Military Rule in Selected Sub-Saharan Anglophone African Novels: a Thematic Study
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2010-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The research study has four chapters. The first chapter is introductory. It discusses the aim of this
research which is to show how African novels can be used as a data for investigating the sociopolitical
aspects of the continent. Specifically, the research focuses on the thematic analysis of
Nuruddin Farah’s Sweet and Sour Milk (1979), Chinua Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah
(1987), Aboubakar Ginba’s Footprints (1998) and Moses Isegawa’s Abyssinian Chronicles
(2000) from the perspective of the representation of military rule in the selected novels.
Therefore, the study incorporates the relationship of African literature with the continents sociopolitical
aspect together with the problematic syndrome of military rule in Africa, the objectives
and significance that this research aims to achieve and its methodology in its first chapter.
Chapter two includes a review on related studies at Addis Ababa University to show as to how
this research endeavors to fill the gap with respect to the representation of military rule in
selected Anglophone African novels. This is followed by the presentation of theoretical issues
related to military rule and its predicament in the African continent. With the aim of referring to
the actual happenings of the countries that are represented in the novel, the historical background
of the three post-independent African countries is also incorporated in this section of the
research. The third chapter presents the analysis of military rule in the four selected Anglophone
African novels in accordance with the issues that are specified in the theoretical framework. For
that matter, the novels are analyzed side by side in order to show the communalities and
differences of military rule in post-independent Africa. The motives behind the military coup
d’état, the political ideologies of the military rulers and the aftermath of their reign are the
outlines that make up the analysis part. The findings of the study are the similarity, despite the
differences of approach, of the novels in revealing the predominant themes of military rule and
its predicament in the life of the citizenry and nations of the African continent
Description
Keywords
African Novels