Discuss the stylistic techniques employed by Ngugi Wa Thiong'o in the devil on the cross

"Devil on the Cross" by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is a novel rich in stylistic techniques that contribute to its powerful narrative and social critique. Here are some of the key stylistic techniques employed by the author:Language Choice: Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o wrote "Devil on the Cross" in Gikuyu, his native language, before translating it into English. This choice of language reflects his commitment to decolonizing literature and reclaiming African languages as vehicles for storytelling.Oral Tradition: The novel incorporates elements of oral tradition, including folktales, proverbs, and songs. These elements serve to connect the narrative to the rich cultural heritage of Kenya and Africa as a whole, while also adding depth and authenticity to the storytelling.Surrealism and Allegory: Ngũgĩ employs surrealistic and allegorical elements to critique neocolonialism, capitalism, and corruption in post-independence Kenya. The characters and events in the novel often represent larger social, political, and economic realities, allowing Ngũgĩ to explore complex themes in a vivid and imaginative manner.Satire and Humor: The novel is infused with satire and humor, which Ngũgĩ uses to both entertain and critique. Through sharp wit and biting humor, he exposes the absurdities and injustices of Kenyan society, while also offering moments of levity amidst the darkness.Polyphony: "Devil on the Cross" features multiple narrative voices and perspectives, allowing Ngũgĩ to explore the experiences and viewpoints of a diverse range of characters. This polyphony adds richness and complexity to the narrative, highlighting the interconnectedness of individual lives within broader social and political structures.Rhythm and Repetition: Ngũgĩ employs rhythmic prose and repetition to create a sense of urgency and momentum in the narrative. Through repetition of phrases, motifs, and themes, he emphasizes key ideas and reinforces the novel's central messages.These stylistic techniques combine to make "Devil on the Cross" a dynamic and thought-provoking work of literature that challenges readers to reconsider their assumptions about power, justice, and the legacy of colonialism in

Answered by OHIOMERO OJEIU PhD

ORCID ID: 0000 0009 5895 9474

20/12/2024

20:45pm

Devil on the Cross is a 1982 narrative palimpsest which culturally triumphs as a political advocacy compass within the post colonial narrative debate trajects.

As a stylistic affidavit of African creative classic, Devil on the Cross disturbs the Kenyan political ancestry with the root language of the author.

In his essay, "Decolonising the Mind" Ngugi contends that writing in Gikuyu would constitute a mile stone in the African creative document and invoke the cultural accomplishment Shakespeare's manuscripts, beyond the promise, provides for the English cultural history.

Thus, the translation of Gikuyu-written narrative breaks the colonial jinx of the imperial language handed to the African independent consciousness.

However, the stylistic convention of language and communication in Devil on the Cross is performative rather than descriptive. The communication technique in Ngugi's stylistic volition constructs participatory experience, rather than a folk narrative custom dominant in most African classics.

Another stylistic tradition in Ngugi's novel is the use of multiple narrative horizons. This technique takes the narrative point of view from the omniscient zoom to a narrative performance, giving characters a revolutionary narrative communion of events.

This stylistic convention creates narrative resilience of the aesthetic enterprise: in this case, rather than create beauty, it constructs peculiar emotional climate within the narrative text that the narrative assumes the social stature of behavioural psychology.

This creative advantage narrows the narrative experience of multiple narrators to dim the experience of the omniscient narrator and decentralise the political tension lifted by language into the narrative fractions of the multiple narrators.

Another stylistic convention used by Ngugi in this masterpiece is repetition, and musicalility of narrative drifting in the plot. What this means is that, the linguistic investment of language and style makes the plot lose its organic column of narration and fashions a musical progress of narration in a manner consistent with Gikuyu and the Kenyan ancestral practices and liberation monody during the mau Mau uprising.

The mood of the language in the novel rises and falls between political tension and moral decay, thereby helighlighting the theme of colonial corruption and other themes in the novel.

Also, the tone of the language as observed in the narrative voices of the multiple narrators lend credence to the deep settlement of mental health crises littered in the linguistic elbows of the narrators' language and experiences.

Wariinga's narrative experience reveals an approximate modicum of the mental health crises consistent with virtually all the characters.

She attempts suicide, which is an extreme overload of the psychological strength of the humane quality which enables a stable fraternity she maintains with folks and kinsmen.

The narrative twists in the turn of events as the narrative progresses from denouement to resolution, rests on the language of suspense maintained by a Socratic irony in the narrators' experimental vista.

This narrative reality finally culminates in a moral apocalypse where Jacinta Wariinga discovers that the man she intends to marry is a human link to the source of her mental health crises.

The language which dresses this experience is performative as J. L Austin notes in How to Do Things with Words. This means that the performative experimental language was employed as the unintended consequence of multiple narrators' convention of chronicling events and experiences.