Most of the black writings have been based on historical circumstances that mainly condition the black’s race consciousness. Many have been focusing mostly on fictional, prose and dramatic genres and less have shown interest in focusing on the post-colonial treatment in modern African poetry. Night of Sine by Leopold Senghor has taken the route of post-colonial literature. Senghor was one of the African port that made major contributions to the Negritude movement that was started by the French-speaking intellectuals who were black. These philosophers accepted the facts that one was black, and this came with its history. Leopold in his poem concentrated on his culture’s subtleties, which he represents them with the image that of a woman with soft hands, with soft hands and sing a song that, is not quite a lullaby. In his poem attempts to reveal his love for Africa in his expression of the magnificent of Negritude (Senghor, 5).
Half a Day is another short story written by a prominent author by the name Naguib Mahfouz. Naguib from Egypt was not well known, and he only gained international recognition after receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988. It is from then that he was recognized as most influential writers in the twentieth century. From his writing, he emphasized on his central theme of time makes memories and the protagonist who was an old man wanted his readers to realize that life can be challenging and at the same time exciting. The story explains the cycle of life, where the narrator passes from childhood, middle age and old age in the course of the day (Mahfouz, 5).
Ngugi wa Thion’go is well known for his entertaining novels, The River Between, Devil on the Cross and more. The Return is another book that he gives a brief description of the history of colonialism in Kenya. From the title The Return, he narrates a story of a man by the name Kamau who returns home from the detention camp where he had been held for five years. Kamau’s hoped to go back to his village and start a fresh life. On returning home, he expects a hero’s warm welcome, but in contrast, the villagers give him a ghost look. He is also amazed as he finds his wife remarried to Karanja after she thought that he was dead (Thiong’o, 3).
One of the common themes that are apparently discussed in the three novels is the theme of racial discrimination. From Night of Sine, Senghor shows how Africans are highly discriminated. They are seen as powerless and thus not given enough chances. From his novel, he believes that each African shares some certain distinctive characteristics that are innate, values and aesthetics (Senghor, 4). He emphasizes that one’s African heritage is both natural and inescapable. From Half a Day, there is the description of how the life of a person starts to form the birth, childhood, old age death and also afterlife. He describes things that one goes through, love, pain, fear, and joy. As a result of discrimination, one can undergo all these during his stage of growth. From the Return by Ngugi wa Thiong’o, he explains the return of Kamau and Karanja, who were African held in prison by the colonists. Kamau expected to be welcomed well as a hero, but this did not happen as was still being colonized and therefore the community could not perform all the activities they wanted (Gikandi, 33).
Works Cited
Gikandi, Simon. Encyclopedia of African literature. London : Routledge, 2003. Document.
Mahfouz, Naguib. "Half a day." Something to declare: Selections from International Literature (1994): 3-6.
Senghor, Léopold Sédar. "Night in Sine." Translated by Melvin Dixon.) The Collected Poetry. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia (1991).
Thion'go, Ngugi. The Return. Origins of East Africa. 1965
