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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/71028
Description
Title
Popular Tradition in the Senegalese Novel
Author(s)
Maiden, Cherie Cannon
Issue Date
1982
Department of Study
French
Discipline
French
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Literature, African
Abstract
The search for different trends of thought which depart from socio-political concerns has generated a new wave of interest in African literary criticism. Consequently, the socio-cultural approach is being re-examined, but it remains, however, the most widely used form of critical analysis in the study of African Literature. Solomon O. Yasere's concept of "cultural formalism" makes the socio-cultural approach more suitable to the preoccupations of present day literary critics, as it takes into consideration the artistic autonomy of the African novel and the latter's correlation with external reality. This provides a formidable stepping stone from which to begin the study of the aesthetic import of elements of popular tradition in the Senegalese novel.
Thus far, the indigenous elements found in Senegalese fiction have served mainly to establish a relation between the writer and African society. The insistance on the socio-political concerns of the Senegalese writer have tended to overshadow his/her role as an artist. To ignore the art of the writer, however, is to disregard that which distinguishes his/her work as literature. While this study attempts to highlight the artistry of the Senegalese novel, it does so in light of the latter's thematic import, for indeed, content and form are intimately linked in fiction. Through an investigation of the artistic use of elements of popular tradition it is possible, therefore, to attain a more insightful study of the literary creativity of the Senegalese writer. Ousmane Soce, Abdoulaye Sadji, Ousmane Sembene and Aminata Fall all resort to the use of indigenous elements not only to reinforce their reflexions on the socio-political problems which mark African society but to enhance narrative creation as well. African features are used in the innovation of characters, plot development and in the reinforcement of contextual setting. Thus, elements of popular tradition become a vital and inspirational force in the Senegalese novel.
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