A Narratological Examination of the Autobiographies of Jacob J. Akol and Wöndu Steven
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Date
2024-12
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Kenyatta University
Abstract
This study is a narratological examination of two autobiographies from South Sudan: Steven Wöndu’s From Bush to Bush: Journey to Liberty in South Sudan and Akol J. Jacob’s I Will Go the Distance: The Story of a Lost Boy of the Sixties. The project covered three objectives: the analysis of narratorial voices to determine what trends associate with voice in autobiographies, narrative forms, and what role the two had in the selected texts. This study evaluated the prevalent narratological elements, their integration, and the meanings these elements present within the selected texts. This project drew upon autobiography theory that defines the form of autobiographic texts to examine how the form of the two works contributes to the overall meaning of the works. The study adopted narratology as a model through which the selected autobiographies' narrative structure, meaning, and voice were studied and evaluated. The project embraced a qualitative research methodology utilizing capitalized, in-depth textual reading and analysis as shown in the first chapter. The second chapter explores the first objective showing what narratorial voice Wöndu and Akol chose to build the trauma narratives based on the assertions in applicable theories and the literature review. The third chapter covers findings on the narrative forms and structures specifically embedded narratives in the selected texts while chapter four explores the intentions of both narratorial voices and narrative forms or structures The study adds up to the literature on autobiographical analysis that will serve scholars and researchers in fields like literature, trauma studies, and South Sudanese history, writers and authors in conflict-affected regions, educators and students who may interact with narratology and autobiographical writing in literature courses, mental health professionals.
Description
A Project Submitted to the Department of Literature, Linguistics & Foreign Languages in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Arts (Literature) of Kenyatta University, December 2024
Supervisor:
1.Murimi Gaita
2.Mukoya Mwairumba