PERCEPTIONS OF DYING AND DEATH IN SELECTED LITERARY WORKS BY JUDITH JAI JALEHA-JEFWA A THESIS SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT OF THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN LITERATURE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI 2016 i DECLARATION This thesis is my original work and has not been presented for a degree in any other university. Signature: ______________________ Date: _________________________ Judith Jai Jaleha-Jefwa This thesis has been submitted for examination with our approval as University Supervisors. Signature: ______________________ Date: _________________________ Prof. D.H. Kiiru Signature: ______________________ Date: _________________________ Prof. Peter Wasamba ii DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my parents Major Zadock Jaleha and my late mum Agnetta Usaji. Dad and mum, you taught my siblings and I to appreciate life in its fullness and to remain focused on doing our best despite the challenges that life throws our way. You emphasized the power of the collective and of loving one another. I also dedicate the work to my parents in law, the late Archdeacon Nathaniel Mweri and the late Naomi Sidi, who became my next set of parents and encouraged the principles of life that had already been established by my parents. To the entire Jaleha family and to the entire Mweri family I dedicate this work to you. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to my supervisors Professor D.H. Kiiru and Professor Peter Wasamba for your encouragement, guidance and patience. I thank Professor Kiiru for insisting, in his very quiet manner, that I should endeavour to make my work better and more organised. I thank Professor Wasamba for the quick reading of my work as well as his constant encouragement and inspiration. I will forever cherish your input in making me a better and more open minded researcher and academician. Thanks a lot, Profs. I am also grateful to ALL my colleagues and some of my students, who knew what I was engaged in, for continually encouraging me to complete my work. I want to say thank you to Professor Henry Indangasi for planting in me the idea of studying this topic. To Doctor Kimingichi and Doctor Kitata, I want to say thank you for being good friend and patiently allowing me to use your office space and computer. To Doctor Jairus Omuteche, thanks a lot for proof reading my work and also pointing out issues that needed clarification. To my friends and prayer partners, I also say thank you very much. You have prayed with me, supported me and encouraged me to finish this work so that we can have better and refreshing fellowships and outings. To my husband, George Jefwa Mweri, I say a big thank you. We have walked together these many years. You have lovingly encouraged and supported me in all ways possible. I can confidently say that you are my greatest pillar. To my sons, Baraka and Furaha, and daughter Kadzo and very special friend, Madiga, my siblings Evelyn, Alex, Betty, Grace, and Eunice, my brothers in law, Ambassador Benjamin Mure Mweri and Reverend Shadrack Thoya, thanks for being a greatest support team. iv Most of all, however, I say thank you to God. Thank you God for the fulfilment of your promises to me and the security in the words of Proverbs 18:10, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.” Thank you Lord. Thank you all. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION............................................................................................................................. ii DEDICATION .............................................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iv DEFINITION OF TERMS ........................................................................................................... vii ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. vi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................1 CHAPTER TWO: THE BURDEN OF DYING: RESPONSES TO DYING AND DEATH IN THE SPARE ROOM BY HELEN GARNER ........................................................30 CHAPTER THREE: THE MYOPIA OF AUTOCRACY IN THE FACE OF DYING AND DEATH IN “BIG MAMA‟S FUNERAL” BY GARCIA MARQUEZ ................55 CHAPTER FOUR: INDIVIDUALISTIC RESPONSES TO DYING AND DEATH IN AS I LAY DYING BYWILLIAM FAULKNER ............................................................80 CHAPTER SIX: DYING WITH EASE: AN ANALYSIS OF DYING AND DEATH IN PLACE OF DESTINY BY MARGARET OGOLA ............................................165 CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSION .........................................................................................212 WORKS CITED ..........................................................................................................................220 vi Definition of terms Below are definitions of key terms as used in the study. Physical Death: This refers to when a living organism‟s life comes to an end. It refers to the end of a viable life form when the parts of bodies will cease to function. In all the works of fiction in this study, it is the imminent death or the actual death of characters that form the inciting incidents, which trigger the reactions to death and dying. Moral Death: It refers to a person not feeling guilty of having committed immoral acts as defined by the cultures depicted in the texts. In most cases, the moral guideline is determined by religious doctrines upheld in the social settings in the texts. This type of death is significantly demonstrated in Faulkner‟s As I Lay Dying. Emotional Death: This refers to when a person has been so brutally injured, jaded or rejected emotionally that they turn off all feelings. It may also be referred to as a broken heart, heartbreak or heartache. It deals with the intense emotional stress or pain that an individual may feel especially after experiencing disappointment especially in love related matters. This is especially demonstrated in Faulkner‟s As I Lay Dying. Journey Motif: This is defined in The Concise Oxford Dictionary as a “distinctive feature dominant in vii artistic or literary composition. A journey motif can be physical or emotional and it can form the basic narrative structure upon which a story is built. This study views life as a journey and death is a significant part of that journey. Physical journey: This refers to a journey that is tangible. It allows characters to move physically from one place to another. It is within this journey that reader discerns the feelings of the characters about life and about death. Emotional/ Psychological journey: A journey that is not tangible. It focuses on what goes on in the minds of characters as the deal with death. Most of the characters move from the point of denial to one of acceptance of their own deaths other characters‟ deaths. viii ABSTRACT This study deals with the manner in which writers of fiction have conceptualised the theme of dying and death, especially in the manner in which characters respond to it. The study captures the ways in which writers of fiction have used creative strategies at their disposal to capture what they perceive are human being‟s responses to such enigmatic phenomena as dying and death. The study is cognisant of the fact that literature is a useful tool for exposing the way humans approach dying and death because writers have the poetic licence to see what is beyond what the ordinary eye can see. Thus writers have the capacity to capture what goes on even in the minds of those that are dying. The study presupposes that characters‟ responses to dying and death are part of a power struggle relationship. Death is depicted as a hegemonic force that people have to contend with thus the responses presented are invariably human being‟s desire to overcome a phenomenon that acts as a powerful force that undermines their well-being. Characters are depicted as grappling with death as a force that brings disorder in life. The study thus examines characters thoughts, words and actions as they engage such a hegemonic force as death in attempts to order the world so that it can operate in a logical and discernible manner. In order to capture these responses the study utilises the analytical tools provided by three theories. The Cultural Theory, as espoused by Michel Foucault, helps unearth the manner in which power is played out when humans have to contend with death. The Freudian psychoanalytical theory unearths the psychological reasons that determine people‟s responses to death and dying. Finally, Formalism examines the techniques used by the authors in their attempts to present the characters responses to death. The study thus ascertains that the different responses by characters indicate their attempts to deal with the challenges that obtain as a result of having to deal with their exit from the world. Individual differences as well as differences in socialisation make the characters experience death from different perspectives. In this way, this study has been able to capture the artistic presentation of how people deal with dying and death. ix CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Background to the Study Death is inevitable. It is the major fact of life that one can predict with certainty that it will come to pass. People have all through the ages tried to understand death as well as its implication on human life. Societies have