AAU-ETD :: Browsing by Author "Olga Yazbec"

Browsing by Author "Olga Yazbec"

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A Feminist Reading in Selected Novels: a Comparative Analysis.
(Addis Ababa University, 2020-05) Tarekegn Abraha; Olga Yazbec
The aim of the study is to comparatively analyze the societal representation of women in England in the 19th and 20thThe novels Emma and Persuasion by Austen deal with the position of women and their social expectations most of which are related to marriage. The protagonists of these novels represent a unique response to those expectations which are the products of their way of thinking. Jane Austen artistically reveals various gender discriminations in economics, education, marriage and religion. As to Austen expressed through her characters, gender discrimination happens because people think that men are better than women. The researcher’s intention, real aim of Austen is then to reduce gender discrimination through education and change the ways that people think about gender roles. century. The method of the study is textual, contextual descriptive comparative analysis. The study reveals the patriarchal assumptions on women, the extent of women stereotypes and subjectivity and the women’s’ selfhood in exercising agency against the males’ suppressive action on females. The researcher employs theories of Julia Kristeva and Toril Moi, post-structuralism literary feminism as analysis framework. In the novel, Women in Love the study analyses the composition of will to power between women and men characters. This thesis analyses the characters Gudrun and Gerald and their concept and competition of the will to power. The relationship between the characters in Women in Love basically portrays their significance, the will to power and the conflicts arising from dominating one another. It also considers women’s wise struggle to challenge the traditional male characters in their treatment of gender equality and their social status as a source of power and authority. Sons and Lovers first published in 1913 is Lawrence’s first most important novel which receives praise. The novel depicts the story of the Morel family, Mrs. Morel, in particular of Paul Morel. The story focuses on the problem of human relationships, chiefly relations between men and women, children and parents. The analysis focuses on how gender and sexuality become a central issue in the twentieth century’s society, and it reflects Lawrence’s attitude towards them. Finally the study concludes on the type of women’s advocacy on marriage through love and respect between husband and wife. The direct and indirect women’s agency in Persuasion, furthermore, male characters’ sexual ineffectiveness forced by women characters and the will to power which occurs between the men and women characters which are mainly reflected in Women in Love. This all are happened backed by females’ education and their economic independence
A Feminist Reading of Selected Novels by Ethiopian Diaspora Writers in English: The Case of the Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears and the Shadow King
(Addis Ababa University, 2024-08) Bekelech Truye Gemeda; Olga Yazbec
This research investigates feminist issues in Dinaw Mengestu’s debut novel, The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears and Maaza Mengiste’s second novel, The Shadow King. The researcher examines the representation of the female characters and the roles they play based on the paradigms drawn from poststructuralist feminism focusing on Julia Kristeva’s point of view. The Ethiopian diaspora Dinaw Mengestu and Maaza Mengiste have attempted to portray model female characters to indicate the failure of patriarchal society at present. This research highlights the change of portrayal of female characters now-a-days. The protagonist female character Judith in Dinaw Mengestu’s The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears and Hirut as well as Aster who are the leading characters in Maaza Mengiste’s The Shadow King reflect human characters who depict strengths and flaws simultaneously. This paper examines female characters from the perspective of Poststructuralist Feminism in general and Julia Kristeva’s point of view in particular. According to Julia Kristeva’s promotion of a new generation, Judith from Dinaw’s novel, Hirut and Aster from Maaza’s novel play double roles in the private sphere as a mother, and they keep their dreams and desires in the public affairs. As it is investigated in this research, the authors attempt to portray the female characters as models for a new generation of women who struggle against a patriarchal approach who fight to be one-self and stand independently by leaving aside submissiveness and passivity though negative experiences in sexuality are perceived.
Analysis of Narrative voice in R. C. Binstock’s Tree of Heaven
(Addis Ababa University, 2010-06) Tadesse Hailemariam ; Olga Yazbec
Fictional narratives are composed of stories. The stories that are in the fictional narratives seek someone to tell them. As a result, there is an agent who is the creation of the author that tells the stories found in the narrative fiction. Readers while engaged in the act of reading a fictional narrative, they hear the speaking voice that tells them the stories. In order to know who specifically is telling the story, readers ask the voice question “who speaks?” The answer to the voice question becomes a narrator. A narrator is the author’s being that speaks out the words of a fictional narrative. The present study focuses on analyzing the narrative voices employed to narrate the story of a single narrative text, Tree of Heaven. In doing so, it analyses textual elements that signal the presence of the narrators in the fictional text. In addition, it analyzes the relationship between the narrators and the author, the relationship between the narrators and the story they narrate, the perceptibility of the narrators, the reliability of the narrators, the temporal relation of narration, and the narrative level to which the narrators belong. Based on the focus of the analysis, the study shows that the author has employed two narrators having distinct voices to narrate the events of the story. The narrators are distinct for they are male and female. As a result, in reading the novel, we hear the voice of two extra-homodiegetic narrators telling the story by taking turns in the chapters of the novel. The narrators are still autodiegetic for they are the heroes in the story they narrate. Both the narrators are named and sexually determinate. The narrators are easily identifiable and unreliable in the course of narrating the story. The narrators are known as extradiegetic narrators for they belong to the first-degree narrative, i.e., the matrix narrative. The analysis done also shows that the narrators are totally different from the author.
An Archetypal Analysis of Zeyera at Genete Pilgrimage Center
(Addis Ababa University, 2009-06) Neguss Yilma ; Olga Yazbec
This research is intended to reveal the use of the recurrent archetypes in the Zeyera, praise songs. at Genere pi/grimage center which is situated at a place called Gutlno Genete. in Arsi zone, Oromia Region in Ethiopia. II lVas founded by a hloman affeCliol1(lteiy called Ayo Mamina. The slIIdy is confined TO the functions and significance of the recurrent mythical images and archetypal patterns represented ill the aforementioned pieces of oral songs, Zeyera. In the song archetypes are IIsed to glorify the miracles of the shrine founder, Ayo Momina, and they are also made to emphasize the positive features of human interactions slich as brotherhood, love, honesty, etc. Data for this study are collected from the center mainly through participant observation and unstructured inrerviews. The method used to analyze the data is archetypal criticism. It deals with archetypes which are primordial images perceived across cultures, inherited from time immemorial, issuing from a 'collective unconsciolls '. All archetype is a mythic symbol, which is deeply rooted in the unconscious, more broadly based all afounda/ion of universal nature than all ordinary literary symbol, and is more generally expressive of the elemental in man and natllre (lung: 1959; Bodkin: 1961). The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the oral poets' lise of recurrent mythical images and archetypal pallerns in their efforts to communicare their visions of life. The study argues that the positive aspects of human interactions that are depicted through the recurrent mythical images and archetypal pal/ems of Zeyera contribute milch 10 the existing tolerance among the diversified adherents at the center, and the founder of the shrine, Ayo Momina, plays the archetypal role of mother. Furthermore, Ayo Momina's role as goddess in the praise songs puts her in the upper ladder among the community of the worshippers, which is not commonly seen in a society where the dominant ideology has been patriarchy. This investigation familiarizes the reader with holY mythical motifs and archetypes enable the poets of Zeyera, the oral praise songs, to communicate their visions of reality, which are essentially timeless.
A Feminist Interpretation of the Plays of Amhara Regional State Television Programme
(Addis Ababa Universiy, 2008-06) Fisseha Derso ; Olga Yazbec
Gender stereotyping is a cross cultural phenomenon prevalent across boarders. The nature and the negative impact of such stereotyping are pronounced in poorest countries of the world like Ethiopia where education and access to media for females is deficient. The preponderance of such stereotyping in the region becomes the reason which compels the resea rcher to engage in studying the contribution of the Amhara region's Television drama in this regard. This study, thus, which primarily focuses on investigating the extent of the reflection of gender stereotyping and the degree of females resistance to such stereotyping, also tries to asses the significance of the plays in abolishing this stereotyping. To this effect, the researcher has employed a purposive sampling technique to select some plays which could better show cultural roles of sexes. In this respect, from the total of 102 plays transmitted in 1997 and 1998EC, the researcher had to confine himself to the study of only five plays. The result of this study shows the availability of dramas which addresses the most important problems of femininity like early marriage and consideration of marriage as a reward for a female . However important raising these issues in the plays is for feminists, the plays are not up to the expectations of feminists because the portrayal of characters couldn't show the expected transforma tion. From the plays, it is also observed that the television dramas a re only rhythmic . with the contemporary society in representing the role and representation of both sexes. However, feminists, in this ,regard, believe that the absolute reflection of a patriarchal society in a television play is only a contribution to producing a new patriarchal generation. Thus, the ;.); plays of the television programme in focus ;, in this project, shall act on ·re creating a. reasonably new environment with regard to the role and representation of sexes,rto bring about a change in the actual patriarchal society. In the sense of bringing the change in the plays and thereby the targeted audience, this study, therefore, intends to suggest some solutions. The researcher believes that both the agency and the drama producing companies including authors have to be aware of transforming the nature of plays in response to feminists aim of creating a new world free from females' oppression.
A Feminist Reading of Nuruddin Farah’s First Trilogy “Variations on The Theme of an African Dictatorship
(Addis Ababa University, 2009-08) Feven Haddis ; Olga Yazbec
Gender stereotyping is a cross cultural phenomenon prevalent across boarders regardless of religion, ethnicity or color. The nature and the negative impact of such stereotyping are more pronounced in poorest continents of the world like Africa where development, education, access to media and awareness are scarce. The prevalence of such stereotyping in the continent is the reason which compelled the researcher to engage in studying the contribution of feminist African writers in this regard. This study, thus, primarily focuses on investigating the extent of the reflection of embedded gender stereotyping and the degree of females’ resistance to such stereotyping by feminist African writers, also tries to asses the significance of the novels in eliminating this stereotyping. To this effect, the researcher has employed a purposive sampling technique to select three novels of the first trilogy of Nuruddin Farah’s work which could better show cultural roles of sexes in East African Society, Somalia. In this respect, from the total of 10 novels he wrote from 1970 to 2007, the researcher had to confine herself to the study of only three novels written at the beginning of 1980s. The result of this study has shown that the availability of novels which address the most important problems of femininity like economic dependency, societal rejection, non political participation, etc. However important raising these issues in the novels and the writer is a feminist one is for feminists, the novels have some embedded patriarchal touches which have been exemplified the characters. From the novels, it is also observed that there are female characters who are well-to-do, educated, active political participants and male characters who believe in gender equality in representing the role and representation of both sexes in the contemporary society. However, feminists, in this regard, believe that the literary works should have been seen to address the embedded patriarchal ideologies. Other than this, they will only be a contribution to producing a new patriarchal generation. vi In the sense of identifying the deep-rooted patriarchal ideologies which manifest themselves on both female and male characters instinctively, bringing the change in the novels and thereby the targeted audience, this study, therefore, intends to pinpoint the cultural and gender bias elements which hinder active participation of women in the society. The researcher believes that both the writer and the audience will see the deep-rooted patriarchal embedded elements and be aware of transforming the nature of novels in response to feminists’ aim of creating a new world free from gender bias.
A Feminist Reading of Selected Films: A Case Study of Two Female – Authored Amharic Films – Sara And Roman
(Addis Ababa University, 2007-08) Mehret W.Michael ; Olga Yazbec
Women are one of the greatest sources of human life. They were marginalized and ignored as if they were unimportant part of the society. The truth is they are the nucleus of each community especially in Africa. This fact also influenced African women writers who contribute to the writing business over the years. African feminist literary criticism encourages those women writers to open up and write about themselves. Film is a visual medium which can play a great role in directing human’s mind. As it is a new phenomenon in the Ethiopian Society, female writers can use it to challenge the existing social system. Therefore, this thesis has attempted to analyze two female authored Amharic films from the African Feminist Literary Criticism point of view. It examines how the female characters are represented in each film. The concept of feminist film criticism bases on Laura Mulvey’s (June, 2007) male gaze and Eva-Maria Jacobson’s (May, 1999) female gaze. There is a challenge between the male power over female which is also seen through the gaze of each sex. This thesis also observes how gaze differences applied in these films. Films can show the social and cultural expectations established through patriarchy how women are considered to be. This thesis focuses on the emotional and cultural clashes existed using the visual art. As few feminist film critics believed, the findings of the study prove the possible existence of female gaze in these two female-authored Amharic films. Unlike the previous norms of portraying women as sexual object, passive and ignorant beings, few females are made to be logical and intellectual. They lived beyond the patriarchal domination and cultural expectation of women. They were appeared to control their life and influence other male characters around them. They are the center of their own story and become heroines with whom audience want to identify themselves.
A Feminist Reading of Selected Films: a Case Study of two Female – Authored Amharic Films – Sara and Roman Mehret
(Addis Ababa University, 2007-08) Mehret W. Michael ; Olga Yazbec
Women are one of the greatest sources of human life. They were marginalized and ignored as if they were unimportant part of the society. The truth is they are the nucleus of each community especially in Africa. This fact also influenced African women writers who contribute to the writing business over the years. African feminist literary criticism encourages those women writers to open up and write about themselves. Film is a visual medium which can play a great role in directing human’s mind. As it is a new phenomenon in the Ethiopian Society, female writers can use it to challenge the existing social system. Therefore, this thesis has attempted to analyze two female authored Amharic films from the African Feminist Literary Criticism point of view. It examines how the female characters are represented in each film. The concept of feminist film criticism bases on Laura Mulvey’s (June, 2007) male gaze and Eva-Maria Jacobson’s (May, 1999) female gaze. There is a challenge between the male power over female which is also seen through the gaze of each sex. This thesis also observes how gaze differences applied in these films. Films can show the social and cultural expectations established through patriarchy how women are considered to be. This thesis focuses on the emotional and cultural clashes existed using the visual art. As few feminist film critics believed, the findings of the study prove the possible existence of female gaze in these two female-authored Amharic films. Unlike the previous norms of portraying women as sexual object, passive and ignorant beings, few females are made to be logical and intellectual. They lived beyond the patriarchal domination and cultural expectation of women. They were appeared to control their life and influence other male characters around them. They are the center of their own story and become heroines with whom audience want to identify themselves.
Gender Issues in ''Land of the Yellow Bull'' and ''Dertogada''
(Addis Ababa University, 2022-05) Hana Tadesse ; Olga Yazbec
The main of this study; aspects of gender issues in Land of the yellow bull and Dertogada, is to show gender related issues observed in both novels. To succeed the main objective of the study the research answers perceptions of male characters towards female characters, gender based problems faced by the characters, and what inequality effects has an influence on interactions between male and female. More importantly, the research examines gender roles, relations, and occupational differences, in Land of the yellow bull and Dertogada. The study is conducted based on textual analysis of the novels; hence, the researcher provides selective and relevant extracts from the novels for analysis part. The status of men and women of Ethiopia is stated under the Background of the study and the relevance of studying the aspects of gender issues is given in the first chapter. MA theses is based on gender and on the selected novels have been reviewed to confirm that this research is differ from the other studies on the same title. In conceptual frame works detailed and brief explanations on the main concept of gender and gender related issues discussed by distinguished scholars were given. The usual features of gender issue aspects which are dealt with the experience of women in the world especially in developing countries. From them cultural stereotype, gender relation, character stereotype, intimacy between men and women, marriage relation, gender equality, and women's assertiveness are the themes that have been explored in the selected novels. Finally, the researcher concluded the overall concepts that were raised in the previous chapters. As it has been analyzed in the analysis part; the performance and acceptance of women in civilized and uncivilized society is different. Uncivilized or rural peoples are conservative to their culture and identity. They are honest for the practices and cultures they developed from their fore-fathers. Even though, they have a big place for both sexes, their rules and cultures have side to the men and will not be accepted by civilized or literate peoples. On the other side, women's contribution with equal opportunity to do everything, freedom of speech and intelligent and innovative mind and its result is shown on the other novel Dertogada.
Ideology and the Representation of Female Characters in Ngiigi wa Thiong'o's The River Between and A Grain of Wheat
(Addis Ababa University, 2009-06) Balew Demissie ; Olga Yazbec
This thesis aims at showing and analyzing the representation of female characters in Ngugi's two novels-The River Between and A Grain of Wheat from ideological perspectives. To accomplish the study, the notions of ideology and literary representation are discussed. Though ideology IS defined as a set of beliefs, it has specific definitions depending on its kinds. Different types of ideologies such as dominant, authorial, aesthetic, patriarchal and gendered are looked at in the study. Thus, based on ideology and literary representation as a theoretical framework, all female characters in the selected novels are examined. The study is divided into four chapters. The first chapter deals with the introduction to the study. The second chapter is devoted to the review of literature on the issues of ideology and representation. The third chapter is analysis and interpretation of the two selected novels. The analysis is divided into four major sections and it analyses and interprets the representation female characters from dominant, authorial, aesthetic, patriarchal and gendered ideological points of view. Finally, the last chapter deals with the conclusion to the analysis in the third chapter, where the representation of female characters in the two novels is examined from the ideological dimensions. The analysis and interpretation of the novels show that female characters are victims of the dominant, gendered and patriarchal ideologies. Ngugi, using his authorial ideology, has shown the different nationalistic roles female characters have played in the two novels. Finally, the study has confirmed that the representation of female characters in the two novels reveals the realities of women in the social context of the period when the novels were written.
The Image of the Child in Selected British and American Novels
(2009-06) Olga Yazbec ; Darge Wole
.In this thesis, an attempt has been made to examine the representation of fictional child characters in Stevenson's Treasure Island, Dickens's Oliver Twist and Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer based on a psychological framework of analysis evolved from Bronfenbrenner's theory of human development and selected aspects of developmental psychology. Both psychology and literature study human behavior although psychology observes human behavior directly from real life, whereas fiction deals with a reflection of reality. Focus has been on textual and extra-textual details since the literary texts are considered as psychological and sociological documents and are examined in relation to their respective Macrosystems. Attention has also been paid to the discourse and pragmatic features that the characters use in dialogues. Therefore, the correlation between the cognitive, psychosocial and pragmatic ski lls that the child protagonists display has also been considered. In addition, the literary techniques that the novelists use to highlight behavioral traits of the child protagonists, or to create literary effects, have been touched upon wherever such features appear in the novels. The findings of this study have been discussed in chapter seven in relation to other critics' opinions on the child protagonists that have been analyzed in this study. By applying a psychological framework of analysis, the present researcher tried to probe into the cognitive and psychosocial aspects of the child characters' behavior. She feels that applying parameters selected from developmental psychology to literature helped her to make an objective analysis of characterization. Some reviewers, for instance, stated that Oliver Twist, in Dickens 's Oliver Twist, and Tom Sawyer, in Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, are different from other children belonging to their age group, but they did not provide a theoretical explanation for such behavior. Therefore, thi s study has contributed something new by identifying the cognitive and psychosocial aspects of late childhood, early adolescence and gifted children that the child protagonists of the selected texts display in their behavior. Besides, although the child protagonists analyzed in thi s study lived in different Macrosystems, they share similarities, which can be attributed to the fact that they represent universal children.On the other hand, they also possess individual behavioral traits which distinguish them from one another. To sum up, this research is only a modest attempt at showing that it is possible to analyze fictional characters based on an eclectic approach derived from developmental psychology, literary criticism, discourse analysis and pragmatics because the nature of literature is such that it can respond to different approaches to literary analysis and interpretation .
Image of Women in Selected Oromo Folktales, Folksongs and Proverbs with Particular Reference to East Arsi Zone
(Addis Ababa University, 2010-06) Ahmed Dedo ; Olga Yazbec
Dundes (1965) and Adams (1973) suggest that folklore validates and maintains conformity or control in or over the society and educates certain aspects of culture and justifies its rituals and institutions, and shows the manner of thinking, mode of life, and attitudes of the society. Hence, the major goal of this study was examining the images of women in Arsi Oromo folktales, folksongs and proverbs. To achieve this goal an attempt was made to collect and analyze folktales, folksongs and proverbs from two districts in east Arsi zone. The data were collected through interviewing people from the study area, using focused group discussions, making observations of the discussions and also using already documented folktales, folksongs and proverbs. The study revealed that images of women in Arsi Oromo folktales, folksongs and proverbs have been portrayed both positively and negatively and that images of women in all the three genres were highly distorted though some positive images also existed. Regarding the positive images of women, some of the Arsi Oromo folktales, folksongs and proverbs have represented some groups of women, for example, wives as faithful, honest and loving; mothers as fair and thoughtful; and female beings in general as wise and problem-solving. There are also some positive representations of women that are manifested only in the proverbs. These are the portrayal of women in general as cautious and suspicious beings; wives and girls as indispensable persons; and mothers as generous. However, the largest parts of the collected folktales, folksongs and proverbs have represented women in a negative and distorted manner. These include the representations of women in general as shameless, selfish and greedy, trouble makers and evil-minded, stupid, and as inferior to men in every aspect; and in particular, wives as unfaithful and adulterous, and step-mothers and co-wives as cruel and jealous. Moreover, some negative representations of women were observed only in the sample proverbs. They include the depiction of women generally as liars, pretenders, deceivers, submissive, quiet and weak, unintelligent, and careless and unreliable, on the one hand, and wives as disagreeable and disobedient, on the other. The other point found out was that images of women in the three genres vary. That is, some positive and negative representations of women exist only in the proverbs but not in the folktales and folksongs. In general, the over all result revealed that the deep-rooted attitude of the patriarchal society that attempted to establish the superiority of men and subordination of women in its oral literature. Regarding the organization of this study, it is made up of four chapters. The first chapter deals with the introductory part of the study which includes the background, statement of the problem, the objectives, the significance, the scope, the methodology and the definition of some important terms of the study. In the second chapter relevant literature is reviewed and also the socio-cultural background of the Arsi Oromo is presented. The third chapter includes the analysis of the folktales, folksongs and proverbs collected from the study area. In the fourth chapter an effort was made to provide a conclusion based on the discussions of the foregoing chapters.
Image of women in selected oromo folktales, folksongs And proverbs with particular reference to east arsi zone
(Addis Ababa University, 2010-06) Ahmed Dedo ; Olga Yazbec
Dundes (1965) and Adams (1973) suggest that folklore validates and maintains conformity or control in or over the society and educates certain aspects of culture and justifies its rituals and institutions, and shows the manner of thinking, mode of life, and attitudes of the society. Hence, the major goal of this study was examining the images of women in Arsi Oromo folktales, folksongs and proverbs. To achieve this goal an attempt was made to collect and analyze folktales, folksongs and proverbs from two districts in east Arsi zone. The data were collected through interviewing people from the study area, using focused group discussions, making observations of the discussions and also using already documented folktales, folksongs and proverbs. The study revealed that images of women in Arsi Oromo folktales, folksongs and proverbs have been portrayed both positively and negatively and that images of women in all the three genres were highly distorted though some positive images also existed. Regarding the positive images of women, some of the Arsi Oromo folktales, folksongs and proverbs have represented some groups of women, for example, wives as faithful, honest and loving; mothers as fair and thoughtful; and female beings in general as wise and problem-solving. There are also some positive representations of women that are manifested only in the proverbs. These are the portrayal of women in general as cautious and suspicious beings; wives and girls as indispensable persons; and mothers as generous. However, the largest parts of the collected folktales, folksongs and proverbs have represented women in a negative and distorted manner. These include the representations of women in general as shameless, selfish and greedy, trouble makers and evil-minded, stupid, and as inferior to men in every aspect; and in particular, wives as unfaithful and adulterous, and step-mothers and co-wives as cruel and jealous. Moreover, some negative representations of women were observed only in the sample proverbs. They include the depiction of women generally as liars, pretenders, deceivers, submissive, quiet and weak, unintelligent, and careless and unreliable, on the one hand, and wives as disagreeable and disobedient, on the other. The other point found out was that images of women in the three genres vary. That is, some positive and negative representations of women exist only in the proverbs but not in the folktales and folksongs. In general, the over all result revealed that the deep-rooted attitude of the patriarchal society that attempted to establish the superiority of men and subordination of women in its oral literature. Regarding the organization of this study, it is made up of four chapters. The first chapter deals with the introductory part of the study which includes the background, statement of the problem, the objectives, the significance, the scope, the methodology and the definition of some important terms of the study. In the second chapter relevant literature is reviewed and also the socio-cultural background of the Arsi Oromo is presented. The third chapter includes the analysis of the folktales, folksongs and proverbs collected from the study area. In the fourth chapter an effort was made to provide a conclusion based on the discussions of the foregoing chapters.
The Images of Female Characters in Films: A Case Study of Two Male-Authord Amharic Films- Kezkaza Wolafen and Semayawl Feres
(Addis Ababa University, 2006-07) Tigist Defaru ; Olga Yazbec
Film is a visual medium which a ppeals to the senses of viewers . Through films , messages a r e easily conveyed through pictures; values are constructed, and already existing ones implanted deeper. T a king this dis tinct feature of film into con s ide r ation , feninist film criti c ism is concerned with how m a instrea m film s a r e structured in a way w h erein stereotypical images are attributed t o female characters . The feminist film theory I se lected for the analysis of the selected film s is primaril y developed by Laura Mulvey.This theory basica lly uses the mirror stage o f Jacques Lacan and Sigmund F reud's Fetishism to explain how narrative films are structured a nd represent fema le characters as m ere objects of male's gaze and how a spectator is compelled to ide ntify himself/herself with the masculine subject on the screen. Making use of t hi s theory, an attempt I S made to analyze the way female characters are made to appear in two m a le -authore d Amharic film s. Whether the female char acter s are represented simply as objects of fetish or as s ubjects capable of independent action is one of the points touched upon in the analysis. This thesis a lso looks into the issue of wheth er male characters a r e g iven special privileges in the sele c ted film s in contrast t o female c h aracters, whether the male characters are positively portrayed so that spectators can d erive a narcissistic visual ple asure . The close fem inist analysis of two films s ho ws the presence of stereotypical portrayal of fe m a le characters wherein they appear as mere objects of male's gaze. They are controlle d a nd guided by the male c h aracter s , who a r e a lways found a round them. In contrast, honorable values a nd the pote ntial to win whatever they n eed to h ave a re attributed to male ch a r acters. This in turn m a k es the male characters get the attention of spectators, who place themselves in t h e p osition of male characters.
The Images of Women in Nibut and Yederasiwa File
(Addis Ababa University, 2012-06) Nahom Daniel ; Olga Yazbec
Traditionally, women have been relegated to the margins of society, history and culture in male-dominated environment. Patriarchal systems have long denied women to play an appropriate role in nation building and to enter the public sphere. The representation of female characters in fictions by female writers is different from that of men owning to the fact that they have different life experiences. Both the novels that have been selected for the analysis, Nibut and Yederasiwa File, are written by female Ethiopian writers. The aim of this thesis is to examine and analyze the images of women in the works of Ethiopian female writers. The paper is divided into five chapters. Chapter one deals with the background, statement of the problem, objectives, significance, methodology and scope. The second chapter presents a review of related literature. In this section, an attempt has been made to review material related to this study. In the third chapter, an attempt has been made to explain the conceptual framework which focuses on Socialist feminist literary theory that has been applied in this study. In the fourth chapter, the selected novels have been examined and analyzed using the framework discussed in chapter three. The writer of this research has found out that the writers of the selected novels have tried to reverse the traditional stereotypical portrayal of women by giving the major female characters the face of the New Woman which is characterized by being intelligent, educated, self-reliant, etc. On the other hand, it has also been observed that the female characters are exposed to sexual abuses and harassments, and also are victims of traditional gender roles that have long been established by patriarchal dominated society. Then, the final chapter is the conclusion. In this section a brief summary and some findings have been given.
Interfacing Fact and Fiction in Tower in the Sky and The Emperor: A New Historicist Reading
(Addis Ababa University, 2021-06) Haile Gezae; Olga Yazbec
This dissertation explores the interfacing of fact and fiction in two Ethiopian creative nonfictions, "The Emperor" (1978) and "Tower in the Sky" (2012). The main objective of the study is to examine the line and relationship between fact and fiction, thereby understanding and gaining more insight into a new historical method of presenting history in the context of creative nonfiction. In order to achieve this objective, an attempt is made to review relevant literature in relation to new historicism and the subject texts. In addition to this, the new historicist approach to literary texts is used as the study’s theoretical framework. New historicism purports that literature must be studied and interpreted within the context of the historical background and context of the time of production in order to evaluate how the text was influenced by the time in which it was created. Using this basic assumption as an initial point, the study examines the stories presented in these texts so as to find out how they are affected by situations in the times they were created and how their fact/fiction, dual nature is reflected in the process. However, this tension of classification seems not new. There are examples that combine approaches and processes, and mix life writing with history, novels with memoir and journalistic writing with fictional narrative, which in turn made the line blurry and the works hybrid. The focus of this study is thus examining how the facts and fiction mixed and made the line between them blurry in selected life narratives. Accordingly, the study attempts to analyze and interpret the two texts in light of Greenblatt’s New Historicist theory, mainly focusing on major paradigms such as textuality of history and historicity of text, and reveals postmodern concerns about re-writing history. The findings reveal that both Hiwot’s and Kapuscinski’s narratives portray the narrative of history and change its closed linear nature into multiple discontinuous histories. The narratives have unmasked the textuality and historicity of the texts; and hence the textualization of the books shows the ideological embeddedness of our knowledge about the past. The authors have explored the connections between literature, history, and the organization of social and cultural power relations through both utilizing and trying to challenge historical authorities and facts. As such, their works indicate that the experiential history of narrating subjects always blurs the line between fact and fiction. Hence, it can be said that there is an inseparable unity of discourse, history and imagination in both texts. The study’s findings further indicate that both authors are more concerned with marginalized histories of marginalized people. Based on this, with a vast array of characters and overflowing with incidents, the life writings re-create a new version of history with fused personal and political narratives. In addition to this, Kapuscinski has undergone a process of self-fashioning in which he was first a reporter (correspondents), and then showed himself up as a creative writer, whereas, Hiwot, who was influenced by the environment and time In conclusion, the two texts prove that both the historian and life writer maintain using both literary and historical mechanisms in their attempts to craft images of reality.
Narrative Time and Mode in Minkuhkuwah Zeyfleyelu Mae’tso and Hezike Nabey
(Addis Ababa University, 2013-05) Haile Gezae ; Olga Yazbec
This thesis tries to explore the structure and application of the major narrative techniques in Minkuhkuwah Zeyfleyelu Mae’tso and Hezike Nabey novels. In this respect the main aim of the thesis is identifying the major narrative techniques used in the selected books and analysing the recurring techniques and their structure. To accomplish the objective of the thesis, I have tried to review related and relevant literature regarding narratology. Thus, an attempt has been made to go through the two selected books in accordance with the application of the narrative techniques and their structures. Due attention has been given in application of narrative time and mode. In the analysis part, it is pointed out that in respect to narrative time, the two literary texts partake similar narrative time. The stories in these novels are presented in the form of long flashback and symbolic foreshadowing. Because of this, the reader might find him/her self, connecting incidents of information in the process of reading. Thus, this unnatural flow of events made them similar to achronological order of time. Speed up or acceleration is the second narrative time technique explored under narrative time with short discourse time and long story time. Both novels are presented through acceleration technique. Regarding frequency, it is found out that they have portrayed similar techniques. With dominancy of singulative presentation, both novels employed iterative and repetitive techniques. Hence, both novels happen to have similar structure in respect to narrative time. In both literary texts the amalgamations of different techniques helped the writers to stress on thematically concerned areas. Similarly, by employing the third person omniscient narrator, both narratives made the reader a passive recipient of information since every point is forwarded from the narrator’s perspective. On the other hand, some minor differences in narrative mode have been observed between the two novels. Comparatively, except in some very rare instances, Minkuhkuwah Zeyfleyelu Mae’tso employ very small amount of scenic presentation unlike Hezike Nabey. So, the use of summary and scenic presentation has direct and indirect significances on the theme. Generally from the analysis of the two novels, it can be concluded that they have employed similar narrative time techniques and slightly different narrative modes.
Political Satire in Achebe’s “A Man of the People”
(Addis Ababa University, 2018-05) Hayelom Haile ; Olga Yazbec
The novel ‘A Man of the People ‘by Chinua Achebe is a satire of the political era of the first republic of Nigeria’s history. It portrays the problem of corruption in Nigeria among the political class. ‘A Man of the People’ is a Realistic fiction. Its story reconciles with the Postindependence Nigeria’s history that reveals corruption and political power as the two sides of a coin. Leaders come to power with the sole purpose of filling their own coffers or benefiting friends, followers or clans etc., at the expense of the poor masses. But the major focus of the thesis is to explore how Achebe satirizes corruption, the major forms of corruption committed by the officials, the consequences of corruption and how he satirically attacked the corrupt politicians and the possible solutions the author suggested to curb corruption. The findings vividly show that the major causes of corruption in Nigeria are poverty, attitudinal problem/tribalism and greediness. But attitudinal problem of both the politicians and the society at large could be taken as the major one. The sad aspect is, in Nigeria, corruption has become cultural. The majority are involved in committing every type/form of corruption. However, electoral corruption is the dominant one. It has paralyzed democracy and has a deleterious effect on social and economic spheres. Achebe tried to condemn the corrupt politicians using the literary mediums of irony and exaggeration and in the end suggested coup as the only solution to minimize corruption and/or deter the politicians from abusing their power. But the key solutions in fighting corruption lie on supporting and recognizing the authors who fight against corruption through their pens to induce society to change its attitude and to strengthen civil society institutions including media and design a mechanism by which those who practice corruptors will be punished.
The Practice and Significance of Magical Realism in Selected African Novels
(Addis Ababa University, 2020-06) Hiwot Walelign ; Olga Yazbec
This study entitled The Practice and Significance of Magical Realism in Selected African Novels attempts to read different African novels through the lens of magical realism. Magical realism, introduced to the realm of literature mostly with Latin American novels and gaining worldwide recognition with postcolonial literary works, has been a focal point of different scholarly studies. In Africa, Ben Okri‘s Famished Road has been studied by many for its skilful employment of the technique. The motivation behind taking up this topic is to fill the research gap in reading different novels from different regions of Africa in one volume and to be able to observe the trend in the practice and significance of using magical realism. In doing so, the paper aims to compare and contrast how different novelists from different contexts in Africa have applied the different features that magical realism is known for. After establishing the practices of the usage in different regions, the study attempts to identify the drive that motivates novelists to use magical realism and it also tries to highlight the issues raised through the magical realist approach. Five novels have been chosen for this study namely; The Heart of Redness, The Bleeding of the Stone, Seven Solitudes of Lorsa Lopez, Woman of the Aeroplanes and Wizard of the Crow. To read these novels, a theoretical framework is formed using magical realism‘s different features theorized by different critics. The practices and significances of the use of magical realism in these novels are studied comparatively in order to show how and why the approach is used in different contexts. In addition, the paper attempts to identify if there are any differences or similarities among different traditional contexts in Africa in the employment of magical realism and if the issues raised through it have commonalities. The fact that the novels are chosen from South, North, East, West and Central Africa and that they are studied comparatively in one thesis could be taken as a new contribution in showing expressions of magical realism in different backgrounds. The study concludes that different novelists in different parts of Africa have used magical realism associating it with their own contexts, connecting it with their respective cultural backgrounds, shared historical accounts, commenting on existing economic, social and political situations.
Realism in Sahle Sellassie Berhane Mariam’s Warrior King and the Afersata
(Addis Ababa University, 2011-06) Bayleyegn Ayalew ; Olga Yazbec
The purpose of this thesis is to show how Sahle Sellassie Berhane Mariam, who has proven his worth as an Ethiopian novelist, represents the Ethiopian social and political environment in a thoroughly realistic way. Realism portrays the world as it really appears. Moreover, the study contribute to the study of Ethiopia literature in English which has not yet got due consideration so far. This thesis has five major chapters. The first chapter shows that the background of Ethiopian literature in English, statement of the problem, objectives, significance, delimitation and organization of the study as well as operational definition of terms. Previous studies are reviewed under chapter two and the methodology of the study is treated under the third chapter. Chapter four is the theoretical framework that reviews the theoretical issues related to Realism and its tenets. Chapter four is the analysis of characterization in Warrior King, a realistic depiction of cultural and traditional beliefs in The Afersata and major themes in both novels. It is this part of the thesis that explores how Realism emerges through such elements. Chapter five is the last chapter that deals with conclusion and recommendations. It is found that, in Warrior King, all events and episodes were realized in the novel without any fantasy and extraordinary exaggeration since it is a historical novel. The upbringing, family background, brevity, and military talent of the hero, Emperor Tewodros, are portrayed and indicated as real as in history of Ethiopia. In The Afersata novel of Sahle Sellassie, the story focused on the communal and traditional court system called the Afersata to investigate the arson which was a real experience of the Gurage people in the past. The author revealed different customs and beliefs. Besides political corruption, social insecurity and economic woes are revealed. The story evolves during Emperor Haile Sellassie’s regime where Ethiopia suffered from bureaucratic government system.

Browsing by Author "Olga Yazbec"

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