المفكر
Volume 8, Numéro 2, Pages 583-604
2024-12-21

The Theme Of Betrayal In Two Postcolonial Novels, Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s A Grain Of Wheat (1967) And Mouloud Mammeri’s L’opium Et Le Bâton (1965)

Authors : Benazzouz Yazid .

Abstract

This research work examines the visions of two postcolonial African novelists, Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Mouloud Mammeri, about the issue of betrayal as respectively portrayed in their two prominent postcolonial works, A Grain of Wheat (1967) and L’Opium et le bâton (1965), two novels which are about two well-known movements of resistance, Mau Mau in Kenya and FLN in Algeria. The theme of betrayal is one of the common themes in postcolonial African literature, reflecting the complex and enduring legacies of both colonialism and post-colonialism realities and disillusionments. In this sense, this research study aims to profoundly explore the various forms of betrayal, including personal and communal betrayals, in addition to betrayal of the ideals of liberation, in the two compared novels through the discourses and behaviours of three main antagonists, Karanja, Mugo and Tayeb.

Keywords

(Political) Betrayal ; Cowardice ; A Grain of Weat (AGW) ; L’Opium et le bâton (LOB) ; (Post-)Colonialism ; Karanja ; Mugo ; Tayeb