Postcolonial African Fiction And The Characteristics Question A Special Reference To Ngugi Wa Thiong o s Ideological Pronouncements

Abstract

The quest for identity is a very prominent theme in postcolonial studies and literature. The exploration of such postcolonial writers as Ngugi in terms of the depiction of their cultural identities and of their people s reveals the hybrid culture of the postcolonial societies and writers. These writers tackle the influence of decolonization, hybridity, language, and displacement movement on postcolonial Diaspora. Their attempt is an attempt to reconstruct identity or to reinvent a new one. In the discussion of the works of Ngugi together with his personal views on identity question we will see how he views this subject matter as a postcolonial writer and from a personal perspective both through his articles and interviews; and also through the way he explored this topic through his novels. We will try to go first through the topic of postcolonialism and its relationship with identity, and then we will try to discuss the very question of identity as related to postcolonial literature. We will try also to discuss how Ngugi views and deals with the identity question on a personal level and the way he dealt with the main components that influence identity, such as language, hybridity, place and displacement, and otherness, in his works.