Essays and Research Papers on African Literature

This 4 page paper discusses the way men are presented in the novels Middlemarch and Things Fall Apart. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 6 page essay that discusses Chinua Achebe's short story "Dead Men's Path." In this narrative, Michael and Nancy Obi represent Nigerians who have been thoroughly assimilated into the mindset and cultural values of the colonizing British. As such, their behavior is geared toward Western gender expectations rather than toward the cultural paradigm of the ...

A five page paper looking at the portrayal of motherhood in traditional Ibo society, as presented in Buchi Emecheta’s novel. The paper concludes that there are no joys of motherhood when fertility becomes merely a matter of numbers and gender. No additional sources.

A 5 page paper which examines how family, law, religion, and government functioned before and after the intrusion of the European missionaries in Chinua Achebe’s novel “Things Fall Apart.” No additional sources cited.

A 3 page essay that analyzes Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart, which concerns the period in which the British first came to Nigeria and the culture clash that this invasion brought about with the native population. Achebe presents a picture of African culture, as seen in the Igbo tribe, that has more nuance ...

A seven page paper analyzing the degree to which Kip’s identity as a Sikh soldier fighting on the side of the British contributes to his sense of isolation in Michael Ondaatje’s novel. The paper argues that Kip’s role as a Sikh may have been a significant one in India, and one from which he derived ...

This paper discusses Achebe's work and how it reflects British imperialism in Africa during the 19th Century. Also under discussion was some of the impact that imperialism had on some of the African, Indian and Asian colonies that belonged to Great Britain. Bibliography lists 10 sources.

A 7 page paper which examines the relationship between the human side and the authority side of Lear’s character, and evaluates the contradictions that propel the play’s tragedy. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 6 page analysis of Achebe's Things Fall Apart as understood through a perspective aided by Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France. The writer argues that although these two works deal with totally different cultures in totally different time frames, the commonality of human experience gives them quite a few points of ...

A 6 page paper that provides an overview of the major thematic components and the circumstances surrounding the original production of Ngugi and Ngugi's play. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 5 page paper that considers the theme of interpersonal conflict in Head's 'The Collector of Treasures' and Wa Thiong'O's 'The Return.' The writer also demonstrates the way in which gender of both the characters and the authors impacts the development of this theme. No additional sources cited.

A 5 page paper based on the play by South African playwright Athol Fugard. It contrasts Hally's relationship with his real father with his relationship with the black waiter Sam, who actually behaves much more like a father to him. The paper concludes by analyzing Hally's terrible betrayal of Sam at the play's end. Bibliography ...

A 4 page sociopolitical examination of Nadine Gordimer's 'My Son's Story'-- the tale of a Black South-African who plays hooky from school only to discover that his father is having an affair with a White woman... in the midst of Apartheid. Character, theme, and their relevance to South African politics & society are discussed. No ...

2 page discussion of central characters and society "Nectar in a Sieve" and "Crick Crack Monkey." Books are commonly used in studies relevant to general literature or to studies of the African-American struggle.

A 3 page discussion of society and kingship in the African epic 'Sundiata.' The writer discusses the roles of royalty, masculinity, cultural arts, and more. No Bibliography.

A 2 page paper discussing the novel 'Women at Point Zero' by Nawal Sadawi and its linking of issues relating to feminism, sexuality, and culture. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 4 page analysis of Alifa Rifaat's short story "The Telephone Call" (from "Distant View of a Minaret" in which the writer attempts to assess the symbolic meaning of the call itself. It is argued that the late-night, anonymous ringing was not a "sign" from the heavens but rather a lesson of faith for its ...

5 pages worth of brief discussions of 8-10 African short stories; from every region of the continent. Stories reviewed appear in a collective book entitled 'African Short Stories.' Bibliography lists 1 source.

A 1 page discussion that briefly examines three contemporary African writers. The writer argues that the perspective offered by Mariana Ba in So Long the Letter and also Sembene Ousmane in God's Bits of Wood differs from that of V.Y. Mudimbe in The Rift. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A one-page paper on the political and social redefinition of women in Ousmanne Sembene’s novel. The paper points out that although historical records do not support Sembene’s tale of a female-led movement, even the degree of participation women did display required a significant amount of redefinition of gender roles in African society. Bibliography lists one ...

A one-page paper looking at Ousmanne Sembene’s novel from a teleological perspective. The paper defines teleology as the belief that there is a larger purpose for everything that occurs, and shows how this is the operative model for the events described in Sembene’s novel. Bibliography lists one source.

A 5 page paper that traces the transition of the life of Olaudah Equiano from a child of traditional African Igbo culture to an adult of strong, deep Christian faith. Discussed are the conditions that shaped Equiano's life, including his abduction into the life of slavery at the age of 11, his introduction to ...

A six-page paper looking at these two twentieth-century authors in terms of the contribution their female characters make toward the idea of a non-colonial future in Africa. Specific works discussed include Bessie Head's When Rain Clouds Gather and Ngugi wa Thiong'o's A Grain of Wheat. Bibliography lists four sources.

5 pages in length. In Black Man's Burden, author Basil Davidson argues that the nation-state has proved a curse for the African independent nation. When we examine the works of several different authors it is easy to discover that Davidson speaks the truth: that the nation-state has indeed proved to be a curse ...

A 6 page research paper and analysis of the use of English by Chinua Achebe in 'Things Fall Apart,' and Derek Walcott in 'The Star-Apple Kingdom.' Both of these writers choose to express himself in the language of colonial oppression— English— rather then in a language native to his region. The writer explores why. ...