Cultural Strands of Africa in the Works of Selected African Novelists

Abstract

The relationship between literature and culture is a well-established notion. Culture is manifested through literature, and literature thrives on or derives its sustenance from culture to a large extent. The history of literature, in general, stands a witness to the fact that the impulse of expressing cultural attributes wrapped in nativity has produced glorious pieces of literature. Not only that, some brilliant pieces of literature have come up as a result of a protest against the refusal to give vent to one’s cultural identity and patriotic feelings. The emergence of African literature in English is a case to this point. This research paper aims at exploring all those cultural strands in African life, the hunt of which has produced widely acclaimed literary pieces by Chinua Achebe, Alex La Guma, Gracy Ukala, and the likes. Moreover, this paper attempts to measure the degree of disillusionment with the imposed belief system on mankind and its reflection in the contents of a literary work.