Language and Narrative Techniques in Selected Works of Two Nigerian Diasporic Writers

Abstract

Language and thematic preoccupations are integral aspects of literary analysis that are intertwined to convey meanings to reader in society. Scholars have explored both themes and language in fictional works in the past. However, this study deviates from previous researches by investigating the language and narrative techniques in the literary works of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Helon Habila. The library or desk research which entails gathering information from secondary materials was adopted. Two literary texts each of the two contemporary diasporic writers were purposively selected and subjected to literary analysis. The postcolonial theory is adopted for the critical exploration of the primary texts whose writers are products of postcolonial society. Findings show that both writers employ convergent narrative techniques to convey their messages to psychologically stimulated readers. The common techniques utilized in the selected texts include the use of symbolism, pathetic fallacy, retrospective technique, use of contrast, foreshadowing, memory imagery, descriptive and epistolary techniques.