Autobiographical Elements in David Musila's Seasons of Hope
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AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ELEMENTS IN DAVID MUSILA’S SEASONS OF HOPE JOSEPH ILINGA KATELO C50/5926/2017 A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN LITERATURE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI 2020 DECLARATION This project is my original work and has not been presented for the award of a degree in any other university. Signed……………………………... Date: 10/08/2020 Katelo, Ilinga Joseph C50/5926/2017 This project has been submitted for examination with our approval as university supervisors: First Supervisor: Prof. D.H. Kiiru Signed: …………………………… Date: 10 August 2020…………………… Second Supervisor: Dr. Jennifer Muchiri Signed: Date: 10th August 2020 ii DEDICATION To the Almighty God For the immense love, grace and protection To my lovely daughters Precious and Peace You inspire me each day To my dear wife Irene Thank you for being my pillar of strength To my loving parents Your prayers and words of encouragement kept me moving. Thank you for laying a strong foundation in me to further my studies To my brothers and sisters Winnie, Jennifer, Amos, Japheth and Sarah Your unwavering support and encouragement will forever be cherished iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank God for giving me sufficient grace and love to undertake this study. This project would not have been successful without His protection, guidance and care. I am grateful to my supervisors Prof. D.H. Kiiru and Dr. Jennifer Muchiri for their patient, kind, generous and insightful guidance and support throughout this project and during my course work. I pray that God blesses you richly. I thank all the lecturers at the Department of Literature at the University of Nairobi for their dedication in mentoring me during the entire period of my study. I specifically thank Prof. Henry Indangasi, Prof. Ciarunji Chesaina, Prof. Alina Rinkanya, Dr. Tom Odhiambo, Dr. Makau Kitata, Dr. Masumi Odari, Dr. Judith Jefwa, Dr. Mirriam Musonye and Dr. Wabende Kimingichi for making my stay at the university worth remembering. I am greatly indebted to my colleague, classmate and friend Benson Kamau Wanjiru for your encouragement and suggestions throughout the period of our course work and the entire period of writing this project. I thank Edna Dorine, June Chelule and Otieno Otieno for your immense support at the formative stages of this project. I also thank my classmates Athanas, Dennis, Janet, Milcah, Auna, Allan, Idah, Jackie, Moraa and Edna for the insightful discussions we shared during my course work. I am grateful to my family for always being there for me. I thank my dad Abednego Kyau and mum Rachael Katelo, brothers Amos and Japheth, sisters Winnie, Jennifer and Sarah for supporting me emotionally and financially. I thank my nephews Meshack, Evans, Allan and Joseph; nieces Olive, Ndanu, Museng’ya and Mueni for the encouragement you gave me without even realizing it. I thank my dear wife Irene Mwendwa for supporting me to climb the academic ladder and my lovely and ever patient daughters Precious Nthemba and Peace Mutanu for suffering and enduring father’s absence during the entire period of my study. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION........................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION.............................................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................. v ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. vi CHAPTER ONE: BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY ............................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………… . …..1 1.2 Statement of the problem………………………………………………………………… .. …5 1.3 Justification ............................................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Objectives ................................................................................................................................. 6 1.5 Hypotheses ................................................................................................................................ 6 1.6 Literature Review...................................................................................................................... 7 1.7 Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................................... 14 1.8 Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 18 1.9 Scope and Limitations............................................................................................................. 19 1.10 Chapter Breakdown .............................................................................................................. 19 CHAPTER TWO:NATURE OF THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN DAVID MUSILA’S SEASONS OF HOPE.... .............................................................................................................. 21 2.1 The Nature of the Autobiography.......…………………………...…………………..........…22 2.2 Features of the Autobiography in Seasons of Hope................................................................. 31 CHAPTER THREE: STRATEGIES OF SELF-NARRATION EMPLOYED BY MUSILA IN SEASONS OF HOPE ...………………………………… ..... ..………………….54 CHAPTER FOUR: FUNCTIONS PERFORMED BY MUSILA’S SEASONS OF HOPE ................................................................................................................................... 142 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 165 WORKS CITED ....................................................................................................................... 167 v ABSTRACT This study examines the autobiographical elements in David Musila’s Seasons of Hope. There are several elements that make the text under study autobiographical in form and content. This project establishes the strategies of self-narration employed by Musila in his autobiography. The study is guided by the theory of the autobiography. The objectives of this research are to interrogate the autobiographical elements in Seasons of Hope and to examine functions performed by the autobiography. The study is divided into four chapters and a conclusion. Chapter one constitutes the background of the study. The study interrogates autobiographical elements in Seasons of Hope in chapter two. Chapter three offers a discussion into the strategies of self-narration employed by Musila in his autobiography. It captures the discussion on motifs of Musila’s autobiography. Chapter four examines functions of the autobiography. The conclusion offers a summary of the project and provides areas for further study on the person of Musila and his autobiography Seasons of Hope. vi CHAPTER ONE BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 1.1 Introduction An autobiography is the story of one’s life written by oneself. The writing of an autobiography entails the reconstruction of the movement of life, in the actual circumstances in which it was lived. The autobiography is an interplay between the past and the present and its significance lies more in the revelation of the present than uncovering the past (Jennifer Muchiri, 2010). Autobiographies seek to answer the concept of identity. They answer the question who am I and how did I become who I am? Muchiri, in The Female Autobiographical Voice in Independent Kenya argues that An autobiography hinges on personal experience and is based on reflections. Due to this, its authors impose patterns on their lives and construct coherent stories out of them. Its underlying principle is the scrutiny of the self, with outside happenings, persons encountered and observations admitted primarily as they influence the consciousness of the person on whose character and actions the writing focuses on. (2) Sidonie Smith and Julia Watson, in Reading Autobiography: A Guide for Interpreting Life Narratives argue that the writer of an autobiography expresses himself or herself to the world. In this way the focus becomes the self but the outside world appears because it affects the self. The subject extends the self to the readers (28). A memoir is a collection of memories that an individual writes about moments or events, both public and private, that took place in the subject's life. It is a snapshot of a person’s life. The arguments made in the work are understood to be factual. While a memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiography since the late 20th century, the genre is differentiated in form, presenting a narrowed focus. Smith and Watson in Reading Autobiography: A Guide for Interpreting Life Narratives argue that: “a biography or autobiography tells the story "of a life", while a memoir often tells a story from a life. The author of a memoir may be referred to as a memoirist (198). 1 Roy Pascal in Design and Truth in Autobiography argues that a memoir tends to focus less on the self and more on others during the autobiographer’s review of his or her life. A memoir focuses on one specific part that stands out as a learning experience