AESTHETICS AND IDEOLOGY IN AFRICAN AND AFRO-AMERICAN FICTION: NGUGI WA THIONG'O, AYI KWEI ARMAH, TONI MORRISON AND RICHARD WRIGHT (AKAN, ASHANTI, GHANA, KENYA)

The main objective of this dissertation is twofold, namely, to devise a critical theory from African and Afro-American oral traditions and culture and to explore the relationship between aesthetics and ideology in the works of four major artists--Ngugi, Armah, Morrison and Wright.; Chapter one examines the relevance of several critical theories which have been applied to works from both traditions such as, Marxist Criticism, Senghorian, Structuralist Poetics, African Aesthetic, and The Black Aesthetic. The strengths and weaknesses of these theories are discussed. I have conceptualized a critical theory which has its base in African and Afro-American oral tradition and culture and applied it to selected works.; In the second chapter, Ngugi Wa Thiong'o's indebtedness to Gikuyu metaphysics and mythology is articulated. Petals of Blood is discussed in detail with Kenyatta's Facing Mount Kenya among others as a frame of reference.; Chapter three illustrates the evolution in Armah's art from his first novel to the epic narrative. Relying on theories enunciated by J. B. Danquah, Nketia, Rattray and Okpweho The Healers is analyzed as an Ashanti epic. I have also attempted to illustrate its relationship to the African historical novel.; Chapter four attempts to define Feminist Aesthetics in relation to the Afro-American novel with special emphasis on the works of Toni Morrison particularly Tar Baby which is analyzed in detail. Morrison is read as a precursor to feminist aestheticians. The psychoanalytic aspects of her first three novels The Bluest Eye, Sula, and Song of Solomon are interpreted with concepts enunciated by Du Bois, Fanon, Freud and Lacan.; Despite other influences on his art, in Chapter five, I have illustrated Richard Wright's indebtedness to the Afro-American oral tradition in some of his works. His neglected novels, Lawd Today and The Long Dream are also analyzed in detail.; The conclusion indicates the cultural influences in the works of a few other writers in both traditions such as Mongo Beti, Ousmane Sembene, Ishmael Reed, Ernest Gaines, and Alice Walker.