Primacy, polemic, and paradox in Ken Bugul’s The abandoned baobab
Arguably considered the prototype of African postcolonial feminist writing by reason of its poignant depiction of taboo subjects such as lesbianism, prostitution, drugs, and suicide, Ken Bugul’s The abandoned baobab has elicited sustained interest from the academy. This paper seeks to contribute to...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of Ghana
2020-12-01
|
| Series: | Legon Journal of the Humanities |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ljh/article/view/202489 |
| _version_ | 1818971202487582720 |
|---|---|
| author | Augustine H. Asaah |
| author_facet | Augustine H. Asaah |
| author_sort | Augustine H. Asaah |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Arguably considered the prototype of African postcolonial feminist writing by reason of its poignant depiction of taboo subjects such as lesbianism, prostitution, drugs, and suicide, Ken Bugul’s The abandoned baobab has elicited sustained interest from the academy. This paper seeks to contribute to the debate by examining the strands of counter-discourse and postcolonial complicity within the context of the primacy ascribed to myths, the baobab, and the mother. It is driven by nativism and postcolonial theory. Far from constituting impregnable defense systems against hegemony, these primal forces prove to be limited in their protection of the protagonist. The paper concludes that even if the narrative foregrounds the mirage of hermetic identities and norms, it also defends Afrocentric development in the postcolony. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T14:48:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-188327ec9a424041af20b9e019977027 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2458-746X 2458-746X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T14:48:38Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | University of Ghana |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Legon Journal of the Humanities |
| spelling | doaj.art-188327ec9a424041af20b9e0199770272022-12-21T19:37:02ZengUniversity of GhanaLegon Journal of the Humanities2458-746X2458-746X2020-12-013113662https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ljh.v31i1.2Primacy, polemic, and paradox in Ken Bugul’s The abandoned baobabAugustine H. AsaahArguably considered the prototype of African postcolonial feminist writing by reason of its poignant depiction of taboo subjects such as lesbianism, prostitution, drugs, and suicide, Ken Bugul’s The abandoned baobab has elicited sustained interest from the academy. This paper seeks to contribute to the debate by examining the strands of counter-discourse and postcolonial complicity within the context of the primacy ascribed to myths, the baobab, and the mother. It is driven by nativism and postcolonial theory. Far from constituting impregnable defense systems against hegemony, these primal forces prove to be limited in their protection of the protagonist. The paper concludes that even if the narrative foregrounds the mirage of hermetic identities and norms, it also defends Afrocentric development in the postcolony.https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ljh/article/view/202489ken bugulpostcolonial theorymythbaobabmother |
| spellingShingle | Augustine H. Asaah Primacy, polemic, and paradox in Ken Bugul’s The abandoned baobab Legon Journal of the Humanities ken bugul postcolonial theory myth baobab mother |
| title | Primacy, polemic, and paradox in Ken Bugul’s The abandoned baobab |
| title_full | Primacy, polemic, and paradox in Ken Bugul’s The abandoned baobab |
| title_fullStr | Primacy, polemic, and paradox in Ken Bugul’s The abandoned baobab |
| title_full_unstemmed | Primacy, polemic, and paradox in Ken Bugul’s The abandoned baobab |
| title_short | Primacy, polemic, and paradox in Ken Bugul’s The abandoned baobab |
| title_sort | primacy polemic and paradox in ken bugul s the abandoned baobab |
| topic | ken bugul postcolonial theory myth baobab mother |
| url | https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ljh/article/view/202489 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT augustinehasaah primacypolemicandparadoxinkenbugulstheabandonedbaobab |