SOURCE:

Faculty: Arts
Department: English Language & Literature

CONTRIBUTORS:

Egbedi, M.O;
Ogbazi, I;

ABSTRACT:

This research examines the Bildungsroman tradition, which originally is German, European and patriarchal, and how third generation Nigerian novelists have adopted, reworked, modified and indigenised the form, in order to confront the continuous socio-economic and political realities of their time. This study concentrates on the protagonists’ process of maturation across geographical and social boarders in order to emphasise the flexibility of the Bildungsroman. Exploring male and female protagonists/novels allows me to reveal the extent to which the selected texts represent or reverse certain features of the Bildungsroman. Chapters one and two provide a critical history of the Bildungsroman, which shows diversities and contradictions that make it difficult to give a single, universal definition of the form to serve all categories, cultures, time and space. The next three chapters examine¬ and analyse four novels. The selection criterion was influenced by the need to create gender balance. Hence, two narratives by male authors, (Graceland by Chris Abani and Waiting for an Angel by Helon Habila) and two also, by female authors, (Yellow-Yellow by Kaine Agary and Everything Good Will Comeby Sefi Atta) were selected. The study reveals that some female protagonists unexpectedly follow the traditional Bildungsroman trajectory in several respects, while novels with male protagonists deviate from it. All selected texts explore the growth process of one or more characters and its psychological/social implications on their lives. The study adopts the Psychoanalytic theory with emphasis on Karen Horney. The study argues for a close reading and analysis of selected novels as examples of contemporary Nigerian Bildungsromane, but the appropriation of the form by novelists differs. An exploration of the four texts creates a unique postcolonial Nigerian Bildungsroman category, and equally shows a broad extension of the genre to include the experiences of contemporary Nigerians in Diaspora. The findings above imply that the Bildungsroman has been, altered and adjusted within third generation Nigerian context. However, there are other variations in Nigerian Bildungsromane such as novels with multiple protagonists, and LGBTQ variations that need further academic exploration.