The Nigerian Civil War and the Politics of Creative Remembrance: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun and Ken Saro-Wiwa’s Sozaboy

IF 0.1 0 LITERATURE

Current Writing-Text and Reception in Southern Africa Pub Date : 2023-01-02 DOI:10.1080/1013929X.2023.2167411

S. Zulfiqar

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Abstract

Through a discussion of Ken Saro-Wiwa’s Sozaboy (2005) and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), this article argues that the creative remembrance of the Nigerian Civil War and the re-visioning of the nation state has tended to focus on the Hausa and Igbos, excluding other ethnic minorities, especially the Ogoni of the Niger Delta. Adichie and Saro-Wiwa remember and creatively evoke the war differently, and this difference facilitates the production of more complex histories. This, in turn, enables us better to comprehend the conflict’s historical wounds; it reveals that a refashioning of this history through minority narratives can produce deeper understanding. Through such historical reconstruction, the tragic past is evoked without losing sight of current realities or indulging in misplaced optimism regarding the future. Moreover, I argue, to create narratives that enable genuine healing, engagement with both peripheral and central viewpoints is crucial; what is needed are narratives that assist in the dismantling of ethnic hegemonic structures.

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尼日利亚内战与创造性纪念政治：奇玛曼达·恩戈齐·阿迪奇的《半个黄色的太阳》和肯·萨罗·维瓦的《索扎博伊》

本文通过对Ken Saro Wiwa的《Sozaboy》（2005）和Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie的《Half of a Yellow Sun》（2006）的讨论，认为对尼日利亚内战和民族国家重建的创造性记忆往往集中在豪萨人和伊博人身上，而不包括其他少数民族，尤其是尼日尔三角洲的奥戈尼人。Adichie和Saro Wiwa以不同的方式记忆和创造性地唤起了战争，这种差异有助于产生更复杂的历史。这反过来又使我们能够更好地理解冲突的历史创伤；它揭示了通过少数民族叙事对这段历史的重塑可以产生更深的理解。通过这种历史重建，在不忽视当前现实或对未来抱有错误乐观的情况下，唤起了悲惨的过去。此外，我认为，要创造能够实现真正治愈的叙事，参与外围和中心观点至关重要；现在需要的是有助于瓦解种族霸权结构的叙事。

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来源期刊

Current Writing-Text and Reception in Southern Africa LITERATURE-

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0.30

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0.00%

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期刊介绍： Current Writing: Text and Reception in Southern Africa is published bi-annually by Routledge. Current Writing focuses on recent writing and re-publication of texts on southern African and (from a ''southern'' perspective) commonwealth and/or postcolonial literature and literary-culture. Works of the past and near-past must be assessed and evaluated through the lens of current reception. Submissions are double-blind peer-reviewed by at least two referees of international stature in the field. The journal is accredited with the South African Department of Higher Education and Training.