Luận văn thạc sĩ historical, sociological and philosophical dimensions reflected in the novels of

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HISTORICAL, SOCIOLOGICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL

DIMENSIONS REFLECTED IN THE NOVELS

OF SELECTED AFRICAN WRITERS

A Dissertation

Presented to the

Faculty of the Graduate School

Batangas State University

Batangas City, Philippines

In Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Degree

of Doctor of Philosophy

Major in English

by

NGUYEN THI MINH LOAN

2015

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APPROVAL SHEET

This dissertation entitled “HISTORICAL, SOCIOLOGICAL AND

PHILOSOPHICAL DIMENSIONS REFLECTED IN THE NOVELS OF

SELECTED AFRICAN WRITERS” prepared and submitted by NGUYEN THI

MINH LOAN in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor

of Philosophy major in English has been examined and is recommended for

Oral Examination.

MARIA LUISA A. VALDEZ, Ph.D.

Adviser

PANEL OF EXAMINERS

Approved by the Committee on Oral Examination with a grade of _______.

DR. MATILDA H. DIMAANO

Chairman

DR. AMADA G. BANAAG DR. FELIX M. PANOPIO

Member Member

DR. MYRNA G. SULIT

External Representative

Accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

degree of Doctor of Philosophy major in English.

Comprehensive Examination: PASSED

________________ MATILDA H. DIMAANO, Ph.D.

Date Dean, Graduate Studies

College of Arts and Sciences

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ABSTRACT

Title: HISTORICAL, SOCIOLOGICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL

DIMENSIONS REFLECTED IN THE NOVELS OF SELECTED

AFRICAN WRITERS

Author: Nguyen Thi Minh Loan

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Major: English

Year: 2015

Adviser: Maria Luisa A. Valdez, Ph.D.

_______________________________________________________________

Summary

From the beginning of colonial situation, literature was the sharp weapon of

African writers to oppose colonialism and proudly assert the values of the cultures

that the colonials had tried to destroy. Therefore, many of African writers chose to

use their works to explore, portray, and expose these social experiences in their

different works. Among African writers, Chinua Achebe, Ayi Kwei Armah and Tsi￾tsi Dangarembga are the pioneers in using the pen as the weapon against

colonialism.

The wisdom embodied in the selected works of these African writers

could be one of the motivating factors that could help readers in the world

understand about internal and external pressures African people suffered as

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well as the values they lost in colonial and post-colonial periods.

The representative literary works were analyzed: No Longer at Ease by

Achebe, Fragments by Armah and Nervous Conditions by Dangarembga. The

said selections were chosen because of the correlation between the

aforementioned themes, literary devices and approaches which helped in

unveiling the authors’ philosophy of life.

The study yielded the following findings: Although No Longer at Ease

cannot strictly be considered a historical document, it is still an ethnographic

record of a chaotic African society in a period of social transformation from

traditional tribal life to modern urban life and from colonial to postcolonial.

Fragments deploys the image of a neo-colony in order to sustain the fact that

Ghana in particular and Africa in general are still controlled by the West. Set in

the Rhodesia of the 1950s to early 1970s, Nervous Conditions spans important

historical periods in the history of Zimbabwe. Although for a reader unfamiliar

with Zimbabwe’s history, the political significance of some important years is

not apparent in the novel, three events all allude to the national events.

Sociological characters of the time conveyed through these novels refer to the

following issues: customs, traditions and beliefs. These writers mention a fact

that the old African ways and customs have been nearly or completely

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abandoned for the new system in their novels.

The literacy devices used in No Longer at Ease, Fragments and Nervous

Conditions play a crucial role in enhancing these novels’ themes and bring the

novels their widespread acceptance as quality pieces of literature. The author’s

talent is highly appreciated with their flexible use of symbolism, flashback,

foreshadowing, and figures of speech.

In the treatment of Achebe’s three novels, the study used the following

approaches. The historical approach attempts to show that the function of

Achebe, Armah and Dangarembga's fiction is to investigate historical

conditions of African societies. Secondly, using sociological approach, the

researcher clarified the elements of the African society including customs,

traditions and beliefs social organization in No Longer at Ease, Fragments and

Nervous Conditions.

Finally, the philosophical approach clarifies African philosophy in three

novels such as fatalism, principle of balance and co-existence, the notion of life

and death, and the philosophy of unhu. The study drew Achebe’s philosophy of

life as a realist and Armah’s philosophy of life as an existentialist. Dagarembga

may be considered as a feminist in the way that she functions as a role model

for African women to fulfill their own dreams.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The researcher wishes to express her personal thanks and appreciation

to those, in one way or another helped her accomplish this work.

First and foremost, to Batangas State University and the Thai Nguyen

University, for giving her the opportunity to finish this dissertation under their

International Academic Cooperation Program.

Sincere thanks also goes to Dr. Dang Kim Vui, the President of the Thai

Nguyen University, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tuan Anh, Assoc Prof. Dr. Dang

Xuan Binh, Prof. Dr. Nguyen The Hung, the former Directors of the TNU

International Training and Development Center, Dr. Hoang Thi Bich Thao, the

current Director of TNU ITDC, Dr. Le Hong Thang, the Dean of the TNU

School of Foreign Languages, for their motivation and wisdom that helped

hasten the completion of this study.

She also would like to thank Dr. Maria Luisa A. Valdez, the Dean of

Colleges and Head of the Graduate School of the Batangas State University

ARASOF Nasugbu Campus, the researcher’s dissertation adviser, for her

constant motivation, support, and patience, which inspired diligent research for

the realization of this study.

To Dr. Matilda H. Dimaano, the Chairman of the Panel of Examiners, for

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her thorough dissection and candid remarks that drew up the essential and

relevant dimensions in this research.

To Dr. Amada G. Banaag, Dr. Felix M. Panopio, and Dr. Myrna G. Sulit,

the Members of the Panel of Examiners, for their valuable suggestions and

criticism which motivated conscientiously the researcher during the conduct of

this study.

To Dr. Remedios P. Magnaye, the Recording Secretary and Ms. Le

Quynh Anh, the ITDC Administrative Staff, for their words of encouragement

and kind gestures.

To the writers whose works were included in this study for their

emboldened wisdom in every page of this dissertation.

The researcher’s colleagues and friends, all of whom generously gave

their time, advice, and prayers. They made her realize the value of truth and

principles about people and human experiences.

The researcher is also very grateful for the wholehearted support and

love that her husband, Pham Duy Hiep and her children, Minh Pham and Quan

Pham along with her parents, have extended during the writing process.

Their spiritual support accompanied the realization of this paper.

Nguyen Thi Minh Loan

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DEDICATION

To the essence of my existence, my loving husband Pham Duy Hiep and

my ever dearest sons Minh Pham and Quan Pham,

Nguyen Thi Minh Loan

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE........................................................................................ i

APPROVAL SHEET............................................................................ ii

ABSTRACT......................................................................................... iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENT........................................................................ vi

DEDICATION....................................................................................... viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS...................................................................... ix

LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………….. xi

CHAPTER

I. THE PROBLEM

Introduction............................................................ 1

Statement of the Problem ..................................... 7

Scope, Delimitation and Limitation of the Study..... 8

Significance of the Study ....................................... 10

II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Conceptual Literature............................................. 13

Research Literature................................................ 31

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Synthesis.............................................................. 37

Theoretical Framework ......................................... 41

Conceptual Framework ......................................... 44

Definition of Terms................................................. 47

III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Design .................................................. 52

Treatment of Materials........................................... 53

IV. ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION............................. 57

V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Summary of Findings............................................. 188

Conclusions ........................................................... 194

Recommendations ................................................ 195

BIBLIOGRAPHY.................................................................................. 197

APPENDICES…………………………………………………………….. 204

Summaries of the Novels……..……….………………………… 205

CURRICULUM VITAE…………………………………………………… 210

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Title Page

1 Conceptual Paradigm of the Study 46

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CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM

Introduction

History plays a fundamental role in shaping literature in the way that

every literary piece is influenced by the social context, the author and the

whole community that frames the whole work. Readers cannot understand the

work if they are not provided with the historical context in which the work is

written. Simultaneously, readers can investigate the history and culture

through literature. That literature is a reflection of the society has been widely

acknowledged. Literature influences the society, and the society is reflected in

literature; therefore, there has been a close interaction between them. The

readers can explore a variety of historical and socio-political themes in many

works of famous writers such as colonialism, post-colonialism, morality, racial

identity, oppression, politics, leadership, gender issues, war and many others.

A literary work can provide a more detailed picture of a society in terms of

cultural, social, religious, and political dimensions more than any history

textbooks and anthropological records do (Diamond, 1989).

Sociological character refers to an individual’s manifestation of behavior

that is characteristic or ideal to a behavior that is likewise manifested by a

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majority of the society. This congruence with the behavior of others warrants

its classification as being within the acceptable standards of a particular

society’s norms. A person’s character thus is considered normal depending on

its manifested adherence to the specific limitations determined by the society

as having historical, religious, educational, political and philosophical bases.

This illustrates the close link between philosophy and literature. While

philosophy supplies ideology and themes for literature, literature, on the other

hand, provides vivid illustrations of the meaning and abstract thought of

philosophy. Literature is considered as a channel to show the author’s

philosophy of life. Indeed, in literature the philosophical theme is conveyed

through literary works and is an essential part of their aesthetic value. There is

a considerable number of well-known works in the world of literature in which

philosophical views are put forward, suggested, or play a central role such as

Dostoyevsky’s Brothers Karamazov, Crime and Punishment, and The Idiot;

Tolstoy’s War and Peace; Proust’s In Search of Lost Time; Mann’s Magic

Mountain, etc. By studying literary works, readers are introduced to central

philosophical issues in relation to freedom, responsibility, religious belief and

personal identity.

Furthermore, a literary work clarifies not only historical and cultural

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context, philosophical issues but also literary techniques that the author

employs. These techniques are used to express artistic meanings through the

use of language. They combine information, function and aesthetics in

conveying ideas. In other words, literary techniques are added to make the

author’s message clear to the reader and add more beauty to the work. Based

on the use of literary techniques, readers can partly decide an author’s tone

and style.

African literature is closely tied with historical, cultural and societal

issues. For the countries in Africa, the experience of colonialism is considered

as the one of the most important factors in understanding the present condition

of the African continent, the African people and their history. Therefore, a close

examination of the phenomenon of colonialism is essential to assess not only

the economic and political development in Africa but also the African people’s

perception of themselves. From the beginning of colonial situation, literature

was the best weapon used by African writers to oppose colonialism and

proudly assert the values of the cultures that the colonials had tried to destroy.

Many of African writers chose to use their works to explore, portray, and

expose these social experiences in their different works. According to Ojaide

(1992) there is no art for art’s sake in Africa. It means that every literary

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work has a social function.

Among African writers, Chinua Achebe, Ayi Kwei Armah and Tsi-tsi

Dangarembga are the pioneers in using the pen as the weapon against

colonialism.

Chinua Achebe is one of the most widely read African writers in the

world. He has played such a pivotal role in the development of African

literature that he is called as father of modern African literature. Indeed, he

takes up the responsibility as an Igbo writer to help his people regain belief in

itself and dignity that is destroyed by Western colonialism. He defines his

writings as part of a process of re-storing peoples who had been knocked

silent by the trauma of all kinds of dispossession (Achebe, 2000).

Ayi Kwei Armah is undoubtedly one of the most excellent writers of the

second generation of African writers which comes after Achebe. In an

autobiographical article, “One Writer's Education” (Armah, 1985), Armah

described himself as not simply a Ghanian and a West African but most

significantly as an African. His writings are realistic descriptions of the African

continent in such a way that his novels can be seen as a sociological report on

the social and political situation of Africa.

In contrast, Tsi-tsi Dangarembga is an astonishing African female

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