A Thematic Analysis of The Works of Makonnen Endalkachew
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Date
1986-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The main obje~tive e f this research is to analyze and
comment critically on the various subtleties of the visi, n ~
e f life that Makennen Endalkachew presents in his works under
•
three sections: Religious, Moral, and Political. When the
uplifting of the cultural level and aesthetic appreciation
of our people has been e fficially undertake n, it is h ~ ped
that such studies of early wri ters would be very imp ~ rtan t .
•
Befor e delvin~ into the subject, a brief biography of
the artist with an emphasis on his family background and
social erientation is provided in the first chapter . Besides,
he is compared with two early eminent writers o f his time
in order to examine the kind of worl d butleok he possesses.
,This historical survey has provided the r esearcher with a I firm ground to establish the class Ma~l"I nnen EndalkacheH
to, the aristocracy , while the contrast enables to note
bel" ngs
the
glaring difference between his contempe r ary writers and h im in
their preoccupations. The contrast has revealed that the two
artists Hant to introduce changes in their society for its
development Vlhereas Ilakormen seeks to preserve the status quo .
In the second chapter,
regarding his perception of
• the r eligious lthemes of the artist
life ln this ~rld and the werld
to come, his concern a ~ out the salvation e f the soul, his belief
in the supernatural, his devotion t e the Christian faith, his
reflections en the nature o f man, and fat e and time are brought
out and are commented upon, 1-7ith r elevance to t he betterment
of human conditipns .
The ethical values, social norms and mores which the artist
presents in his works are dealt 1-7ith in the third chapter . His
understanding of virtue and vice, his sense of right and wrong
are evaluated and appraised critically from a class point ofvie1-7.
The soc i al conflicts between the slaves and their
masters, the sprouting bourgeoisie and the nobility and
the conflicts within the nobility for holding the reign of
government and receiving the highes t titles mirror the
realit i es of his time and that his resolutions to such (
conflicts reveal the underlying motives of the artist' s
endeavour t o sustain the political and economic supremacy
of his class over the other sections of the society .
Finally, the c - ncluding chapter tries to put the findings
of this research t.gether and place Makonnen in the tradition
of our literary heritage.
The ma1n aim of the researcher is to assess critically
the thematic appeal in the works of Makonnen from the point
of view of the present social situation in Ethi. pia. The
researcher has tried to expl ~r e and expose the role Makonnen
has played in his society.
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Keywords
Thematic Analysis of The Works