International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) |Volume VI, Issue IX, September 2022|ISSN 2454-6186
Gothic Topoi and the Postmodern Imagination in Nnedi Okorafor’s Akata Witch
Julius Kipkorir A. Chepkwony1, Nicholas Kamau Goro2, Stephen Muthoka Mutie3, Jane Wanjiru Mugo2
1Department of Literary Studies, Turkana University College, Lodwar, Kenya
2Department of Literary and Communication Studies, Laikipia University, Kenya
3Department of Literature, Linguistics and Foreign Languages, Kenyatta University, Kenya
Abstract: This paper explores Okorafor’s Akata Witch as an exemplification of Gothic nuances inhabiting the postmodernist world. Okorafor’s dexterous deployment of Gothicism as topoi that uncovers salient postmodern issues contemporaneous with society. The study is anchored on the emerging theory propagated by Maria Beville, Gothic-postmodernist theory. Through a close reading of selected text, this study analyses Gothic topoi that serve to elucidate sublime terrors in the form of fear of self, immortality and transcendence to the ethereal realm. Okorafor’s Akata Witch was sampled out purposely because it is flavored with Gothic topoi that amplify postmodern concerns. The paper argues that Gothic topoi deployed by the writer evince society’s sensibilities and contradictions in the twenty first century. It established that the Gothic topoi of placeness and Gothic characters revitalize restoration of Gothic as a distinct genre. A conclusion is made that Gothic topoi buttress postmodern notions of hegemonic commodification. The study adds to the polemics surrounding the continuous evolvement and centrality of Gothicism in literature. The study also contributes to the field of Gothic-postmodernism as ever-changing and evolving genre. It entrenches it as a distinct genre that requires more academic attention and recognition.
Keywords: ethereal, Gothicism, postmodernism, realm, sublime, terror, transcendence.
I. INTRODUCTION
Gothic-Postmodernism, A Literary Theory.
Gothic genre has a long winding literary and historical evolvement that is traced to the Germanic tribe, Goth that defeated the Romans around third to fifth Centuries. The tribe, raging with anger and irrationality, was associated with the dark side of human nature. They represented primitive roots and excesses in emotions. They were associated with barbarity, savagery and ferocity. Goth, then, signified “a trend towards an aesthetics based on feeling and emotion and associated primarily with the sublime” (Botting, 2005, p. 2) because of the nature of the Goths who were then viewed as uncouth, unrefined, crude and wild. Regarded as expressive and connoting baser instincts of humanity, Goth has remained representative of medieval art that was revived in the enlightenment era. It transcends art into architectural, cultural and histo-religious spheres as a style that was revived to represent neo-classical culture. This paper avers that humanity has shown keen fascination with the excess sentimentalism, feelings and emotions demonstrated by