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Abstract not available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

This study is an attempt to examine the use of realism in three African novels by different authors from different countries, which are set at different phases of independence. Sembene Ousmane's God's Bits of Wood, is set in Senegal and is a pre-independence novel. On the other hand, Petals of Blood by Ngugi wa Thiong'o, is a Kenyan post-independence novel. Pepetela's Mayombe is set in Angola during the resistance struggle. What these novels share, though, is the use of realism. It is the use of realism, I argue, that enables these authors to capture the political realities of their respective countries. However, each author's employment of realism remains umque. The first chapter engages with the foundational theory of this study. Georg Lukacs' argument on realism will be the point of reference. I attempt to illustrate certain observable characteristics of realism through the examination of this argument found in The Meaning of Contemporary Realism (1956). Lukacs' notions on naturalism, critical realism and socialist realism will be closely examined. But, before that discussion, I will demonstrate the importance of realism in arriving at the "novel" form, which is distinguished from previous literature (for example literature of the Middle Ages). Chapter Two establishes Ousmane's God's Bits of Wood as a socialist realist text. The possible influence of Zola' s Germinal on God's Bits of Wood is examined. The argument being that certain elements of Germinal are resonated in God's Bits of Wood, yet they each still retain their uniqueness. Zola's naturalist style is also evident in Ousmane's novel. But it is in the area of ideology that the two novels differ. God's Bits of Wood is a working class novel that successfully employs socialist realism. Ngugi wa Thiong'o's Petals of Blood is the subject of the third chapter. This chapter reflects on Ngugi's use of the socialist realist principles to convey the social and political climate of post-independence Kenya. However, his formulaic use of socialist realism is questioned as it gives rise to a novel that reads as didactic. The Marxist ideology that informs this novel is altogether too obvious. The fourth chapter is an examination of Mayombe by Pepetela. This is a very significant novel in regard to Angolan history. This novel successfully deals with the complexities of the resistance movement. The employment of realism is obvious, however, the kind of realism employed is difficult to categorize. The emotional and psychological trauma of war is illuminated. Although a socialist perspective is evident, a formulaic use of socialist realism is avoided. Pepetela seems to be more interested in engaging in discussion of issues surrounding independence, such as tribalism and power hunger. It is then evident that these authors use realism to attain a simulacrum of reality. However, it is the author's specific perspective that shapes the text that is produced. / Thesis (M.A)-University of Durban-Westville, 2004

Thesis (doctoral)--Université de Cergy-Pontoise, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 499-521) and index.

Thesis (doctoral)--Université de Cergy-Pontoise, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 499-521) and index.

Originally presented as author's Thesis (doctoral)--Université Paris VIII Vincennes à Saint-Denis, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 478-482).

Originally presented as author's Thesis (doctoral)--Université Paris VIII Vincennes à Saint-Denis, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 478-482).

Thesis--Indiana University. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [167]-176) and index.

This study attempts to define more clearly the concepts 'flat character' and 'round character' by examining instances of Sepedi literature. Definitions provided by theorists are in most cases vague and may lead to unsatisfactory interpretations. The best examples in this instance are the definitions provided by Forster - they create problems particularly with references to the concept 'round character'. Forster's definition creates the impression that the difference can be based on the manner of characterization. In this investigation, attention is thus paid to characterization, while it is pointed out that these concepts are not to be confused with the concepts 'antagonist', 'protagonist' and 'tritagonist', The latter types of characters are classified as structural elements while the former are thematically important. The Sepedi literary works chosen for the purposes of this stUdy represent the four most important prose genres in Sepedi. Tsebe's Noto-ya-Masogana (1954) is the representative of the category 'love story'; Kekana's Nnete Fela (1989) is a detective story; Rammala's Lukas Motšheletšhele (1963) and Mphahlele's Letsogo la Molao (1984) are tragic narratives, while Phatudi concentrates on and describes elements of pathos in his Tladi wa Dikgati (1971). The characters in Tsebe and Kekana's narratives are flat. Whereas Tsebe's Lesibana is portrayed as a multidimensional character, Ariel in Kekana's detective story is presented as one - dimensional. According to the definitions of Forster, Lesibana could be classified as a round character and Ariel as a flat character. The problem that surfaces in this instance also becomes manifest in the investigation into Rammala, Mphahlele and Phatudi's works. Rammala's Lukas Motsheletshele and Mphahlele's Faro are multidimensional characters as opposed to Phatudi's Tladi who is one¬dimensional, yet all of them are round characters. The distinction that can be drawn between the concepts 'flat character' and 'round character' has to do with humaneness. The reader's identification with the flat character is based on the reader's ability to distinguish between good and evil, while an understanding of and a feeling for fellow human beings determine identification with the round character. The author brings about this identification process by using a variety of literary devices. In this thesis, a great deal of emphasis is placed on the theme of each of the mentioned works and on how this theme determines the character types. The concept of 'identification' is a central issue in this study and has thus been explained in detail. The specific literary devices used by the author to bring about this identification have thus also been carefully investigated and discussed. It was discovered that characterization as such does not determine whether characters are flat or round; instead, this is determined thematically. / Thesis (DLitt (African Languages))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / African Languages / unrestricted

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of English at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2013. / Polygamy is widely practised in African communities. The African social-realist novel, especially when it is woman-authored, shows female characters as having to play docile, subservient roles and accept demeaning positions in polygamous marriages. Although it has been claimed that traditional African marriage creates a satisfactory situation for women, mainly by means of the security it offers and the bonds that it forges between co-wives, the narrators of African realist novels almost always expose only evils associated with polygamy. In most of the texts, co-wives experience conflict with one another, not bonds. Men are portrayed as egocentric beings that greedily satisfy their sexual impulses at the expense of women. Encouraged by their families, they inflict irreparable emotional damage not only on their accumulated wives but often also on their offspring. While blinded by their desires, these men engender many unplanned children for whom they usually take little fatherly responsibility. Consequently, children too are objects of pity in many of the books. This dissertation, by means of close analysis of select African narratives, reveals that, despite all the struggles for liberation and democracy, values highly regarded in modern societies, polygamy is a prevailing sign of male dominance in African communities today. The dissertation shows that even such male-authored novels as Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Onuora Nzekwu’s High Life For Lizards fail to recommend a polygamous life to women, while Mariama Bâ ’s So Long a Letter and Scarlet Song, Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood and Kehinde, Es’kia Mphahlele’s Chirundu, Lazarus Miti’s The Prodigal Husband, Ama Ata Aidoo’s Changes, Sue Nyathi’s The Polygamist,SembeneOusmane’s Xala, Lola Shoneyin’s The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives, Rebecca HourwichReyher’s Zulu Woman, Miriam KWere’s The Eighth Wife, T.M. Aluko’s One Man One Wife and Aminata Sow Fall’s The Beggars’Strike all use polygamy to highlight the incongruence between the ideals of democracy and the facts of life as experienced by African women. These texts reflect real social problems. They cast light on the inequalities that prevail in polygamous relationships and imply that the principle of equality cannot be achieved as long as polygamy exists.