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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 GraduateSchool
BatangasStateUniversity
BatangasCity

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in English Language and Literature

by
NGUYEN THI MINH LOAN (SUMMER)
2015

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Literary Techniques ......................................................................... 30
Critical Approaches for Novel Analysis ........................................... 32
Research Literature ......................................................................... 37

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Synthesis of the Literature Reviewed ............................................. 45
Theoretical Framework ................................................................... 48
Conceptual Framework ................................................................... 54
Definition of Terms .......................................................................... 57
CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................ 60
Research Design ............................................................................ 60
Treatment of Materials .................................................................... 62
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION ...................................... 65
CHAPTER V: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION.... 179
Findings .........................................................................................180
Conclusion .....................................................................................189
Recommendations .........................................................................190
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................ 222

issues relating with freedom, responsibility, religious belief, personal
identity, etc.

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Beside reflecting on philosophy, literature also reflects the historical
and sociological dimensions of the society. 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, etc. According to
Diamond (1989), 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. This is
exemplified in the works of many world famous writers. For example,
Wordsworth creates wonderful poems to praise humanitarian aspect of
the French revolution in the earlier phase, but later his poetry focuses on
its bloodiness and violence. Another example is Charles Dickens’ novels

African literature has increasingly gained much interest in literary
research for the last three decades. Many critics have devoted much
energy to identify western influence on modern African literature.
However, the concept of influence have been subject to re-evaluation
and revision because critics often impose Western norms on analyzing
African literary works in terms of themes, techniques of writing,
philosophy, etc. While these studies have made insight interpretations of
content and meaning of the African works, less is known of the influence

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of the African traditional roots on African literature and the influence of
African writers as philosophers on African people’s perception.
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. Fictional
works in many African nations has been very much influenced by the
cultural and political experiences of the country. Therefore, many of
African writers chose to use their works to explore, portray, and expose
these social experiences in their different works. As Ojaide states, “there

the African continent in such a way that his novels can be seen as a
sociological report on the social and politcal situation of Africa.
Tsi-tsi Dangarembga is a fabulous African female writer. Her
writings transmit political messages regarding female oppression and
colonial domination. She earned much praise from literary critics
because of her complex depiction of racial and gender struggles in a
rural African society.
Therefore, the researcher intended to analyze the three novels by
Achebe, Armah and Dangarembga respectively: No Longer at Ease
(1960), Fragments (1971) and Nervous Conditions (1988) because an
exploration of the three chosen writers of the three different African
countries (Nigeria, Ghana and Zimbabwe) and of two sexes would
reveal a number of common concerns in terms of historical, sociological
and philosophical dimensions. The historical basis for this search is that
throughout Africa there are close similarities in both traditional cultures

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and contemporary situations. The researcher attempted to make
comparisons and drawing parallels among these novels by Achebe,


their own society through a different and objective lense. Moreover, she
wants to equip her students with a sense of values to guide and allow
them to embrace a good philosophy of life and clarify life goals.
With this objective in her mind, the researcher was deeply
motivated to explore and undertake an analysis of how historical,
sociological, philosophical perspectives reflected in the selected works
to bring out the philosophy of life of Achebe, Armah and Dangarembga.

Statement of the Problem

This study primarily aims to analyze the historical, sociological,
philosophical dimensions in the novels of selected African writers.
Specifically, the study answered the following questions:
1. What historical events are reflected in the novels of Chinua Achebe,
Armah and Dangarembga?
2. How do the novels convey the sociological character of the time as
regards:
2.1. religious practices;
2.2. social practices;
2.3. educational practices; and
2.4. political practices?

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the historical and the sociological approaches are supported by the
theory of Postcolonialism and Cultural Relativism while Frankl’s Theory
on the Meaning of Life was used to investigate Achebe, Armah and
Dangarembga’s life philosophy behind their writing. Other approaches in
literary criticism that may be employed in the analysis like the
biographical criticism and psychological criticism are not part of this
study.
This paper also involved content analysis, which is a systematic
technique in analyzing message content and message handling. The
data analysis in this research centered on data seeking and the
extraction of meaning from Achebe, Armah and Dangarembga’s
selected literary works. Much effort was focused on the task of recording
data or making notes through concepts and categories; linking and
combining abstract concepts; extracting the essence; organizing
meaning; writing an understanding; and drawing conclusions.
The essential features in the treatment of materials were
considered by the researcher in the conduct of this study. The general
rules cited by Alkiere (2014) as regards the four standards a piece of
literature particularly that of a novel should abide to in order to be
considered literary guided in the selection of works under study.


literature, students of literature, members of the community, and other
researchers.

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Academic Managers. This paper will help them include
developmental priorities, programs, projects and policies in the
educational institutions to ensure that literary appreciation and critiquing
may be integrated in the academe. This will also inspire them to spawn
activities related to humanizing education through the study of literature
in the curricula that will educate the academic community about the
study of literature which is about human being: their daily lives as well as
their exceptional, towering experiences.
Working Professionals. This study will be beneficial for them in
the sense that at whatever circumstance they may find themselves their
own philosophy of life from their readings of the selected works. These
works humanize as they educate them in the art of living. At their
maturity these professionals reminisce their past and realize that their
readings have broadened and revitalized their life. It has given a deeper
meaning to their existence. Likewise, they may be inspired to highly

philosophical dimensions of literature through the lives and experiences
of the characters in the selected literary pieces. It will also make them
realize that literature may be the writers channel for philosophical human
transformation. In addition, this paper will make them treat literature as a
work of art distinguished from other texts through content and form, and
eventually intensify their appreciation of novels and inspire them to
engage in literary analysis as an academic activity.
Members of the Community. This paper will make them more
mindful of their social responsibility in the community. This will make
them understand that some of the belief systems and practices at home

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and the community do not often help in establishing equal and valued
roles for young students, and thus should be sidestepped.
Other Researchers. Researchers will be benefitted by this study
through the analysis and treatment of materials, and through the careful
investigation of both theme and form in literary genres. Likewise, this
paper will enlighten them on the process of drawing out literary theories
and utilizing critical approaches in literary analysis.

would

effectively

substantiate the study.

Conceptual Literature
The review of conceptual literature yields four constructs, which
may be used in the analysis and interpretation of the works dissected.
These constructs include: literature and philosophy of life, significant
works of African writers, literary techniques and critical approaches in
novel analysis.
Literature and Philosophy of Life
It is widely acknowledged that literature reflects society and depicts
human life. According to Plato, literature imitates life, that is, it
represents the world as it is. As an imitation of human action, literature
presents a picture of what people think, say and do in the society

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One reason is their expansion of social scope. It means that novels
most addressed the domestic and social concerns of different classes in
the society, even the middle and working classes. A good illustration is
Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, which consists of nearly six hundred
characters of different classes from the aristocracy to the poor.
Besides, novels engage the readers’ thought and immerse them in
the world of ideas and themes. Indeed, each novel consists of a variety
of subjects of social significance such as class, race, politics,
economics, etc. In terms of the writer’s choice of materials, the novels
may be psychological, historical or social in content. A good example is
Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Sinclair’s The Jungle. Other novels are
personal or psychological regarding human relationship, conflicts,
desires, and fears like Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre or William
Makepeace Thackeray’s Vanity Fair.
Another explanation for the popularity of novels is the range of the
kinds of novels- scientific fiction, adventure, detective, romantic, etc.
Hence, writers are free to choose his favourite form to express his
intentions and purposes. Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
is a good example of adventure novels.
Furthermore, a novel is long enough for writers to describe fully the
world around them and to create a large number of incidents where

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deeply explored the role of the novel in the colonial and imperial
enterprise of Western colonialism. He argues eloquently that “stories are
at the heart of what explorers and novelists say about strange regions of
the world, they also become the method colonized people use to assert
their own identity and the existenceof their own history” (Said, Culture
and Imperialism, 1993, p.xii). This approach appears in the works of
African writers such as Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Elechi Amadi, Alan
Paton, and Camara Laye.
The present study follows the notion that “literature has no
autonomy outside reality” and that its analysis aims “to show the literary
work as a significant statement with a direct relevance to the African
experience” (Irele, The Criticism of Modern African Literature, 1971,
p.41). The novel’s capacity to map and reorganize reality has made it
the most convenient medium for African writers seeking to rethink their
social worlds intransitional and postcolonial times.
To sum up, novels are one of the best tools for writers to reflect any
changes of the society and the writer’s intentions. Writers like Achebe
have shown that the role and function of novels must change to suit the

should revise their maps continually because the world always changes.
The second viewpoint is from the ancient philosopher Plato (in
Schmidt, 2002). He uses the cave to illustrate his belief that people are
trapped by their imperfect, subjective impressions of the world. People
need to use their reasoning abilities to escape from this trap and to find
a more accurate understanding of themselves and their world.

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In the third viewpoint, Keen and Valley-Fox (in Schmidt, 2002)
explain that people need a “myth” to explain their lives, which is similar
to Peck’s concept of a map which guides their culture, families, and
even their individual lives. The authors explain that all humans need a
myth, which puts life together into a meaningful whole.
Whether philosophy is consciously or unconsciously adopted or
followed in life, a fundamental philosophy is constructed as the basis of
one’s own life, which shapes his whole attitude to life. Therefore, all
people live in accordance with the philosophy of life that they have
framed for themselves. Even those who claim that there is no need of
any philosophy or the uneducated have a philosophy of their ownthough

method of right living and of directing the life towards a higher state of
existence. His philosophy is the principle of rational guidance in
everyone’s life, so it is valuable. The most unique feature in his teaching,
which he always made good examples through his daily life, is that no
part of experience of life is neglected. A philosophy which overlooks
some aspects of life is partial and incomplete and therefore not worthy of
being regarded as a science of life.
In trying to shape mankind’s ideas, both philosophy and literature
have moral influence on human behavior. Ethics, a core branch of
philosophy, is concerned with questions of human conducts and
evaluations of conducts with a view to the attainment of a good life. One
of the reasons why great works of literature are considered great is their
moral values. For instance, Tutuola’s The Palm-Wine Drunkard and

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