RP-Department of Literature

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Characterization and Presentation of Capitalist Environmental Destruction: A Critical Reading of Austin Bukenya’s A Hole in the Sky (2013) and Okiya Omtatah’s Voice of the People (2007)
(EANSO, 2023-12) Edwin, Kiplangat; Chetambe, Mark; Mugo, Muhia
This paper investigates how playwrights employ characterization to illuminate acts of capitalist environmental destruction in Austin Bukenya’s A Hole in the Sky (2013) and Okiya Omtatah’s Voice of the People (2007). The central idea is to examine the presentation of environmental destruction and the critical responses as dramatized through character articulation. The paper is premised on Ecofeminist and Eco-Marxist theoretical frameworks. The proponents of Ecofeminist theory are Karen J. Warren, Vandana Shiva, Greta Gaard, Carolyn Merchant and Ynestra King, whereas those of the Eco-Marxist framework are John Bellamy Foster, Herbert Marcuse and Paul Burkett. Ecofeminists argue that there is a close interrelation between women and nature. The theorization is that there is an interconnection between women and nature, particularly regarding their nurturing abilities, exploitation, and liberation. The paper contends that the twin-exploitation aspect of ecofeminism portrays acts of domination wrought by patriarchy and capitalism. Eco-Marxists expound on the exploitation aspect by linking ecological destruction to unbridled capitalism. The article uses qualitative methodology whereby the plays were purposively sampled and thematic analysis was done to examine the articulation of characters in depicting environmental destruction. The study establishes that playwrights have appropriately used their characters to illuminate environmental degradation. The depiction of characters as either conservationists or agents and orchestrators of environmental destruction help
Verbal Extensions in Sheng: An Examination of Variation in Form and Function
(Linguistics Vanguard, 2024) Kariuki, Annah; Gibson, Hannah; Jelpke, Tom; Ochieng, Merceline; Poeta, Teresa
This paper investigates verbal extensions in Sheng, a youth language originating in Nairobi, Kenya. Sheng has received scholarly attention since the 1980s, primarily with a focus on its sociolinguistic traits. Our study aims to advance the linguistic description of Sheng and its morphosyntax by investigating verbal extensions in Sheng. Specifically, we look at the causative, applicative, reciprocal, and passive suffixes, as they are applied to coined and metathesized verbs and verbs which have their origins in Swahili, English, or Gikuyu. We present examples from speakers in Kibera and Umoja neighbourhoods of Nairobi. We find that, while many of the extensions can be applied to elicited verbs, such examples were often considered odd by speakers. In some cases, our consultants suggested alternative strategies, typically employing the use of periphrastic constructions or different verb forms. The use of verbal extensions sometimes resulted in changes in interpretation, requiring us to re-consider the function of these extensions in Sheng more broadly.
Satirical Strategies Employed on NTV’s the Wicked Edition: A Comprehensive Analysis
(IJRISS, 2024-03) Mugo, Rose Kendi; Mwai, Loise W.
Comedy has long been appreciated as a powerful form of communication that not only entertains but also offers a platform for addressing serious societal challenges The language used in comedy, particularly in satirical comedy, is essential in implicitly conveying social commentary. The Wicked Edition show, is known for its use of satirical language to address societal issues indirectly. This study looks into the relationship between language, satire, and social criticism, with an emphasis on the satirical approaches used in the show. The study illuminates the purposeful and intended use of satire as a powerful tool for communication, entertainment, and social criticism by conducting a thorough investigation of verbal humor, irony, sarcasm, and hyperbole. The Wicked Edition show skillfully employs humorous strategies to communicate essential messages, engage the audience in thought-provoking conversations, and inspire reflection on societal expectations and behaviors. The show successfully analyzes sensitive topics such as politics, government policies, work ethics, and community responses to the Covid-19 pandemic through the use of irony, sarcasm, and hyperbole. Furthermore, this study delves into the socio-pragmatic aspects of the language style employed in The Wicked Edition show, emphasizing on the incorporation of both monologue and dialogue structures. By employing the General Theory of Verbal Humor (GTVH), this study seeks to analyze the implicit meanings conveyed through the comedian’s linguistic style.
Question Typology in Kenyan TV Argumentative Talk Shows
(Professional Discourse & Communication, 2024) Mwai, Loice W.; Maroko, Geoffrey M.; Orwenjo, Daniel O.; Ogutu, Emily A.
The argumentative talk on radio and TV has become a popular feature of media discourse in Kenya. Question-answer sequences as the talk unfolds through the joint participation of co-participants in the talk have emerged as a means to put argumentative talk into effect. Yet, the nature of questions and their categorization remain little understood. Given the recursive nature of question-answer sequences, this paper investigates question typology that sets apart argumentative talk shows from other types of talk. The data consists of transcripts from two Kenyan TV argumentative talk shows: Checkpoint on KTN and Opinion Court on Citizen TV. A question classification scheme by Schirm [2008] was used to discuss the incidence and usage of questions in argumentative talk shows. Findings revealed that clashing, rhetorical, classic clarifying, and opinion-eliciting questions were the most frequently used types in the data sets. It was also noted that different question types served unique rhetorical purposes leading to the conclusion that argumentative talk shows on TV exhibit recursive interactional resources qualifying it as a genre.
Narrating Feminine Rebellion, Dynamism and Resilience in Meja Mwangi’sThe Last Plague
(LIFT, 2024-03) Mutie, Stephen; Rutere, Albert Mugambi
The postcolonial literature that underscores feminist realization has used varied ways to engage and interrogate the many aspects of the fight against the enduring grip of patriarchy. However, as this paper shows, to defeat the plague, believable human effort laced with such enduring virtues as dynamism and resilience should be cultivated. This paper argues that Meja Mwangi’s The Last Plague is an inspiring metaphor that, with a slant, narrates female rebellion, dynamism and resilience in taming HIV/AIDS in the context of cultural and patriarchal resistance. What Janet and right-minded people like Frank do to have people accept the plague is real and can be deduced through acceptance and change of people’s sexual behaviour. Thus, using Psychoanalytic and Feminism theories, this paper examines the apparent resistance to combating HIV/AIDS and the reasons why Janet rebels and, with evident dynamism and resilience, at first and second, take a bold step to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Using The Last Plague as the unit of analysis, the paper utilizes a close reading textual analysis methodology for data collection, analysis, discussion and presentation. This paper argues that ‘The Last Plague’ is a metaphor for HIV/AIDS, and in Mwangi’s thinking, this disease is wiping humanity to the bubonic plague level.
Women’s Contributions to Declining Masculinities in the Urban Fiction of Meja Mwangi
(EANSO, 2023-09) Lpariyan, Lengerded; Mwangi, Macharia; Chetambe, Mark
This work focuses on the role women play in the declining masculinities as it emerges in Meja Mwangi’s The Cockroach Dance (1979) and Rafiki Man Guitar (2013). The increased empowerment of women over the years has continued to affect shifting gender roles, a situation that has come to pose a big threat to hegemonic masculinities, especially in the postcolonial urban setting. In its quest to empower women and achieve gender equality, feminism has played the role of subverting expressions of masculinity in a number of ways. The conditions of the postcolonial city have adversely subjected men to a foray of social, economic, and political challenges, creating a reversal in which the traditional perceptions of manhood have been repudiated. In a number of situations, the female counterparts have come to occupy the dominant position. Using theories of gender in relation to the dynamics of the postcolonial urban culture, this study is an exploration of Meja Mwangi’s representation of the circumstances that have contributed to declining masculinities in his two novels above.
Shifting Identities and Fragmented Subjectivities in Majok Tulba’s Beneath the Darkening Sky and Emmanuel Dongala’s Johnny Mad Dog
(EANSO, 2023) Korir, Millicent Jemutai; Chetambe, Mark; Makokha, Justus
This paper examines the shifting identities of child characters and their fragmented subjectivities as represented in Majok Tulba’s Beneath the Darkening Sky and Emmanuel Dongala’s Johnny Mad Dog. The paper’s central premise is to examine how the two authors employ character mutation to construct shifting identities in the two texts. The paper employs the tenets of Carl Jung, which include the archetypes (shadow, animus, and persona) and forms of rebirth. Particularly subjective transformation (diminution of personality, identification with a group, and natural transformation). Sigmund Freud’s tripartite psyche (id, ego, and superego) is used to shed light on character mutation and the fragmented subjectivities of the child characters. This paper argues that civil war compels the child characters to behave barbarically, adapt to their new environment and automatically understand their roles while coping with war.
Analysis of Phonological Errors Made by Grade 4 Learners with Communication Difficulties in Kieni East Sub-County
(KCRD, 2023) Waruru, Joyce Wamuyu; Nyamasyo, Eunice Auma
Inclusive education in Kenyan primary schools brings together learners with special needs and their peers without special needs in the mainstream classroom. Some learners in inclusive classrooms have challenges that hinder the acquisition of literacy skills. Official instruction in ESL in primary schools begins in Grade 4. Learners who fail to acquire basic language skills in Grade 4 will struggle to master ESL in the upper classes. Against this backdrop, this study set out to analyze the phonological errors made by Grade 4 learners of ESL in Kieni East Sub-County. The study adopted a descriptive research design. Seven primary schools in Kieni-East were randomly sampled, and 11 students with communication difficulties purposively sampled for data collection. The 11 learners were observed during an ESL listening and speaking lesson. The researcher turned Sony ICD-UX570 Digital Voice Recorder on and left it on the learner’s desk for a 35-minute lesson. The study identified twenty-seven (27) words with phonological errors. The phonological errors were categorized into five classes such as cluster reduction (22%) followed by reduplication (19%), distortion (15%), deletion (15%), stopping (11%), backing (11%) and gliding (7%), respectively. The audiorecorded data was transcribed, and the correct forms provided in a table. Data was analyzed qualitatively using Error Analysis and Natural Phonology Theory to describe the phonological errors. The study found that Grade 4 learners with communication difficulties make phonological errors due to word complexities, biological disorders, and poor cognitive development. Further, the study established that inclusive schools do not have adequate assistive resources to instruct learners with communication difficulties. This study recommends that teachers should partner with speech therapists and language researchers to assist learners with communication needs. Further, EARC should equip all inclusive classrooms with assistive resources to address the needs of learners with communication needs.
Afrofuturism and Quest for Black Redemption in Nnedi Okorafor’s The Book of Phoenix
(2022) Sum, Robert Kipkoech; Makokha, Justus Kizito Siboe; Ndege, Speranza
Nnedi Okorafor’s TheBook of Phoenix follows the trajectory of many Afrofuturist texts in the exploration of the Black fortunes in the contested futuristic space. Using science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction, Okorafor appropriate futuristic space as a locale for negotiating the redemption of black bodies. She also contextualises the experiences of Africans or people of African origin in known world history. This, apparently, show that the futuristic space is neither detached from the past nor the contemporary periodbut rather it is an opportunity to map an optimistic future through a keen reappraisal of history from an Afrocentric perspective. This article uses a close reading of Nnedi Okorafor’s novel The Book of Phoenix to examine how prosthetically enhanced future is appropriated to re-enact the black struggle for redemption and relevance in the face of ruthless oppression through exploitation, dehumanisation, and slavery. The analysis is also guided by postulations of some prominent Afrofuturists like Mark Dery and Ytasha L. Womack. Data has been analysed using content and thematic analysis. This article finds that Afrofuturism can indeed portend optimism for black people in the sense that it utilises futuristic space to reconstruct the past and contemporary tribulations facing the black people in order to implement an ultimate solution and initiate the process of redemption. It can thus be concluded that The Book of Phoenix indeed lives up to Afrofuturist and Afro-optimist spirit by not only illuminating black challenges but also highlighting positive aspects of blackness like strength, resilience, humanity, and longevity. This article could benefit scholars in the field of postcolonial and diasporic studies by exposing the complex and dynamic nature of race, exploitation, and technology. It benefits the African/ Afro-diasporic literary studies as Afrofuturism is creating an impact in the domain of sci-fi which has traditionally been dominated by the West
Filmmaking in Kenya: The Voyage
(American Research Institute for Policy Development, 2015) Okioma, Nicodemus; Mugubi, John
World over, there is a new trajectory that apprehends the significance of filmmaking and forward-looking nations have swiftly embedded film in their national culture and psyche, with the resultant effect of tremendous socioeconomic and political development. Veritably, all the developed nations and emerging economies in the world have strong and vibrant filmmaking policies. China, Brazil, India and South Africa are cases in point. Little wonder huge fiscal and personnel resources have been allocated by respective governments to document and archive films not only made within their boundaries but also from without. Whether factual or fiction, films have been used in diverse fields and disciplines - in science, humanities or/and arts - as a credible source of information, innovation as well as a premise to come up with administrative and political policies. Conversely, Africa fares rather badly in documentation in almost all fronts, a fact largely attributed to oral tradition as a mode of passing and preserving information. The African people’s origin, movement, lifestyle, medicine, industry, agriculture, arts, architecture, geography, culture, religion, socio-political structure, commerce, warfare are some of the areas that are worst affected – inadequately documented. This cheerless picture quickly solidifies the myth that Africa and its inhabitants never existed until the coming of foreigners; be they Europeans or Asians. The Kenya filmmaking industry is one such casualty. Very little effort has been directed towards coming up with a compilation of filmmaking in Kenya. Until recently, film training was only offered in vocational colleges. Kenya Institute of Mass Communication (KIMC), started in 1976, was solely technically oriented. The overwhelming interest in filmmaking was noticed by universities in Kenya who have since opened film production departments to tap into the increasing numbers of film students trooping out of the country for further studies. The number of film scholars has begun to swell and it is expected that intellectual publications on film and cinema will ameliorate as well. This paper endeavors to lay the groundwork for such a discourse. Rudimentary in structure and form, the genesis of filmmaking in Kenya is be traced and tracked from pre to post independence, all the way to the postmodern Kenya. The guiding framework is be hinged on the 5WsH of journalism; who made the films, Where, When and what they are about. How and why portions are delved into later on. Acknowledging the enormity of the task at hand, a careful sampling of notable films across the Kenya cinema spectrum were picked and highlighted to paint a vivid picture and to be inclusive as much as possible.
Beautiful Dreams: Deconstructing Discourses of Redemption in Darko’s Beyond the Horizon (1995), Unigwe’s On Black Sisters’ Street (2009), Adichie’s Americanah (2013) And Mbue’s Behold the Dreamers (2016)
(Royallite Global, 2022) Makokha, Gloria Ajami; Muhia, Mugo; Obura, Oluoch
This paper entails an analysis of how in their different particularities, Amma Darko’s Beyond the Horizon, Chika Unigwe’s On Black Sisters’ Street; Chimamanda Adichie’s Americanah and Imbolo Mbue’s Behold the Dreamers explore the underbelly of notions informing the discourse of a redemptive West for Africans located at the margins of globalisation. The analysis locates Chimamanda’s Americanah and Mbue’s Behold the Dreamers within the racialised polity in the USA, in the midst of either a global economic meltdown or individual inability to access the fruits of globalisation because of the fact of race or immigration status. It also explores how choicelessness in the job market in Europe informs the radical choice of persisting at the social and economic margins of Europe despite the harsh realities and outcomes in this choice. This paper demonstrates that the questions of place at particular moments in history force a revision of initial fantasy about the notions of the redemptive West. This textual analysis is informed by the postcolonial theory, as articulated by Robert Nichols and Homi Bhabha and their postulations on identity, ‘othering’ and ‘in-between spaces’.
‘To Name the Unnameable is a Curse’: Silence as an Enunciation of Trauma in Yvonne Owuor’s Dust (2014) And the Dragonfly Sea (2019)
(East African Nature and Science Organization, 2022) Omwocha, Verah Bonareri
Various studies have interrogated the language of silence as a powerful tool of communication. This paper adds to such studies by interrogating silence as an enunciation of trauma in Yvonne Owuor’s texts Dust (2014) and The Dragonfly Sea (2019). Focusing on the characters of Akai and Ajany in Dust and Munira and Ayaana in The Dragonfly Sea, this paper is a critical interrogation of how these characters use silence to narrate their traumas. The characters under interrogation embody silence as the language of trauma in this postcolonial nation. They seem plagued by the memories of the traumatic experiences they undergo and this hinders their ability to use speech to articulate their pain. The paper starts with an introduction that covers an overview of related literature and then goes on to explore the binaries between lack of verbal speech, oppression, resistance, and trauma as espoused by the female characters. This paper also analyses the depiction of violence and silencing of the female characters by the men in their lives and on a larger scale, the silence enforced by state machineries and its metaphoric function in this post-independent country. Therefore, interpreting silence offers a multiplicity of meanings and different layers and convergences of meanings upon which it may be interpreted. It also discusses breaking that silence, a signifier of healing. The study is based on Literary Trauma Theory and trauma theory tenets as advanced by the following trauma theorists: Cathy Caruth, Dominic LaCapra, Judith Herman, Maria Root, Alan Gibbs, and Laura Brown
The Poetics of Dating in Whatsapp Memes: Imagery of the Market
(EAST AFRICAN NATURE & SCIENCE ORGANIZATION, 2022-08) Kiplimo, Cheruiyot Evans
Dating involves feelings and words relating to sex which is considered a subject of social condemnation (taboo). Despite the shame associated with such a subject, human beings still devise ways to refer to them in a manner that is socially and ethically acceptable. Creativity is an essential aspect of language that has enabled human beings to use language in novelty. This paper analyses memes to determine how the market imagery has been used to demarcate dating, highlight the properties of the language in use, and portray markers of gender. This research was guided by the theory of meaning in use propounded by Ludwig Wittgenstein (1953). This paper showed that the market imagery had been used symbolically, enabling WhatsApp users to use indirect expressions to talk about dating and other obscene things. WhatsApp users have resorted to humour to release the tension associated with dating frustrations. Lastly, the names of foods, chauvinistic verbs and basic terms have been used as markers of gender. The data that has been utilised in this research has been collected from WhatsApp statuses. This paper has shown how memes manipulate language to reflect social-cultural realities in the 21st century, specifically in the context of dating in Kenya.
The Commodification of the Female Body in the Akamba Pop Music
(EAST AFRICAN NATURE & SCIENCE ORGANIZATION, 2022-10) Kiio, Emmanuel Mutiso; Muhia, Mugo; Mutie, Stephen
This paper interrogates the objectified and commodified images of women constructed in the Akamba pop songs, especially those selected for this study. It analyses how these construed femininities offer a gender imbalance between men and women. From this standpoint, the paper discusses the various representations of gender and the significance attached to the gendered implication. The paper interrogates the images of women and their underlying meanings. The key goal is to examine how pop artists use imagery as a linguistic resource to foreground representations of gender while using the female body as the point of reference. Guiding the discussion is Luce Irigaray’s postulation on the male gaze and how it psychologically oppresses women using language. The article uses qualitative methodology whereby Ten Akamba pop songs are purposively sampled and sourced from YouTube. Sampled songs were transcribed, translated, and analysed for language use. The songs were interpreted using intersectionality and Luce Irigaray's postulation on gendered language. The paper's premise is to map out areas of women's marginalisation in Akamba pop songs. The article, therefore, examines how gendered inscription delineates women as sexual objects and commodities of male power.
Human Rights and Displacement in Literature: The Case of M. Mwangi’s Kill Me Quick and K. Kombani’s The Last Villains of Molo
(Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies, 2018-12) Kula, Anna
This work aims to explore the relationship between literature and human rights with a hypothesis that literature is a vehicle for enhancing human rights through its condemnation of violations, and thus, the focus is on two novels – Meja Mwangi’s Kill Me Quick and Kinyanjui Kombani’s The Last Villains of Molo – in an effort to demonstrate that they are interested in the issues of human rights, particularly, human rights issues in an area of displacement. The basic argument is that displacement uproots people from their habitual homes where they have high chances of fulfilling their human rights and later abandons them wherein they are rootless in a new environment where they are prone to abuse. The discussion shows that circumstances force characters in both novels to move from their rural homes to the lure of the city which promises that in new environment, their rights will be fulfilled, however, they are displaced in the environment as they can hardly meet their basic needs or afford decent standards of living.
Towards Afrocentricism in Africa: Is Afro – Language an Antidote to Africans’ Double - Consciousness?
(Journal of Education and Social Sciences, 2020) Muneeni, Jeremiah Mutuku
Commonwealth countries were forced to adopt English as language to use in most if not all government engagements with its citizen. This has, together with economic status of its native speakers, propelled it to the status of a global language. The problem of African estrangement dates back to 1884 when Africa was sub-divided into small units by the European capitalists. The units would later become African countries which were colonized by the imperialists to whom they were allocated during the scrabble and partition of Africa. The colonisers came in with all their structures including, religion, education, language, and politics and imposed them on Africans. By the time they bequeathed the flag independence to their colonies, their culture had been implanted into the minds and souls of the colonized hence making everything European to be accepted with little, if any, contest. Through scholars, Nationalists, and Pan-Africanists such as Franz Fanon, Sedor Senghor, Edward Said among others, Africans later on became conscious of the European cultural burden which they had readily accepted. They have forever found themselves at crossroad, wondering whether they should revert to their Afrocentric values or continue upholding Eurocentricism. Consequently, Africans have forever found themselves in “double-consciousness,” a state that makes them to struggle with two identities. This paper identifies language as a unit of culture and it aims at contributing to the on-going debate with regards to the language that Africans should adopt for their interactions that exonerates them from “othering” their own culture. The unit of analysis will cut across several examples drawn from both creative works and researches. In this paper, I will interrogate the texts and arguments within postcolonial framework. Specifically, I aim at enriching the debate on whether using European languages, with specific bias on English for interaction among Africans amounts to promoting Eurocentricsm. By so doing, I will explore the merits and demerits of using African languages, including Swahili, in an attempt to promote Afrocentricism. I will conclude the paper by pointing out at the possibility of strengthening the linguistic middle ground approach so as to benefit from both sides of the divide.
Mother Supremacy Motif in Chinua Achebe’s Novels: Empowering Women to propel Education through Religion
(SAUT multi-disciplinary journal of education, 2019-11) Muneeni, Jeremiah Mutuku
There has been an intense debate with regards to Chinua Achebe’s (mis)representation of women in his creative works, especially his early novels. This point of view has been augmented by feminists who posit that the belief that men are superior to women has been used to maintain male monopoly of positions of economic, political and social power. A major aspect of social power is religion. Achebe’s novels’ setting cuts across the three major African epochs namely; pre-colonial, colonial and postcolonial. Before the external influence, Africans practiced traditional African religion which later, systematically, accommodated Christianity and Islam. Judged from his creative works, many scholars have advanced the notion that Achebe is a patriarchal writer who has relegated women to the periphery. This paper is a continuation of the debate. Specifically, it argues that there is an overt empowerment of women in Achebe’s novels notably with regards to religion and if the same is not recognized, he will continue to be demonized as a gender insensitive writer. The unit of analysis will be the first two of Achebe’s novels namely: Things Fall Apart, and No Longer at Ease. The paper will interrogate the aforementioned novels within the framework of nego-feminism, with the aim of unearthing and examining the “Supreme Mother motif” inherent in them. The paper will identify religion, education and justice as the spheres of life in which Achebe has created, empowered and elevated Supreme Mothers comparable to their male counterparts but delimit itself to religion. Later the paper will conclude that according women religion docket to manage is tantamount to elevating them since religion is a transformational instrument for mankind.
Female Assertion as an Antidote to Male Dominance: Mother Archetypes in Achebe’s Novels—Things Fall Apart, No Longer at Ease, and A Man of the People
(Editon Consortium Publishing, 2019-04) Muneeni, Jeremiah Mutuku
There has been an intense debate with regards to Chinua Achebe’s (mis)representation of women in his creative works, especially his first four novels. Some scholars have argued that Achebe is a patriarchal writer who has relegated women to the periphery. Nevertheless, a few have read subtle nuances of gender balance in his works. This paper is a continuation of this debate. Specifically, it argues that Achebe has created Mother Archetypes in his novels and if the same is not recognized, he will continue to be demonized as a gender insensitive writer. The unit of analysis is three of the five Achebe’s novels namely: Things Fall Apart,No Longer at Ease, and A Man of the People. The paper interrogates the aforementioned novels within the framework of archetypal criticism, with the aim of unearthing and examining Mother Archetypes inherent in them. The paper identifies religion, education, and justice as the spheres of life in which Achebe has created, empowered and elevated Mother Archetypes to be at par with their male counterparts. However, owing to the breadth of the subject, the paper dwells on education. The paper concludes that creation of empowered Mother Archetypes in Achebe’s novels is a symbolic relay in which women characters hand in the symbolic empowerment baton to the next woman in the next novel until the last one where the creation of a woman major character, Beatrice, wins the race against male dominance.
Transmutation and Temporality: Shifting Figures of African Women in Jennifer Makumbi’s Historical Novel Kintu (2014)
(International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation (IJLLT), 2021-02-02) Muneen, Jeremiah M.; . Mbithi, Esther K; Makokha, Justus K. S.
The role of African women writers in employing the unique style of presenting several generations of women characters in the same historical novel to narrate how the world of women has been transformed across time cannot be naysaid. Through this style, female authors have been able to re-examine, re-construct, re-structure and reinvent the (mis)representation of female gender as construed by male authors who were the first to acquire formal education and embark in creative writing. Thus the choice of this distinctive style often serves as an important marker of backdating the true depiction of women across the historical trajectory as well as demonstrating the gainful transmutation that women have gone through towards their liberation from the chains of patriarchy. Among the African women writers who have adopted this style is Jeniffer Makumbi the author of Kintu. Grounded in both New historicist and feminist theoretical frameworks, we interrogate how women have gradually and gainfully changed towards liberation across the four epochs specific to Africa; namely: Pre-colonial, Colonial, postcolonial and contemporary. Using purposively selected Jenniffer Makumbi’s novel – Kintu – the article provides a textual analysis of the behaviours, speeches and actions exhibited by different generations of female characters who fall within the aforementioned epochs to demonstrate their historical transmutation towards liberation.
Three Regions, One Message: A Comparative Analysis of Poems from Africa, the United States of America and British Guiana
(International Journal of Current Research, 2019-09-30) Makokha, Gloria Ajami
Comparative Literature brings about a sense of the unity of knowledge. for understanding and adaptation without necessitating elimination of opposing views or the absolute privileging of one theoretical position, thus the differences and similarities within and across literary genres are perceived. the message in these genres. This paper, therefore seeks to conduct a comparative analysis of six selected poems, with an aim of establishing the elements of comparison, inclu themes and styles, with a leaning on the theoretical Projected arguments by various comparative literature critics are featured to help decipher the message in the poems

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