Narrative Mood in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Novels

Abstract

Despite the growing attention being given to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s works, there is also a growing concern of the focus of this attention. Criticisms about the structure and narrative techniques she adopts are still marginal to the amount of critical reception she has received over the years. For a number of reasons, the bulk of criticism on her works has focused on thematic and ideological issues to the neglect of other equally significant concerns like narrative technique. This study, therefore, explores Adichie’s adroit use of narrative mood in her novels, Purple Hibiscus (2003), Half of a Yellow Sun (2006) and Americanah (2013) to highlight and intensify the diegesis of these narratives. By employing one of Genette’s narrative categories, mood (perspective and distance) as a methodology, the study explores the narratives’ particular use of methods of focalisation and how their several voices are merged to realise cohesion and coherence. By examining the characteristics and particulars of narrative mood, we can clarify the mechanisms used in the narrative act and identify exactly what methodological choices the author made in order to render her story. The study is also significant in that it has pedagogical implications. It will, among other things, serve as a material to facilitate the teaching of narrative analysis. In addition, the study will be a contribution to theory by demonstrating the extent to which Genette’s methodology is useful to the analysis of the African novel.