Socialist Realism in the Novels of Festus Iyayi

This study identified and discussed the major elements of the aesthetics of socialist realism in Festus Iyayi's novels, namely, Violence, The Contract, and Heroes. The methodology involved a close reading of all three novels in the light of Marxist ideology and aesthetics. This was then foll...

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1. autor: Oni, Nana Belinda
Kolejni autorzy: Ogundele, Wole
Format: Praca dyplomowa
Język:angielski
Wydane: 2015
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Dostęp online:http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/2711
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author Oni, Nana Belinda
author2 Ogundele, Wole
author_facet Ogundele, Wole
Oni, Nana Belinda
author_sort Oni, Nana Belinda
collection DSpace
description This study identified and discussed the major elements of the aesthetics of socialist realism in Festus Iyayi's novels, namely, Violence, The Contract, and Heroes. The methodology involved a close reading of all three novels in the light of Marxist ideology and aesthetics. This was then followed by a detailed analysis of each novel in the light of both the ideology and aesthetics. Different aesthetic paradigms of socialist realism were applied in the analysis of the themes, characters and characterization, setting, point of view and style of the novels. The findings indicated that Iyayi's novels were collectively a socialist narrative of Nigeria's economic, social and political history from the period of the Civil War to the early 1990s when he wrote his third and last novel. It was revealed that, though Iyayi's novels were written from the Marxist perspective, they were also works of art and were rich in aesthetics. Nigeria was portrayed in the novels as a class society in which proceeds from the sale of crude oil were appropriated by the tiny ruling class, while the teeming masses were divided, exploited, oppressed, and fed on palliative illusions. The novelist used lineal plot, fully developed characters, and simple diction. He explored the theme of exploitation of labour in the novels to rid the working class characters of their false consciousness. The study concluded that the high political context of Iyayi's novels should not prevent critics from appreciating the works as aesthetic objects that could be enjoyed for their fine plots and captivating style.
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spelling oai:ir.oauife.edu.ng:123456789-27112023-05-13T11:06:21Z Socialist Realism in the Novels of Festus Iyayi Oni, Nana Belinda Ogundele, Wole Socialist realism Festus Iyayi's novels Iyayi's novels Marxist ideology Nigeria's economic history Nigeria's social history Nigeria's political history This study identified and discussed the major elements of the aesthetics of socialist realism in Festus Iyayi's novels, namely, Violence, The Contract, and Heroes. The methodology involved a close reading of all three novels in the light of Marxist ideology and aesthetics. This was then followed by a detailed analysis of each novel in the light of both the ideology and aesthetics. Different aesthetic paradigms of socialist realism were applied in the analysis of the themes, characters and characterization, setting, point of view and style of the novels. The findings indicated that Iyayi's novels were collectively a socialist narrative of Nigeria's economic, social and political history from the period of the Civil War to the early 1990s when he wrote his third and last novel. It was revealed that, though Iyayi's novels were written from the Marxist perspective, they were also works of art and were rich in aesthetics. Nigeria was portrayed in the novels as a class society in which proceeds from the sale of crude oil were appropriated by the tiny ruling class, while the teeming masses were divided, exploited, oppressed, and fed on palliative illusions. The novelist used lineal plot, fully developed characters, and simple diction. He explored the theme of exploitation of labour in the novels to rid the working class characters of their false consciousness. The study concluded that the high political context of Iyayi's novels should not prevent critics from appreciating the works as aesthetic objects that could be enjoyed for their fine plots and captivating style. 2015-05-11T10:34:59Z 2018-10-27T15:01:06Z 2015-05-11T10:34:59Z 2018-10-27T15:01:06Z 2015-05-11 Thesis http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/2711 en PDF application/pdf Nigeria
spellingShingle Socialist realism
Festus Iyayi's novels
Iyayi's novels
Marxist ideology
Nigeria's economic history
Nigeria's social history
Nigeria's political history
Oni, Nana Belinda
Socialist Realism in the Novels of Festus Iyayi
title Socialist Realism in the Novels of Festus Iyayi
title_full Socialist Realism in the Novels of Festus Iyayi
title_fullStr Socialist Realism in the Novels of Festus Iyayi
title_full_unstemmed Socialist Realism in the Novels of Festus Iyayi
title_short Socialist Realism in the Novels of Festus Iyayi
title_sort socialist realism in the novels of festus iyayi
topic Socialist realism
Festus Iyayi's novels
Iyayi's novels
Marxist ideology
Nigeria's economic history
Nigeria's social history
Nigeria's political history
url http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/2711
work_keys_str_mv AT oninanabelinda socialistrealisminthenovelsoffestusiyayi