Dirges of Hope

Authors

• Manasseh Azure Awuni, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

First Advisor

Timothy Schaffert

Committee Members

Pascha Stevenson, Saddiq Dzukogi

Date of this Version

4-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Citation

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Art

Major: English

Under the supervision of Professor Timothy Schaffert

Lincoln, Nebraska, April 2026

Comments

Copyright 2026, Manasseh Azure Awuni. Used by permission

Abstract

Among the varied themes that African fiction explores, politics and governance remain the most dominant across generations. Writing under oppressive and exploitative colonial administrations, the first generation of African storytellers used fiction to highlight the injustice of colonial rule. With fidelity to the African proverb that says the tales of hunting will always glorify the hunter until the lion learns to tell its own stories, African writers also used fiction to push back against one-sided, toxic narratives about the continent. After independence, when rulers of the new republics continued the colonial legacies of oppression, inflicting untold hardships on their citizens, African fiction writers turned the heat on their own leaders. This resulted in some of them being banished and their works being banned in their native lands.

This work of fiction, set in Ghana, follows the long-standing tradition of spotlighting the power brokers who sabotage the continent's progress. Aside from the dominant theme of love, which drives the story, it also explores corruption and state capture, the complicity of religion, LGBT politics, and the rising influence of Gen Z in global politics. While it does not absolve external influence and exploitation, this work seeks to point out the complicity of Africans in undermining their own progress.

Advisor: Timothy Schaffert