Ayi Kwei Armah and Ngugi Wa Thiong’o: a symbolist study of the beautyful ones are not yet born and petals of blood.
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Date
2001-12-13
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Abstract
The dissertation sets out to make a comparative study on the use of symbols in Ayi Kwei Armah’s The Beautiful Ones Are Not yet Born and Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s Petals of Blood.
We made a thorough examination of documentary evidence in both novels, consulted some authorities who had worked in this field and discussed certain pertinent issues on symbols with some lecturers.
Interestingly enough, we found out that symbols suggesting social, political, economic and religious problems are the same in Ngugi’s Kenya with those of Armh’s Ghana. Characters, images and themes in Nagugi are replications of Armah despite the vast geographical area separating Ghana and Kenya. The problems confronting these two former British colonies are therefore similar. Both novelists also offer solutions to the hydra-headed problems facing their countries.
The work is divided into four chapters. The first chapter looked at symbols of decadence in the societies both authors write about. The second chapter examined shit symbols in both novels. The third chapter tried to find out whether Armah and Ngugi are pessimists or optimists in the way they try to project Africa globally. The final chapter examined both authors to find out whether they are patriots or traitors in putting their counties in a bad light.
Finally, there is a conclusion where the whole work has been summed up.
Description
A thesis presented to the Department of Languages, College of Arts and Social Sciences, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of a Master of Arts Degree in Comparative Literature, 2001