Myth inNgugi’s A Grain of Wheat (1967) and Kateb Yacine’s Nedjma (1956)

Abstract

This research paper investigated myth in Kateb’s nedjma (1956) and Ngugi’s A Grain of Wheat (1967). It examined the place and significance of myths in the reflection of African experience and highlighted the attempt of both writers to refine their respective cultures through the use of myths. To achieve my goal, I have relied on Okpewho’s book entitled Myth in Africa. In my discussion, I have studied the different mythic constellations present in both novels. My approach then was comparativist and showed the importance of myth as a device for narrating different visional postcolonial communities. I have also tried to study the function of myth within these African novels. After having analyzed the two novels in the light of Okpewho’s Myth in Africa, I have reached the conclusion that the two writers have revalorized and rehabilitated their cultures in the same manner.