Issues In Modern African Literature
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Issues In Modern African Literature
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background for the Study
Throughout history and throughout continents, literature has served as an embodiment and translator of a people’s culture, as well as a conduit for a people’s language, philosophy, politics, psychology, and national identity. Nwachukwu (2005) observes that literature, whether in the form of agitation, negotiation, historical reconstruction, or mythological recreation, contains an element of identity.
According to Bayo (2003:1), literature is a discipline that seeks to describe man and his environment. Literature is distinguished from other fields by its creative imagination and use of a specialised form of communication medium–language and style.
Furthermore, literature strives to re-create human civilisation by exposing human experiences, religious beliefs, and socio-cultural motifs inside the creative framework of art. Literature is also a liberating force that frees us from the underlying beliefs imposed by society, and it is divided into three (3) generic forms: play, prose, and poetry (Ibrahim and Akande 2000:3).
The African literary experience dates back to the dawn of humanity and predates the literature of several European countries (Dada 2003:36). In African states such as Kenya, Nigeria, Namibia, Mozambique, Angola, Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Guinea Bissau, and others, literature has emerged as a form of cultural identity and revolutionary struggle against domination, marginalisation, and political cruelty.
African writers formed cultural nationalist movements throughout the decade of independence, with the goal of seeing African indigenous literature as a distinct entity (Ojaide, 1992).
Dada (2003: 36) insists that “African literature refers to works done for the African audience, by Africans and in African languages whether these works are oral or written” .
The debate over African literature’s use of language, cultural diversity, and the question of literary identity indigenous to Africa have sparked significant interest since the emergence of modern African literary writings, prompting many scholars to contribute and take positions.
One of the most important challenges in current African literature is language. The multi-cultural nature of African languages, as well as the emphasis on preserving particular people’s linguistic identities, have weakened the great dream of entire institutionalisation of modern African literatures.
The question of identity and dignity in African literature, as expressed by regional and national writers, endures due to the continent’s and its countries’ prevailing socioeconomic and political situations. Meanwhile, the language of African literature is another topic of interest that has sparked heated debate among scholars and critics.
According to Armah (2005), Africa is huge and requires a big language to carry out all of our goals, and that language has not yet emerged. Armah commented on the language of African literature, stating that “we are currently suspended in linguistic neocolonialism while expecting a major breakthrough;
if an African language is accepted, it will be a significant solution. The demands of internationality, the question of contact with the world outside Africa, and other factors like as the accessibility and marketability of African literature in the global context appear to have poisoned African writers’ hopes for an African language identity.
Another subject to address in modern African literature is cultural diversity, which is a dynamic phenomena that encompasses all attitudes, behaviours, beliefs, and worldviews. It is an essential component of every human society, and all social groups are defined by it. In other terms, it is the “complex pattern of behaviour and material achievement which are produced, learnt, and shared by members of a community” (Ameh, 2002:165).
Another topic of discussion in modern African literature is the endeavour to establish racial identity. The role of ethnic pride and linguistic self-consciousness is not limited to the majority ethnic group.
No matter how small the group, the sense of identity embedded in the group’s language continues. According to Yakubu (2001), African literature is a haven of liberation in which Africans reclaim their lost identity and dignity. This viewpoint appears to vividly portray the overwhelming urges that characterise the motivations of contemporary African literature writers.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
African literature arose from a need to fill a void, namely the gap in African literature centred on voicelessness. For many years, comparative African literature has been eclipsed by the study of literary influence.
This is because all African authors belonging to what is commonly referred to as ‘Modern African Literature’ have been influenced by Western-type schools of broadly two different categories:
the study of analogy or literary affinities and the study of influences or indebtedness to diversity, language, and culture, which has constituted a myriad of problems to African literatures.
Against this backdrop, the study aims to investigate topics in modern African literature, with a focus on African variety, language, and culture, through the use of selected African literary texts.
1.3 Aims and Objectives
The purpose of this research is to investigate all issues in every literary work. Specifically, the study objectives are as follows:
The study aims to analyse Igbo folklore through Chinua Acbebe’s works, evaluate male and female conflict through the works of Mariama Ba and Chiamanda Ngozi Adichie, and analyse the hybridity of modern African drama through the works of Wole Soyinka and Sam Ukala.
1.4 Significance of the Study
Over the years, there have been numerous debates on the existence of African literature. When completed, this study will illustrate the obstacles that African literatures have faced from pre-colonial times to the colonial period and now to the post-colonial age.
It will examine traditional Africans’ lifestyles, practices, ethics, and mores, analyse the problems that colonisation caused in the system, and discuss the crises that underlay current African literatures.
Furthermore, it is believed that when the study is completed, it will contribute to existing literatures and fill knowledge gaps in the context of African variety, language, and culture. It will also educate, inform, entertain, and document students, literary writers, and educators/researchers on the concept of language and style in current African literature.
Finally, the data that will be presented at the conclusion of this study will be extremely useful to future scholars in the field of art and the humanities in general.
1.5 Scope of the Study
The research is limited to investigating a few specific issues in modern African literature, such as Igbo folklore in Chinua Acbebe’s Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God. It also looks at male and female struggle as motifs in Mariama Ba’s So Long a Letter and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus. The study also examines the hybridity of modern African drama in Wole Soyinka’s Death of the King’s Horseman and Sam Ukala’s Iredi War.
1.6 Research Methodology.
This research was conducted using a variety of materials and research tools. This includes the primary text, which covered six different sources in order to provide a thorough study of the research. The secondary source will be library research, taking into account published books, journals, and the internet.
The library was visited during the data collecting process since, before commencing on this project, it is necessary to learn what has been written on the subject in order to guide the researcher on the general nature of the work and provide a foundation for the study. As a result, any information acquired will be used to carry out appropriate tasks.
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