Shane Moran - Alternation Journal
Shane Moran - Alternation Journal
Shane Moran - Alternation Journal
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of resistance narrative. These issues, however, are beyond the scope of this paper (see<br />
Cooper 1992, and Ogude 1997)<br />
References<br />
Department of English<br />
Univel-sity of the Witwatersrand<br />
Bakhtln Mi~li~zcI I068 Rnbelal~ a~ld If~r World Tsivolsky, ITelenc (t~ans) I oiidon 711e MI7<br />
Press<br />
Bqart lean-F~ancols 1W3 The Stute Ivt 4finca The Poln/ncs of the Belly Mdrpel, Maly<br />
CIil ~.;+opher 91 El~zabethllarr~son (t~an~) London Longman\<br />
Co~per, Brenda 1992 To Lay These Se~retr Open E~nlllutlng Alj ncan PY~VYIIIW~ Cape Town<br />
David Ph111p Publ~she~s<br />
Fanon, F1dnt7 1968 7 he Wretchedofthe Earth New Yolk GiovePress<br />
Foucault M 1984 Langtlage Cozlnter-rrzemorv, Prnctlce Bouchatd, D (cd) New Yolk Co~nell<br />
UP<br />
G~amsc~. Antonlo 1971 Selectrons Fronz Prison Noteboolr.~ tloarc, Qurnt~ti & C3N Slnrth (ed &<br />
trans) L ondon Lawrenceand W~shart<br />
ila~~geiud. Angel~que 1995 The Ctrltzrre ofPolrtrcr In Moder11 Kerqin London Canlb~~dge IJP<br />
Jullen Clleen 1992 Afircnn Novels and the Qllesflon ofOralrty Rloorn~ngto~l lnd~dnd<br />
Kgos~ts~le W Keorapetse 1969 Towards Our Tlreatt e A Dcfinrtive AL~ In Gayle. Add~son (cd)<br />
RlacXE\presslon New York Weybrlght<br />
Mbemhc. Ach~lle 1992 Prov~c~onal Notes on the Post-colon) Ajrlco 62,l 3-35<br />
Nd~glr~g~, G 1991 Character Names dnd Types In Ngugl's Devnl on the C ~ ~ IJI.;I/MMU J J<br />
XIX I1 & I11 96- 109<br />
Ngugr wa rh~ong'o 1977a Peinls ofBlood London He~nemann<br />
Ngug~ wa Tll~ong'o 198 1 a Defalned Idondon He~nemanri<br />
Ngug~ waT111ong'o 1981 b Wrrters rn Polltlcs London He~ncmann<br />
Ngug~ waT111ong'o 1987 Devtl on the Cross London I-lemernann<br />
Od~nga. Og~nga 1967 Not Yet Uhz~ru An Autobiography London Helnemann<br />
Od~nga, Og~nga 1992 Ogrnga Odlngu Hls Phrlosophy and Belleji Na~robl Init~at~ves<br />
Publrshe~s<br />
Ogude, James A 1997 Ngugl's Concept of Hrstory and the Post-Colon~al D~scoulses In Kenya<br />
CanadIan <strong>Journal</strong> ofAfrrcanStzlnIes 30,l 86-1 12<br />
Slemon, Stephen 1987 Monuments of Emp~re AllegorylCou~~ter-D~scour?e/Post-Colonla1<br />
Writ~ng Kunapnpr 9,3 1-34<br />
Slemon, Stephen 1988 Post-Colon~al Allegory and the Transfo~mat~on of H~story Joz~rnal of<br />
Common~~ealtlz Llteratttre 32,l 157-18 1<br />
The Weekly Revzew (Na~rob~) 30 March 1954<br />
Ngugi's Matigari and the<br />
Politics of Literature<br />
Glenn Hooper<br />
The issue of art in the service of politics is a notoriously colnpies one. Although many<br />
are content with the corlcept of imaginative writing being hasnessed to a political<br />
enterprise, not all are happy with the end result. In a review of Ngugi wa Thiong'o's<br />
Petals of Blood, for example, Ho~ni Bhabha (1 977) suggests that although the narrator<br />
avoids a for111 of 'romalitic nationalism' that 'can lead to an idealized quest for identity,<br />
for a mystical pristine Otherness', the text's 'rambling narrative and wide cast of<br />
characters' are less than impressive. Rhabha continues:<br />
In spite of pgugi's] serious and intelligent commitment to the prohlcms of<br />
neo-colonialism. [his] failure to find an appropriate and original fol-111 limits<br />
tllc power of hisdecp-thinking novcl.<br />
Despite Bhabha's reservations, and his belief that Ngugl's adaptation of the classic<br />
realist form for a soc~alist agenda is simply too ambitious, one aspect of the text's<br />
composition elic~ts approval: the fact that<br />
Ngugi achicves sonic ol'llis lnost memorable efltcts in using the traditional<br />
mode of story-telling within the novcl to awaken his cllaractcrs to their ofvn<br />
myth and history (Rhabha 1977).<br />
While Bhabha's approval of the use ot olatu~c 111 Petnlr %nay cntlcally redeem<br />
the text, ~t has an even greater bear~lig on the later Mntrgari Publ~shed In 1086 Adatlg~irt<br />
1s a milch qhotte~ novel that1 J'e~uI~5. w~th conseq~~ently a glcate~ tieglee ot olgdn~sat~on<br />
and focus to] the narrator and leadel- al~ke Wr~tten oi~g~nally In CJ~kuyu belore being<br />
translated into Engl~sh, Mutlgnrr values conclslon wliete Pcfui\ itlove fol a<br />
mo~~umental, almost eplc quality Mole ~l-ripoltantly, MLI~I~NYI IS keenly allled to the<br />
olal trad~t~on, finding in ~nd~genous culture a more fol~nally satlsty~ng neth hod w~th<br />
which to engage with the specifictt~es of poqt-~ndependent Kenya1 Whele Petalr, In<br />
I 'It is ilnportant Lliat any society tliat wants to fully ~~iicicrstarrci itscll' ~iiiist give serious<br />
attention to its oral literature :lnd artists. The artists play a major I-olc in shaping ;11iii pet-pctuatiiig<br />
!hc socicty's ii~iagc of itsell: l'hey also record and tratismit the cultu~-al Iicritagc. 'l'ircse salrle<br />
a[-lists 211-2 a11 iniport;~nt 1r1cdi;l Ihr thc SOCIC!~'~ sellleval~~ati~n' (I