reflections of the structures of society.
It’s major role is communication, it communicates the way people do things together through a variant of forms – it takes different ways to exposite – the worldview of a people and values and a peoples own knowledge system – through satire, humour or even poetic forms.
Therefore literature’s position in society is equal to that of – the sun – in the universe.
Remove the sun from it’s prescribed position in the primordial triad of creation – and darkness will traverse the earth infinitely in continuum.
Subtract literature from society and ignorance, illiteracy , frailty of the present and future will become the characteristic annotations and denotations of a grim existence.
The role of literature in society is there – irrevocably and irreversibly – without any alternative – not even history – because literature is an aspect of truth which define – being, explicate trends about that being and analyse important issues of society.
So literature will tell about how a people came to their current position, their journey’s and toil – for self realisation, identity and the very concept of being.
It also informs them about their present and futuristic images, question certain aspects of society – which are irritatingly there and often left un – interrogated by other tools.
Literature is importantly analogical of life situations – it is rooted on imaginative responses of the writer of what happened in the past, is happening now, may happen – drawing on the metaphorical objects – of characters?
And the writers primary tool in this dialectical process is language – which armpits people’s values , culture and belief systems.
The writer’s own thoughts and views of life are embodied in what he or she writes – therefore through unequivocal subservience to – society’s world view- which he or she is compelled to mirror and reflect the writer achieves literature’s primary objective and can be described as a good exemplifier because would have met the required criterion . . .
And some of the situations pictured by literature of society includes – historical struggles and experiences of a trace at the hands of foreign domination and maniacal grip.
This took different outlooks expositions of colonial injustice and scientific racism – as in Oyono’s Houseboy a novel that presents the most hallowing descriptions and treatment African people were subjected to – in the glaring harbors of French system of assimilation.
The novel is not merely a narration of those grisly scenes – but it reflects the build up, the psycho- processes and the underlying hidden European philosophy that had the complete erosion of the black race and culture as its major concern.
So the writers position in regard to such battles which involves his society – his own people is distinctively unquestionable and undoubted.
Oyono’s concern in the novel Houseboy is to exposite the gruesome murderous – nesses of the European people to the blacks through cultural emasculation wrought by – syncretism and indoctrination.
What is important to note is that Oyono writes from within and amongst his people.
Oyono’s literature is informed by abundant knowledge he has concerning his people’s history, present and future – not only that – but he also understands issues of culture, beliefs etc.
Literature’s success therefore lies with the writers understanding that literature derives it’s strength from where it is centered and domiciled.
This understanding will only glow when the writer him/herself as the one breathing life to the literature – to pays attention to the society he evolves, he must be nurtured – made to acquire sufficient knowledge about his society – it’s being, culture – taboos and importantly – the ambitions, aspirations, perspirations and inspirations of society.
The tragedy of the antithesis of this ideal in literature is the failure by writers to exemplify, picture and present localised views of society they are writing for and about.
What Ngugi wa Thiong’o – addresses in his critique of literature and writers when he says an African writer – alien to his society will only be in complicit with evil to picture society from the point of view of foreign imaginative response.
Thus in this way Africa’s image of itself becomes a contorted image of what the other eye (foreign) and not African eye sees of itself.
This finds expression in the manner in which Euro-American imperialists prescribes templates of images about Africa – what Ngugi wa Thiongo – refutes in his work as – but vertiginous fancies.
The understanding of the – self – thereby forms the intellectual substructure of eminent African writers – at the fore of refuting bourgeoisie ideas about Africa.
This essentially is a hold – over of the earlier ideological movements -Negritude and Pan – Africanism. We cannot be penalised if we suggest that most of these writers(likes of Ngugi ) hoisted the Pan – African theme in their work as a presage to a more politically , economically and unified African continent.
The underlying philosophy in these two movements were the – concepts of the self , belief in who we are – the racial consciousness and the associated refutations of Euro-American racial superiority.
It may sound illogical to fuse these ideas – but in actual fact – the tenors therein bear a likeness and also the most serious literary concepts in both pre – and – post colonial Africa.
Of greater importance are the undercutting themes of self identity which writers – Davi Diop, Aimaire Cesaire and Leopald Seghor and many otherts took turns to waive.
“Black is beautiful” became more than a tool to ameriolate the black race – but importantly became the rallying theme for all black writers of the period.
The problem becomes – a bad eye
The kind of relationship that exists between literature and society is the same as the chain of the endo-parasite and host.The host However, literature – is not there – by itself and as an object of truth – there primly – without drivers.
In this case – literature What is important here – is the position of the writer as the one breathing life to literature.

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