UTOPIANISM AND CHARATERISATION IN AMINATASOWFALL’S THE BEGGER’S STRIKE AND SEMBENEOUSMANE’S XALA, A RESEARCH PROJECT TOPIC ON ENGLISH AND LINGUISTIC
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
Though a lot of people have written Utopianism and characterization, but this research work is to assess Utopianism in Aminata Sowfall’s The Beggars Strike and Sembene Ousmane’s Xala through the use of characterization.
Hegel’s in the phenomenology of spirit maintains that as a warning against all forms of Utopianism, similar Observations have been made about the Russian revolution, but it would be more true to say that utopianism is an element of every progressive social change and every revolution.
Utopianism is a disposition to embrace the vision of an alternative society from which present social evils will be eradicated and in which there is a complete human fulfillment. In Thomas more’s book (1516), He described the Island as one whose social, economic and political arrangement are marked by high degree of communism, undoubtedly inspired by more’s own religious (catholic) convictions and his monastic ideas.
LITERATURE AND THE CONCEPT OF UTOPIA
The relationship between literature and utopia as a concept is seen as the renaissance gave a renewed impetus to utopian thought and authors such as ‘Campanella in the city of the sun (1602) and Bacon in New Atlantis (1627) began to infect a new spirit of modernity into political theory by describing societies transformed by the application of Knowledge and economic-technological developments.
The utopian impulse found its way into movements of social protest, revolutionary sects and parties and unto the new all-embracing political categories of the age of the industrial and democratic revolution.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau in Discourse on the origin of inequality among men and the social contract (1762) provided the principles of reasons on which the constitution could be founded. The terror which was the outcome of such an utopian project has been taken by many thinkers. H.G wells also in A modern utopia (1905) states that “A modern Utopia not only presents the virtues of socialism but is a reflection on the tradition of utopian socialism”.
Thomas more in his utopia (1515) states that in utopia, where everyman has a right to everything, they all know if care is taken to keep the public stores full, no man can want anything for among them, there is no unequal distribution so that no man is poor. None in necessity and though no man has anything, yet they are all rich, for what can make a man so rich as to lead a serene and cheerful life free from anxieties.
Some African writers have also employed the concept of utopianism or utopia seen from the perspectives of the African writers. Among these African writers include, Aminata Sowfall and Sembene Ousmane using their two texts The Beggar’s Strike and Xala.
Characterization is the process of conveying information about character in any narrative or dramatic work of art or everyday conversation. Characters may be presented by means of description through their actions, speech or thoughts. In any performance, an actor has less time to characterize and so can risk the characters coming across as underdeveloped.
