The Novel as a Vehicle for Awareness. An Exploration of Elnathan John’s Born on A Tuesday.

Abstract

Nigeria, a country of diverse people and culture, is blessed with vast mineral resources and a huge population. Nigeria is thus referred to as the giant of Africa because, despite facing corruption and various challenges, the country continues to forge ahead in an effort to maintain unity and progress. This however, proves more difficult because the country is facing serious security challenges. Criminal activities ranging from terrorism, kidnapping, political unrest, religious unrest, narcotics to human trafficking and many more threaten the existence, peace and unity of the country. The Nigerian writer has watched this development with keen interest which has developed into various themes found in the Nigerian novel. The characters bring to life stories of how these different forms of criminal activities can cripple a nation, turn the people into destitutes, and if care is not taken, bring on a full-fledged war. This awareness which is created by the Nigerian writer brings the problem closer to the people and society. This way, the people become more conscious about what happens around them, and devise ways of preventing or tackling the problems before they receive help from the relevant authorities. This paper is therefore concerned with how these issues are explored in the Nigerian novel. Its focus, however, is limited to the novel, Born on a Tuesday, by Elnathan John