The Dialectics of 'No Victor, No Vanquished'
A Sociological Reading of Adimora-Ezeigbo's War Narratives
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56666/ahyu.v7i.172Keywords:
Sociological approach, No Victor No Vanquished, war narrativesAbstract
Abstract
This paper studies Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo’s war narratives using the sociological approach to literary criticism. The study takes off by closely examining the historical cum sociological imperatives that necessitated Adimora-Ezeigbo’s literary constructions. Our choice of this approach is necessitated by the fact that literature does not exist in a vacuum; therefore the study of any literary work must of necessity begin with a close examination of the social cum historical forces which incubated the work. The two selected novels are Children of the Eagle (2005) and Roses and Bullets (2014) both of which focus on Nigeria Civil War. The study juxtaposes the post war events in the novels against the context of “No Victor, No Vanquished” proclamation of the Federal Government of Nigeria at the end of the war. Our findings show that there were clearly victors and vanquished in the war as reflected in the two selected novels.
Downloads
References
Achebe, C.hinua. There was a Country: a Personal History of Biafra. London: Allen Lane, 2012.
Adimora-Ezeigbo, Akachi. Children of the eagle. Lagos: Lantern Books, 2005.
Adimora-Ezeigbo, Akachi. Roses and bullets. Ibadan: U P, 2014.
Albert, Olawale Isaac. The Myth, Reality and Challenges of Nigeria’s Reconciliation with Ndigbo. The Nigerian Civil War and its Aftermath. Eds. Eghosa Osaghae, Ebere Onwudiwe and Rotimi Zuberu. Nigeria: John Archers Publishers, 2002. 310-311.
Anyokwu, Chris. ‘Turning in the Widening Gyre’: Anamnesis and the Dialogic Location in Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo’s Roses and Bullets. New Perspectives on a Literary Enigma. Eds. Emmanuel A. Adedun and Onuora Benedict Nweke. Ibadan: U P, 2014.
Clark, Priscilla. “The Comparative Method: Sociology and the Study of Literature.” Yearbook of Comparative & General Literature 23 (1974): 5 – 13.
Diefendorf, Jeffry. In the Wake of War: the Reconstruction of German Cities after World War II. London: Oxford U P, 1993. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195072198.001.0001
Echendu, Nnawuihe Fidelis. Selected Discourses in African Feminism. Abuja: Caltop, 2021.
McLuckie, Craig. Literary Memoirs of the Nigerian Civil War. A Harvest from Tragedy. Ed. Nwahunanya C. Owerri: Springfield Publishers, 1997. 31-58
Muo, Adaobi. The Voice of Jacob and the Hands of Esau: Unmasking the Masquerade in Adimora-Ezeigbo’s Roses and Bullets. New Perspectives on a Literary Enigma. Eds. Emmanuel A. Adedun and Onuora Benedict Nweke. Ibadan: U P, 2014. 249-275
Nwahunanya, Chinyere. A Harvest from Tragedy: Critical Perspectives on Nigerian Civil War Literature. Owerri: Springfield Publishers, 1997.
Nwahunanya, Chinyere. The Aesthetics of Nigerian War Fiction. Modern Fiction Studies. 37.3(1991): 427-443. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/mfs.0.0404
Odewumi, Joy. The Effects of the Nigerian Civil War of 1967-1970 on Women and Children in Roses and Bullets. New Perspectives on a Literary Enigma. Eds. Emmanuel A. Adedun and Onuora Benedict Nweke. Ibadan: U P, 2014.
Omotosho, Kole. “The Nigerian Civil War: the most important theme in post-war Nigerian Writing.” The Guardian (London), 1981.
Oriaku, Remy. “Pollitical Memoirs of the Nigerian Civil War”. A Harvest from Tragedy. Ed. Nwahunanya C. Owerri: Springfield Publishers, 1997. 59-85.
Scott, Wibur. Five Approaches to Literary Criticism. New York: Collier Books, 1962.
Udumukwu, Onyemaechi. Federal Voices in the Nigerian War Novel. A Harvest from Tragedy. Ed. Nwahunanya C. Owerri: Springfield Publishers, 1997. 87-110.
Ukaogo, Victor. Gowon’s Three Rs and Yar’dua’s General Amnesty: Critical Appraisal of Nigeria’s Post War Security Challenges”. Ikoro: Journal of Contemporary African Studies 14.1 (2020): 277-300.
Yakubu, Anthonia Makwemoisa. “A Historical Analysis of Selected Nigerian Civil War Experiences in Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo’s Roses and Bullets.” Critical Perspectives on a Literary Enigma. Eds. Emmanuel A. Adedun and Onuora Benedict Nweke. Ibadan: U P, 2014. 298-314.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Nnawuihe Fidelis Echendu
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
ALL ARTICLES ARE PUBLISHED UNDER THE FOLLOWING LICENSE:
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International
This license requires that reusers give credit to the creator. It allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, for noncommercial purposes only. If others modify or adapt the material, they must license the modified material under identical terms.
* * * * * * * * * * ``
BY: Credit must be given to you, the creator.
NC: Only noncommercial use of your work is permitted.Noncommercial means not primarily intended for or directed towards commercial advantage or monetary compensation.
SA: Adaptations must be shared under the same terms.
