A Comparative Studise of the Philosophy of Mekonnen Endalekachew and Kebede Michael as reflected in their Literary Works
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Date
1994-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The principal purpose of this research is to identify
the philosophies of life that are evident in the works of
Mekonnen Endalekachew and Kebede Michael . While Western
literature is very well-known for its development in the
expression of philo s ophy, it is difficult t o tell what the
state of Ethiopian li terature is with regard to philosophy.
It could not be known for there is, unlike in the West, no
extensive c ritical study aimed at the discovery of the use of
philo s ophy within literary works.
In orde r to change this trend, this research is designed
to look into the phi losophies of Mekonnen Endalekachew and
Kebede Michael. It has been observed from personal studies
that there a re philosophical elements in their works . In
addition to this, since they are contemporaries and
representatives of writers of the Post~ar period, they are
selected as targe t s of the study .
An effort has been made not o~ _ y to identify the
dominant philosophies of the writers, bu~ a lso to inves tigate
the similarity and difference that ex~st between the two
wri ters' works . Following this, an atte~pt is made to detect
the kind of relationship that is f ound ce=ween the philosophy
and the form of the literary works. Whether or not the
philosophy has affected the form of the literary works in
terms of characteri zatJ.o!! , f,'lct 2!!d !Oe t ting will be the
concern of this study .
The main find i ng of the resear:Cl is that the re is a
striking similarity between the p~ilosophy of Mekonnen
Endale kachew and Kebede Michael . In fact it could possibly
be said that there is no difference at all, apart from the
use a nd selection of the raw ma t e r ial . Unlike their
contemporaries who dea l with t he i mme d iat e social, e conomic
and pol i tica l si tua tions , they have been preoccupied with the
d i s cussion o f death , li f e , fa t e, ti:ne , freedom and human
nature . As far as the form of t he i r wor k is concerned , it is
noted that there is a rel a tion in that the philosophy shapes
the form a good dea l . Since the works are didactic, what the
writers aim at solely is the transmission of t heir
philosophy ; thereby shaping the chara:ters and the p lots in
such a way that the works reveal the ~ ~ messages explicitly
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Keywords
Studise of the Philosophy