life. Water can

also signify death. Secondly, a careful management of natural resources and especially water

resources will go a long way in solving the problem of climate change. Thirdly, the reoccurrence

of images of water in Le Clézio’s works is an indication of this writer’s great desire for an

improvement of the quality of life of human beings.

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