Literary Depiction of Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain’s Vision of an Equitable and Developed Society with The Cooperation of Empowered Women in Sultana’s Dream and Padmarag (Published)
Sultana’s Dream and Padmarag present us a model of the envisaged world of Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain-an equitable and developed society with the cooperation of empowered women. She draws this model as realistically as possible. Like any utopian land, everything is not smooth and beautiful here. Women empowerment does not occur in a magical way. All the possible hindrances that may appear on the way of the women trying to be empowered are clearly foretold here. Yet the portraits of the empowered women, who successfully achieve independence, self- dignity, the right to voice their own opinions, and the ability to serve the society are indeed inspirational for all, particularly for the captivated women of patriarchy.
Keywords: Patriarchy, Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Women Empowerment, socialist feminism
Heavenly Hurt Emily Dickinson (Published)
This paper focused on the absurdist elements in the selected poems of Emily Dickinson. Spending her life in a politically and socially rigid family she also experienced an authoritarian patriarchy; and ironically these oppressive elements became inspirations to her for writing rebellious poetry while completely ignoring the set norms, regularities and unyielding poetic traditions. This paper reveals her rejections of existing religious order and social conditions while exposing their emptiness and austerity. This paper attempted to make a connection between absurdism and the poetry of Emily Dickinson to depict the disconnection among Man, God and Society as strongly propounded by Dickinson.
Keywords: Absurdity, Desolation, Female Reality, Futility, Meaninglessness, Nothingness, Patriarchy, Self Exile
OF AFRICAN LITERATURE, PERIODS AND CHIMAMANDA ADICHIE’S JOURNEY INTO SELF DISCOVERY IN PURPLE HIBISCUS. (Review Completed - Accepted)
Literature and periods are inseparable because of the latter’s function in the interpretation of fiction. Period is an indispensable factor whenever a work of art is discussed. Because a writer does not write in a vacuum but out of the historical, political, or personal experiences/situations from his immediate society, period therefore is a tool that equips the reader to a better understanding of these situations. This paper focuses on the relevance of periods in the appreciation of literature. Moreover, the many factors that influence and determine a period are also explored. The research surveys the ways different eras, movements and economic changes dictate their established modes of narration. In addition, the paper as well probes the periodization of African literature with emphasis on the three generations of African writers and the preoccupation of their texts. The paper examines the writings of African female writers and the themes they explore to drive home the fact that women are relegated to the border in national, traditional and religious debate. Consequently, Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus, part of the third generation narration is concerned with the identity of the modern African woman in the 21st Century. This essay therefore, investigates how Adichie in Purple Hibiscus questions patriarchy by deconstructing the roles of tradition and religion in the disintegration of the family and the traditional African society. It is the argument of this paper that Adichie succeeds in creating characters that negotiate hybrid identities thereby defining their selfhood.
Keywords: Generations of African writers, Patriarchy, Periods, Religion and Self discovery, modern identity for the African woman