This study entitled Analysis of Yvonne Owuor’s Dust from the Perspective of Socialist Realism Literary Theory attempts to read a Contemporary Anglophone Kenyan novel through the lens of Socialist Realism. Socialist Realism appeared for the first time in a speech of 17th May 1932 by Ivan Gronsky, and gaining worldwide recognition with postcolonial literary works, has been a focal point of different scholarly studies. In Kenya, the author such as Ngugi wa Thiong'o wrote literary works which can be seen in Socialist Realist eyes. The motivations behind taking up this topic are to fill the research gap in reading a novel from Kenya and to observe the trend in the practice of Socialist Realism. The paper aims to show the re-emergence of Socialist Realism literary theory and the presence of Socialist Realist authors; after it was considered an outdated literary theory. And how the novelist from Kenya has applied the features that Socialist Realism is known. One novel has been chosen for this study, Dust. The novel was published after 2000 G.C. To read the novel, the theoretical framework forms at using Socialist Realism different features theorized by critics. The study concludes by finding major features of Socialist realism in the novel. These are optimism, socialist Humanism, class-ness, people-ness, Romanticism and positive hero. And the novelist in Kenya used Socialist Realism associating it with their contexts, connecting it with their respective historical background, shared current statues, commenting on existing economic, social, and political situations.
| Published in | Arabic Language, Literature & Culture (Volume 6, Issue 3) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.allc.20210603.13 |
| Page(s) | 70-76 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Socialist Realism, Optimism, Socialist Humanism, Romanticism, Class-Ness, People-Ness, Positive Hero
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| [2] | Abiye Daniel (1986). Socialist Realism and its Implication for the African Writer. Addis Ababa University Press. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. |
| [3] | Alice Wairimu Nderitu (2018). Kenya Bridging Ethnic Divides. A Commissioner’s experience on Cohesion and Integration. Mdahalo Bridging Divides Limited. Nairobi, Kenya. |
| [4] | A. I. Revyakin: (1959) Problematipichesko gov khudozhestvennoy literature, Uchpedgiz, Moscow,. p. 3. |
| [5] | Boiyo Amos Burkeywo. (2015). Narrating Kenyan History through Fiction in Yvonne Owuor’s Dust. University of Nairobi, Kenya. |
| [6] | Clark, Katerina (1985). The Soviet Novel: History as Ritual; with a New Afterword by the Author: University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. |
| [7] | Fikre Tolossa (1983). Realism in Amharic Literature (1908-1981). Bremen: Bremen University. PhD Dissertation. |
| [8] | Giddens, A. (1995) Modernity and Self Identity; Cambridge: Polity. |
| [9] | Hankle, Roger B. (1977) Reading the Novel: An Introduction to the Techniques Interpreting Fiction. New York; Harper & Row Publisher. |
| [10] | Herman Ermolaev (1977). The Soviet Literary Theories 1917-1934: The Genesis of Socialist Realism, Octagon Books, New York. |
| [11] | Mc Grath. (2004) The Burden of RA positive Survivors and hospice patients’ reflection on maintaining a positive attitude to serious illness. |
| [12] | Robert Loss (2016) John Lennon’s ‘Working Class Hero’: Boundaries, Mobility, and Honesty. |
| [13] | Rufus W. Mathewson (2000). The Positive Hero in Russian Literature. Northern Western University Press. |
| [14] | Sifuna, Daniel Namusonge. (1993). “Nationalism and Decolonization.” Themes in Kenyan History. Ed. William R. Ochieng. Nairobi: EAEP,. 186-199. |
| [15] | Yonas Adamu Chernet, (2014). Political Satire in Abebe Tola’s “Yabe Tokichaw Shimutochi” and “Yabe Tokichaw Mitsetochi” Essays International Journal of Literature and Arts, Vol. 2, No 6. |
APA Style
Yonas Adamu Chernet. (2021). Analysis of Yvonne Owuor’s Dust from the Perspective of Socialist Realism Literary Theory. Arabic Language, Literature & Culture, 6(3), 70-76. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.allc.20210603.13
ACS Style
Yonas Adamu Chernet. Analysis of Yvonne Owuor’s Dust from the Perspective of Socialist Realism Literary Theory. Arab. Lang. Lit. Cult. 2021, 6(3), 70-76. doi: 10.11648/j.allc.20210603.13
AMA Style
Yonas Adamu Chernet. Analysis of Yvonne Owuor’s Dust from the Perspective of Socialist Realism Literary Theory. Arab Lang Lit Cult. 2021;6(3):70-76. doi: 10.11648/j.allc.20210603.13
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Download@article{10.11648/j.allc.20210603.13,
author = {Yonas Adamu Chernet},
title = {Analysis of Yvonne Owuor’s Dust from the Perspective of Socialist Realism Literary Theory},
journal = {Arabic Language, Literature & Culture},
volume = {6},
number = {3},
pages = {70-76},
doi = {10.11648/j.allc.20210603.13},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.allc.20210603.13},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.allc.20210603.13},
abstract = {This study entitled Analysis of Yvonne Owuor’s Dust from the Perspective of Socialist Realism Literary Theory attempts to read a Contemporary Anglophone Kenyan novel through the lens of Socialist Realism. Socialist Realism appeared for the first time in a speech of 17th May 1932 by Ivan Gronsky, and gaining worldwide recognition with postcolonial literary works, has been a focal point of different scholarly studies. In Kenya, the author such as Ngugi wa Thiong'o wrote literary works which can be seen in Socialist Realist eyes. The motivations behind taking up this topic are to fill the research gap in reading a novel from Kenya and to observe the trend in the practice of Socialist Realism. The paper aims to show the re-emergence of Socialist Realism literary theory and the presence of Socialist Realist authors; after it was considered an outdated literary theory. And how the novelist from Kenya has applied the features that Socialist Realism is known. One novel has been chosen for this study, Dust. The novel was published after 2000 G.C. To read the novel, the theoretical framework forms at using Socialist Realism different features theorized by critics. The study concludes by finding major features of Socialist realism in the novel. These are optimism, socialist Humanism, class-ness, people-ness, Romanticism and positive hero. And the novelist in Kenya used Socialist Realism associating it with their contexts, connecting it with their respective historical background, shared current statues, commenting on existing economic, social, and political situations.},
year = {2021}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Analysis of Yvonne Owuor’s Dust from the Perspective of Socialist Realism Literary Theory AU - Yonas Adamu Chernet Y1 - 2021/08/09 PY - 2021 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.allc.20210603.13 DO - 10.11648/j.allc.20210603.13 T2 - Arabic Language, Literature & Culture JF - Arabic Language, Literature & Culture JO - Arabic Language, Literature & Culture SP - 70 EP - 76 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2639-9695 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.allc.20210603.13 AB - This study entitled Analysis of Yvonne Owuor’s Dust from the Perspective of Socialist Realism Literary Theory attempts to read a Contemporary Anglophone Kenyan novel through the lens of Socialist Realism. Socialist Realism appeared for the first time in a speech of 17th May 1932 by Ivan Gronsky, and gaining worldwide recognition with postcolonial literary works, has been a focal point of different scholarly studies. In Kenya, the author such as Ngugi wa Thiong'o wrote literary works which can be seen in Socialist Realist eyes. The motivations behind taking up this topic are to fill the research gap in reading a novel from Kenya and to observe the trend in the practice of Socialist Realism. The paper aims to show the re-emergence of Socialist Realism literary theory and the presence of Socialist Realist authors; after it was considered an outdated literary theory. And how the novelist from Kenya has applied the features that Socialist Realism is known. One novel has been chosen for this study, Dust. The novel was published after 2000 G.C. To read the novel, the theoretical framework forms at using Socialist Realism different features theorized by critics. The study concludes by finding major features of Socialist realism in the novel. These are optimism, socialist Humanism, class-ness, people-ness, Romanticism and positive hero. And the novelist in Kenya used Socialist Realism associating it with their contexts, connecting it with their respective historical background, shared current statues, commenting on existing economic, social, and political situations. VL - 6 IS - 3 ER -
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