Subaltern Theory And Foucauldian Discourse Analysis

The broad area of research is postcolonial literature. The analysis is based on Gayatri Spivak’s Subaltern theory and Foucauldian Discourse Analysis. The researcher has taken into account Antonio Gramsci’s concept of subaltern as he is the first one to develop the concept in social context. The researcher also studies Foucault’s concept of power to examine the social structure in the select novels of both the writers. As in the title of the research the researcher has used the phrase ‘Speaking Subaltern’ the research deals with the ‘voice’ of subaltern. To understand the dominant discourse and the voice of resistance the researcher compared writers with biological difference; a male writer and a female writer. Both the writers belong to the

The research finds out that how the identity of a subaltern is created and how a subaltern constructs his/her language to oppose the dominant discourse. In the present research work the researcher studies the subalterns as speaking subjects by putting them at the centre as the dominant discourse has given birth to the discourse of resistance and opposition. The research is based on the select novels of Ngugi Wa Thiong’o from Kenya and Buchi Emecheta from Nigeria. The researcher juxtaposes Ngugi Wa Thiong’o and Buchi Emecheta as it gives a good opportunity to compare the works of a male and a female writer. It also provides a broad area to see how they resist against dominant group. The first point of comparison between Ngugi Wa Thiong’o and Buchi Emecheta gender difference between the writers. Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, in African literature, has gained a superior position and he is considered as a canonized writer in African literary tradition. In comparison to male writers the practice of writing by female writers was a new thing. Ngugi Wa Thiong’o was a well established male writer in African literature and Buchi Emecheta was struggling female writer; a writer

After the establishment of the Imperial government the African men were decentred from their position. The black men who enjoyed the rights and ruled over women were suddenly thrown out and were put in the margin by the colonizers. Men try to be powerful and they became more aggressive and suppressive. In Ngugi’s Weep Not, Child Ngotho scolds his wife and tells her that he wants to be a man in his family. It is not only the problem of Ngotho but all men suffer from the same problem. One of Ngotho’s sons Boro joins the Mau Mau as he fight to regain their rights and land. Gikonyo in Ngugi's A Grain of Wheat is unable to fight with the powerful people and in distress calls his wife Mumbi a whore. In Ngugi Petals of Blood the characters of Munira, Karega, and Abdulla represent the victimized youth. They have come to Ilmorog but they are imprisoned in the city life. They failed to find out a new direction. In Ngugi’s Wizard of the Crow, the protagonist Kimathi becomes the wizard. He uses the device of disguise and changes his identity over the course of time to fight with the odd situation of the nation. It sounds that the male characters are paralyzed before the colonial power. The researcher also throws light upon the female characters of Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s novels. The comparison between the male and female characters helps to find out that the women characters are stronger than male characters