ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY Postmodernism in Selected
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ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES, LANGUAGE STUDIES, JOURNALISM AND COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE Postmodernism in Selected Ethiopian Diasporic Novels in English A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Literature By Misrak Tenna Adafre December 2019 Addis Ababa i Postmodernism in Selected Ethiopian Diasporic Novels in English ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES, LANGUAGE STUDIES, JOURNALISM AND COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Literature By Misrak Tenna Advisor Olga Yazbec (PhD) December 2019 Addis Ababa ii iii Acknowledgments I would like to express my gratitude to my advisor Dr. Olga Yazbec for her encouragement, guidance and genuine interest. Her constructive criticism and invaluable suggestions contributed greatly to this thesis. I am also indebted to Dilla University for giving me the opportunity to study and for sponsoring the study. I also want to thank the Graduate School of Addis Ababa University for the financial support it offered for conducting the research. My grateful thanks go to my family for their encouragement and everlasting faith in me. I especially would like to thank my mother Almaz W/Aregay who over took the responsibility of looking after my son throughout the course of my study. I also wish to thank my friends Girum Tebeje, Dr. Seble W/kidan, Aseffa Mekonen and Dr. Tsedey Wondimu for their material and moral support. i Table of Contents Contents Page Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................................... i Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................... ii Abstract ...................................................................................................................... v Chapter One: Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Overview of Ethiopian Indigenous and English Literature ................................................... 1 1.2. The Ethiopian Diaspora and Its Literatures.......................................................................... 4 1.2.1. Diaspora ......................................................................................................................... 4 1.2.2. The Ethiopian Diaspora ................................................................................................. 5 1.2.3. Ethiopian Diasporic Literature ...................................................................................... 7 1.3 Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................................... 9 1.4. Research Questions ............................................................................................................ 10 1.5. Objectives of the Study ...................................................................................................... 11 1.5.1. General Objective ........................................................................................................ 11 1.5.2. Specific Objectives ...................................................................................................... 11 1.6. Significance of the Study ................................................................................................... 11 1.7. Scope of the Study.............................................................................................................. 11 1.8. The Method of the Study .................................................................................................... 12 1.8.1 Basis of Selection ......................................................................................................... 12 1.8.2. Method of Data Analysis ............................................................................................. 13 1.9. Organization of the Study .................................................................................................. 13 ii Chapter Two:Review of Studies on Ethiopian Diasporic Literature ..................................... 15 Chapter Three: Theoretical Framework .................................................................................. 21 3.1. Postmodernism ................................................................................................................... 21 3.2. Elements of Postmodernist Literature ................................................................................ 29 3.2.1. Intertextuality............................................................................................................... 29 3.2.1.1. Parody ................................................................................................................... 31 3.2.1.2. Pastiche .................................................................................................................. 34 3.2.2. Ontological Concern .................................................................................................... 35 3.2.3 Metafiction.................................................................................................................... 41 3.2.3.1. Self-reflexivity ...................................................................................................... 43 3.2.3.2. Histographic Metafiction ..................................................................................... 45 3.2.4. Temporal Distortion .................................................................................................... 46 3.2.5. Fragmentation .............................................................................................................. 48 Chapter Four: Analysis of Intertextuality, Parody and Pastiche in the Selected Novels ..... 51 4.1. Intertextuality of the Selected Novels ................................................................................ 51 4.1.1. Intertextuality with Works of Fiction .......................................................................... 51 4.1.2. Intertextuality with History ......................................................................................... 67 4.1.3. Intertextuality with Mythology and Tradition ............................................................. 75 4.1.4. Intertextuality with the Holy Bible .............................................................................. 78 4.2. Parody in the Selected Novels ............................................................................................ 82 4.3. Pastiche in the Selected Novels ........................................................................................ 106 iii Chapter Five: Analysis of Ontological Concern and Metafiction in the Selected Novels ....................................................................................................... 121 5.1. Ontological Concern in the Selected Novels.................................................................... 121 5.2. Metafictional Analysis of the Selected Novels ................................................................ 138 5.2.1. Self-reflexivity of the Selected Novels ...................................................................... 139 5.2.2. Histographic Metafiction ........................................................................................... 150 5.2.2.1. Critique of History ............................................................................................. 150 5.2.2.2. Critique of Grand Narratives ............................................................................. 160 Chapter Six: Analysis of Temporal Distortion and Fragmentation in the Selected Novels167 6.1. Temporal Distortion of the Selected Novels ................................................................................ 167 6.2. Fragmentation of the Selected Novels .......................................................................................... 179 Chapter Seven: Conclusion and Recommendation ............................................................... 194 7.1. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 194 7.2. Recommendations ........................................................................................................................ 198 References .................................................................................................................. 199 iv Abstract Postmodernism is a movement that has influenced the artistic as well as cultural discourses since the 1960s. Though debatable it generally suggests a move away from the modernist conventions that have influenced the Western thought, social life and culture for centuries. Postmodernism specifically is characterized by, a rejection of authority, skepticism towards totalitarian narratives and reality. On the literary level it is applied to make sense of new insights and developments in contemporary literary works. Even if postmodernism succeeded in influencing the literary domain of the world for over seventy years now it is invisible in the Ethiopian literary scene. Thus, it is this gap that motivated the researcher to carry out the study on postmodernism. In this