Academic Paper from the year 2018 in the subject Literature - Africa, grade: 1, University of Malta (English Culture), course: The Postcolonial Novel 1: African, language: English, abstract: The three questions this paper tries to answer are to what degree the African women in both novels are or are not being dominated, what plays a role in this power-play and whether there is a significant difference between the depiction of women in the two novels, as they are set in two different African regions, Kenya and Zimbabwe. In the first section, the historical background of both plots is outlined, followed by an analysis of selected female characters of both novels. In the last section, conclusions will be drawn comparing both novels, its characters, its authors and the respective history. Men used to, and still do to some extent, dominate the literary sphere in Africa; therefore, the depiction of women was mostly that of a dutiful wife and mother. When this one-sided standard wasn’t met, the rebellious protagonist was shown to ‘suffer the tragic fate of the non-conformist’ , which comprehended dying or being outcasted. It might seem harmless at first, as it is ‘just’ literature, but it is important to consider the influential power it has on people’s perception of the world. For this reason, it became more and more important to analyze the representation of women in books and change it to a more positive picture. As the canon of female African writers started to grow, so did the multiplicity of different depictions of female characters. This change of view was not only to be found in female authors, but in male as well. Both Ngugi wa Thiong'o’s A "Grain of Wheat" and Tsitsi Dangarembga’s "Nervous Conditions" depict different types of women and their dual struggle in finding their own female identity against both patriarchy and the colonizer.

Until the lives and issues of African women arrived on the agenda of postcolonial writers, African women, who continued their lives under double colonization by patriarchy and dominant powers, did not have much standing in literary works and in the world of literature. Postcolonial African women have often been represented as weak, subaltern, and speechless by western writers, and have even been underrepresented by some postcolonial writers. This book shows how the African woman, who is usually represented in clichéd and stereotyped forms, is depicted a versatile way in Ngugi and Adichie’s novels.

Global Studies is a unique series designed to provide comprehensive background information and selected world press articles on the regions and countries of the world. Each Global Studies volume includes an annotated listing of World Wide Web sites. Global Studies titles are supported with study tools and links to related websites at our student website www.dushkin.com/online/.

The turn of the twenty-first century has witnessed an expansion of critical approaches to African literature. The Routledge Handbook of African Literature is a one-stop publication bringing together studies of African literary texts that embody an array of newer approaches applied to a wide range of works. This includes frameworks derived from food studies, utopian studies, network theory, eco-criticism, and examinations of the human/animal interface alongside more familiar discussions of postcolonial politics. Every chapter is an original research essay written by a broad spectrum of scholars with expertise in the subject, providing an application of the most recent insights into analysis of particular topics or application of particular critical frameworks to one or more African literary works. The handbook will be a valuable interdisciplinary resource for scholars and students of African literature, African culture, postcolonial literature and literary analysis. Chapter 4 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/Open+Access+Chapters/9781138713864_oachapter4.pdf

A highly readable and informative guide for secondary school teachers who want to induce African literature in their classes.

FROM THE BOOKER PRIZE SHORTLISTED AUTHOR OF THIS MOURNABLE BODY, ONE OF THE BBC'S 100 WOMEN FOR 2020 ' UNFORGETTABLE' Alice Walker 'THIS IS THE BOOK WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR' Doris Lessing 'A UNIQUE AND VALUABLE BOOK.' Booklist 'AN ABSORBING PAGE-TURNER' Bloomsbury Review 'A MASTERPIECE' Madeleine Thien 'ARRESTING' Kwame Anthony Appiah Two decades before Zimbabwe would win independence and ended white minority rule, thirteen-year-old Tambudzai Sigauke embarks on her education. On her shoulders rest the economic hopes of her parents, siblings, and extended family, and within her burns the desire for independence. A timeless coming-of-age tale, and a powerful exploration of cultural imperialism, Nervous Conditions charts Tambu's journey to personhood in a fledgling nation. 'With its searing observations, devastating exploration of the state of "not being", wicked humour and astonishing immersion into the mind of a young woman growing up and growing old before her time, the novel is a masterpiece.' Madelein Thien