A Marxist Interpretation of the Dystopian Society in the African Novel

Abstract

This essay attempts an evaluation of the African novel with the postulates of Marxism. Because of this interest, we are given the chance to probe into the worlds of two less canonised novelists within the aesthetic canon of African fiction—Nigeria's Biyi Bandele-Thomas and Lekan Oyegoke. In their respective works, both writers have exhibited artistic fervour for showing dystopian Africa as it is. Their fictional exemplars capture the despicable Nigerian societies either under the military regime or in the hands of the corrupt politicians. As both authors want us to believe, the era of money-seeking leaders in Nigeria has been the incontrovertible factor that further relegates the country to the political and socioeconomic background in world politics. The essay thus makes clear the Marxist initiative of the alienation between the haves and the have-nots of African societies.