This study explores the silencing of familial spaces in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus. It probes into how the familial space is invested with religiosity: how ritual and norm structure and silence familial spaces and how transcendence from these spaces can be achieved through elements of laughter, music and sexuality. The study uses post-colonial theories, concepts of familial ideology and familial theory to read the text. The introductory chapter provides a politico-historical background of the text, then a literary historiography of how the familial trope has been used in African literature with special focus on Achebe. The chapter also outlines the theoretical framework of the study while anticipating the issues to be dealt with. Chapter two focuses on how the familial space is invested with religious rituals and how these silence the familial space. Chapter three examines how augmentation out of the silenced familial spaces works through elements of laughter, sexuality and music. Chapter four investigates the family as a portrait of the state and most significantly how these two institutions are portrayed to be in a complex relationship. The study’s conclusion is that the family can be used as an alternative site for discourses of marginality and can give a nuanced critique of the postcolony.

Migration and its consequences are often discussed in contemporary postcolonial discussions. This topic of migration is central in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah. Adichie’s portrayal of the migrating subject has placed her in the center of the Afropolitan discussion about transnational Africans and their right to represent. This essay aims to bring this discussion to light. Furthermore, with the use of Benedict Anderson’s ideas of nations as imagined communities, Edward Said’s definition of Orientalism, and Homi K. Bhabha’s concept of mimicry, this essay intends to illuminate the colonial discourse of Americanah’s America. I argue that the novel’s protagonist Ifemelu’s migration to the land of the free is bordered by remnants of colonial discourse, placing her within a western array of marginalization. As Ifemelu struggles with issues connected to her migration into a culture that marginalizes and discriminates under the proud flag of “the American Dream,” she is forced to resort to mimicry of western traits, to get access to western privilege. I contend that the mimicry of western traits consequently reduces her presence in America to partial.

Linguistics and literary studies approach the same object language from different perspectives. In spite of their shared interest, these fields of research are still separated by a border that is all too rarely crossed. The discipline of stylistics, however, has tried to exploit the common ground between the two domains. This dissertation will attempt to bridge the gap further by examining how linguistic theory can contribute to the elaboration of literary interpretations of selected works by three Nigerian authors. This study takes as its point of departure the Bakhtinian view that language is inextricably linked to its development in society. The medium carries the ideologies to which it has been attached throughout history, leaving speakers with the difficult task of appropriating words for the expression of their own intentions. This socially based perception of linguistic codes finds echoes in post-colonial theory, which has paid attention to the ideological implications behind the imposition of the colonial language in the former British Empire, to which Nigeria belonged. Post-colonial movements of linguistic decolonization have taken many forms and, in the literary field, the responses given by African authors have been among the most remarkable. The first chapter of this dissertation provides an overview of the question of language in African literature, an issue that has divided both writers and critics for decades. It is discussed here in relation to the definition of African literature and to more general considerations on the subject of categorization. The second part of the chapter is devoted to a discussion of the methodological choices that have informed the analyses conducted in the rest of the study. It is argued that linguistic investigations into Nigerian fiction should take into account the many culturally specific strategies that can be found in the countrys literature, but should also extend their scope to stylistic techniques that are not directly linked to the literary works post-colonial status. The second chapter focuses on the novel Another Lonely Londoner, a rarely discussed work by the little-known author Gbenga Agbenugba. The narrative is written in an experimental style that mixes English with Nigerian Pidgin and includes elements of Nigerian English, Black British English, Cockney and Yoruba. Extensive analyses of the interaction between English and Nigerian Pidgin are undertaken from sociolinguistic and grammatical perspectives, each time with the view of assessing the impact of the languages on the novels possible literary interpretations. The other codes, varieties and linguistic influences contained in the book also receive systematic treatment, and it gradually appears that all these elements combine to produce a complex polyphonic piece. The third chapter provides an examination of selected works by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The investigation into Adichies writing constitutes the point of methodological articulation of this study. The first part follows the way paved by the analysis of Agbenugbas novel, and further looks into issues relating to cultures and linguistic codes, among which the themes of language and food in some of Adichies short stories, and the presence of Igbo, codeswitching and proverbs in her novel Purple Hibiscus (2003). The second part of the chapter departs from explicitly cultural models and investigates the narrators use of language with a variety of theories, borrowed for instance from functional grammar and cognitive linguistics. This combination of approaches aims at demonstrating that literary, cultural, social and cognitive methods can complement each other to produce a coherent interpretation of Adichies work. The final chapter compares Ben Okris second novel, The Landscapes Within (1981), with the authors revised version of the same book, Dangerous Love (1996). A general introduction outlining the changes that have taken place between the two narratives is followed by a discussion of some of the stylistic aspects that distinguish Okris earlier novel from his later text. The chapter then takes a cognitive turn, and tries to establish the importance of metaphor in the novels, especially in Dangerous Love. This analysis of metaphor leads to the creation of an interpretative framework that forms the basis for a textual analysis of some of the novels narrative sequences. The conclusion reaffirms that the adoption of an eclectic methodology has contributed to the exploration of Gbenga Agbenugbas, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichies and Ben Okris approaches to the notion of identity. In the light of these results, possible lines of research are evoked. La linguistique et les études littéraires abordent le même objet le langage ou la langue selon des perspectives différentes. Malgré leur objet commun, ces domaines de recherche restent séparés par une frontière qui nest que trop rarement franchie. La stylistique a toutefois tenté dexploiter lespace partagé par ces deux disciplines. La présente dissertation tâchera de poursuivre cet effort en examinant les manières dont la théorie linguistique peut contribuer à lélaboration dinterprétations littéraires ; ces dernières porteront, en loccurrence, sur des textes choisis dans luvre de trois auteurs nigérians. Cette étude prend sa source dans la conception bakhtinienne selon laquelle le langage est inextricablement lié à son développement au sein de la société. En effet, le médium charrie les idéologies auxquelles il a été attaché au fil de lhistoire, laissant les locuteurs aux prises avec une tâche difficile : celle de sapproprier les mots pour exprimer leurs propres intentions. Cette perception des codes linguistiques, fondée sur une approche sociale, trouve des échos dans la théorie post-coloniale, qui sest intéressée aux implications idéologiques de lutilisation imposée de la langue coloniale dans lancien Empire britannique, auquel appartenait le Nigeria. Les mouvements post-coloniaux de décolonisation linguistique ont pris de nombreuses formes et, dans le champ littéraire, les réponses apportées par les auteurs africains comptent parmi les plus remarquables. Le premier chapitre de cette dissertation offre un aperçu général du problème de la langue dans la littérature africaine, lequel divise écrivains et critiques depuis des décennies. Ce thème est ici mis en relation avec la définition de la littérature africaine, ainsi quavec des considérations plus générales portant sur la question de la catégorisation. La seconde partie de ce chapitre consiste en un examen des choix méthodologiques qui ont sous-tendu les analyses menées dans le reste de cette étude. Largument avancé dans cette section est le suivant : toute exploration linguistique de la fiction nigériane devrait prendre en considération non seulement les multiples stratégies culturellement spécifiques présentes dans la littérature du pays, mais également souvrir aux techniques stylistiques qui ne sont pas directement liées au statut post-colonial des uvres littéraires. Le deuxième chapitre est consacré à Another Lonely Londoner, une uvre rarement traitée par la critique et due à un auteur méconnu : Gbenga Agbenugba. Le roman est rédigé dans un style expérimental mêlant langlais au pidgin nigérian et incorporant des éléments danglais nigérian, danglais parlé par la communauté noire en Grande-Bretagne, de Cockney et de Yoruba. Des analyses approfondies de linteraction entre langlais et le pidgin nigérian sont entreprises selon des perspectives sociolinguistiques et grammaticales, dans le but dévaluer, dans chaque cas, limpact des langues sur les possibles interprétations littéraires du roman. Les autres codes, variétés et influences linguistiques contenus dans le livre font également lobjet dune étude systématique, dont il ressort progressivement que tous ces éléments se combinent de manière à produire un texte complexe et polyphonique. Le troisième chapitre examine une sélection duvres écrites par Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Lexploration de ces dernières constitue le point darticulation méthodologique de la présente étude. La première partie suit la voie tracée par lanalyse du roman dAgbenugba, et investigue plus avant certaines questions relatives aux cultures et aux codes linguistiques, parmi lesquelles les thèmes de la langue et de la nourriture dans certaines nouvelles dAdichie, ainsi que la présence de ligbo, lalternance codique et les proverbes dans son roman Purple Hibiscus (2003). La seconde partie du chapitre sécarte des modèles explicitement culturels pour explorer, à laide dun éventail de théories notamment empruntées à la grammaire fonctionnelle et à la linguistique cognitive, lusage que le narrateur fait du langage. Cette combinaison dapproches vise à démontrer que les méthodes littéraire, culturelle, sociale et cognitive peuvent se compléter pour produire une interprétation cohérente de luvre dAdichie. Le chapitre final compare le deuxième roman de Ben Okri, The Landscapes Within (1981), à Dangerous Love (1996), la version du même livre revue par son auteur. Une introduction générale exposant les grandes lignes des changements qui se sont produits dun texte à lautre précède un examen de certains des aspects stylistiques qui distinguent le premier roman dOkri du second. Le chapitre prend ensuite une dimension cognitive, et sefforce de souligner limportance de la métaphore dans les romans, particulièrement dans Dangerous Love. Cette étude de la métaphore mène à la création dun cadre interprétatif sur lequel se fonde lanalyse textuelle de certaines séquences narratives extraites du roman. La conclusion réaffirme que ladoption dune méthodologie éclectique a permis dexplorer la façon dont Gbenga Agbenugba, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie et Ben Okri abordent la notion didentité. À la lumière de ces résultats, des pistes de recherche possibles sont évoquées.

In Purple Hibiscus, Adichie describes what happens in a family when one person, Papa Eugene, takes control and completely subjugates other family members to his wishes and demands. The author shows the dire consequences his actions have on his family but also how those actions ultimately lead to his own destruction. This essay links the restrictions and abuse suffered by Kambili and her family to Michel Foucault’s theories on torture and surveillance as detailed in Discipline and Punish. Foucault’s theories are linked to Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon in order to further introduce the concept of surveillance. The essay describes the physical and psychological abuse suffered by the family and also details the surveillance and torture techniques used by Papa Eugene to stay in control. Moreover, it argues that power can be lost through applying too much control and by metering out punishment that is too harsh and it shows how such actions ultimately lead to rebellion.

Thing theorist Bill Brown writes that “the thing names less an object than a particular subject-object relation.” This article examines the subject-object relation between African things and African bodies in Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's first novel, Purple Hibiscus. While the main character, Kambili, eventually learns to assimilate Western Catholicism into her Nigerian reality, her Christian fundamentalist father, Eugene, uses Catholicism to justify his self-hating destruction of African things and bodies. This article argues that both reactions are rooted in the characters' ability or inability to see African material things, including both objects and bodies, as autonomous subjects. Adichie's novel demonstrates that religious syncretism centered in an ethics of things is a viable, fruitful reaction to the colonizers' religion, and that religious practice can be healthily enacted through the medium of things and bodies.

The purpose of this essay is to conduct a character analysis on Eugene Achike from Chimamana Ngozi Adichie’s novel Purple Hibiscus, to see whether or not the character is used by Adichie as a portrayal of colonial Nigeria and its values. I have done this by looking at the themes of violence and hypocrisy in relation to Eugene’s language usage, religious attitude, and behaviour towards others, and comparing these aspects of his personality with the attitudes shown by colonialists in colonial Nigeria. The more important issues that prove Eugene’s character is a portrayal of colonial Nigeria are: his utter disregard for his heritage and background, including the physical disregard of his father; his absolute control over his family members, both physically and mentally, which leads to violent outbursts if he is disobeyed; the fact that he is shown in the novel to be a direct product of the missionaries and colonial structure that was present in Nigeria when he grew up. These things, together with the subtle connections in Adichie’s writing that connect her novel to Things Fall Apart, firmly place Purple Hibiscus in the postcolonial category. Thus, I concluded that Eugene’s character is a portrayal of Colonial Nigeria. / Syftet med denna upsats är att genomföra en karaktärsanalys på karaktären Eugene Achike i Chimamanda Ngozi Adichis roman Purple Hibiscus, för att se ifall karaktären används av Adichie som en skildring av koloniala Nigeria och dess värderingar. Jag har gjort detta genom att undersöka två teman – våld och hyckleri – i samband med Eugenes användning av språk, religös attityd, och beteende mot andra, för att då jämföra dessa aspekter av hans personlighet med attityderna kolonisatörer hade i koloniala Nigeria. De viktigaste sakerna som bevisar att Eugenes karaktär är en skildring av koloniala Nigeria är: hans fullständiga ignoreing av sin bakgrund, inklusive den fysiska ignorering av hans pappa; hans absoluta kontroll över sin familj, både fysiskt och mentalt, vilket leder till våldsamma utbrott om han inte blir åtlydd; det faktum att han beskrivs som en produkt av missionärerna och koloniala samhället vid flera tillfällen i boken. Detta tillsammans med romanens subtila kopplingar till Achebes Things Fall Apart, placerar tveklöst Purple Hibiscus i den postkoloniala kategorin. Därmed drar jag slutsatsen att Eugene’s karaktär är en skildring av koloniala Nigeria.

The aim of this thesis is to analyse the position of women in Nigerian family and to estimate the extent of their emancipation and/or dependence on men in Nigerian society, traditionally considered to be patriarchal. The analysis is based on the interpretation of the novels Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun and the short story collection The Thing around Your Neck, written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a prominent contemporary Nigerian author. The theoretical part focuses on political, social and economic representations of women in pre- colonial Nigeria and in colonial and modern, post-colonial Nigeria. An antidote to the stereotypical depiction of women in African literature, Adichie's work typically presents female characters who are educated, independent and emancipated. This stands to challenge the image of Nigerian women who are dominated and controlled by men.

This study aims to investigate how secondary school teachers have used We should all be feminists and the accompanying teacher’s guide and if they used the material in a problematizing way, given that it is sponsored. Hilary Janks’ model of critical literacy served as theoretical basis in this study. To collect data, qualitative interviews were conducted, that included five secondary school teachers. The transcribed material was processed and analyzed by the method Qualitative Content Analysis and with a deductive approach. The main results show that teachers primarily used the material as a way to meet the criteria of the curriculum and to train students in certain moments of the Swedish subject, rather than as a material for the discussion of feminism and gender equality. The study’s most conspicuous result was that none of the teachers had reflected on the fact that the material was sponsored by a numerous of organizations. The teachers viewed the sponsors as harmless and the material as a text from a fiction writer, rather than a material from trade unions and foundations who wish to exert influence in the classroom. In the analysis by Janks’ model of critical literacy, the results show that all of the teachers had worked with critical literacy in the classroom to some extent, but that they had not realized all of Janks’ criteria on how to work with critical literacy in classrooms.

No description available.

No description available.