A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree "licencié en pédagogie appliquée, Agrégé de l'Enseignement secondaire en Anglais

RESUME,

This work examines necolonial defeatism resulting in the excessive exploitation of the masses in Ngugi wa Thiong'o's Devil on the Cross and Matigari. It intends to explore how neocolonial masters act on the political and cultural life of Africans to reach their economic goals and how this creates defeatism in the minds of the exploited. Many researchers have dealt with neo-colonial practices in Africa. They have shown how contemporary African leaders work under the influence of the West and have proposed some ways out of that mess. This work is important for it brings the dimension of deseatism that resulted in the exploitation of African by the Weste and how to curb it. The work is written against the hypothetical contention that Neocolonialiqm as presented in Ngugi's Devil on the Cross and Matigari is seen as an unshakable burden on Africans even when it causes chaos observed in most post-independent African countries. Based on the Marxist and Post-colonial theories, our work has found that defeatism originates in what the masses suffered because of the economic, political and cultural exploitation perpetrated by neo-colonial masters, in which system the political and religious leaders are accomplice. That defeatim is reflected to some characters through fear to expose evil; passive acceptance of misery, self-hatred and inferiority complex. The work has also shown that defeatism can be combated by raising self-esteem, unity and determination among the oppressd who then see inn them the ability to design and reach theie destiny. The work will be of great help to the readers as it will, not only open their eyes and see how neocolonialism is operating around them, but also will give the exploited courage to reject the oppressive life they may be living and then start the journey towards change.