The conception and evolution of characterization in the Zulu novel
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Date
1998
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Abstract
In this research work an attempt is made to clear certain misconceptions and generalizations which prevail amongst certain literary critics, viz that characterization in the Zulu novel is static and should be modelled on the Eurocentric canon. Investigation into this problem shows the opposite.
Particular attention is devoted to demonstrating that characterization in the Zulu novel is evolutionary. And it is indeed so. Characterization in the Zulu novel has changed over the changing times under changing circumstances. The study shows that factors such as folktale residual material, traditional beliefs, christianization, urbanization, industrialization, etc. all have in one way or another impacted on the art of characterization in the Zulu novel. For this purpose we have divided the Zulu novel into three different developmental periods. These literary periods are: the period of Zulu narrative which is mostly dominated by folktale material and traditional beliefs. The second period is characterized by traditional beliefs and historical material. This manifests itself mostly in the historical novel. The third period is dominated by the social or psychological novel. Characterization during this period is characterized by such factors as christianisation, acculturation, urbanization, apartheid laws, industrialization which forced people to move to big cities like Johannesburg. During this period social adjustment problems manifest themselves in antisocial, criminal behaviour and maladjustment on the part of the characters who find themselves in this strange environment. It is, however, important to note that these periods are not watertight entities. But research has shown that a progression - retrogression tendency is found amongst the Zulu novel writers. A case in point is the impact of ancentral beliefs which transcends the three periods of the novel investigated. This means one cannot divorce entirely a literature from its past, which is why we accept lyesere's theory that the modern writer is to his indigenous oral tradition trapped as a snail is to its shell. Even in foreign habitat, a snail never leaves its shell behind, (The Journal of Modern African Studies 1975: 107-119).
The study shows that characterization in the Zulu novel follows a definite pattern of development. Therefore the Zulu novel is a literature in its own right. The research shows that the present Eurocentric tools of criticism have grown alongside western literacy tradition, but definitely outside the African milieu. It is noted that characterization in the Zulu novel has been, to a very large extent, influenced by the cultural and traditional background of the Zulu people.
The study shows that while using general laws of literary criticism scholars must be mindful of the fact that the Zulu novel is a novel in its own right and has peculiar characteristics of its own.
Description
Submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of African Languages at the University of Zululand, 1998.
Keywords
Literature, African, Prose literature--Fiction, Zulu literature