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| Title: | The man in khaki and the man in the street: a study of 'This Earth, My Brother'and 'Sardines' |
| Author: | Akhuemokhan, Sophia |
| Year: | 2008 |
| Periodical: | Okike: an African Journal of New Writing |
| Issue: | 49 |
| Pages: | 6-21 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic terms: | Subsaharan Africa Ghana Somalia |
| Subjects: | revolutions rebellions novels |
| About persons: | Kofi N. Awoonor (1935-2013) Nuruddin Farah (1945-) |
| Abstract: | Two novels - 'This Earth, My Brother' (1971), by Kofi Awoonor (Ghana) and 'Sardines' (1981), by Nuruddin Farah (Somalia) - are used to examine whether or not the active participation of the police, the army and other security forces is imperative if a mass rebellion or revolution is to occur and succeed, as postulated by the sociologist D.E.H. Russell (1974). 'This Earth, My Brother' centres on the struggle between the security forces and the masses, showing how the self-interest of the former prevents the occurrence of revolution. 'Sardines' narrows down the overall struggle to rivalry between two individuals, a military dictator and a female insurrectionist, demonstrating that military absolutism can pollute revolutionary idealism and thereby affect the outcome of revolution. Russell seems justified in her argument that the armed forces play a greater role in revolution than one might imagine. Awoonor and Farah both tell us that the man with a gun and the unarmed national must share the same vision, because unless they do, the aspiration for genuine reform will come to nothing. Bibliogr. [ASC Leiden abstract] |