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At a glance:
- Author: Ayi Kwei Armah
- First Published: 1978
- Type of Work: Historical fiction
- Time of Work: 1873-1874
- Setting: The Asante empire area and Cape Coast of Ghana
- Characters: Densu, Damfo, Ababio, Araba Jesiwa, Ajoa, Asamoa Nkwanta, Sir Garnet Wolseley, Captain Glover
- Genres: Long fiction, Historical fiction, Novel
- Subjects: Africa or Africans, Power, personal or social, Politics, Race, Murder or homicide, Nineteenth century, Rulers, Medicine, Corruption
- Locales: Ghana, Africa, Asante empire
The Novel
In his desire to do justice to his tale, the narrator, the “story-teller,” of the events of the novel, invokes the arts of eloquence from a long-revered tradition of African masters of narrative. Convinced of the urgency and importance of his tale, the narrator must remind himself, through the invocations, that discipline in storytelling is a paramount factor that he must not forget. The main task of the narrator is to show how the events of the twentieth year in the life of the protagonist, Densu, serve to illustrate aspects of the larger society. There is a focus...
(The entire page is 2242 words.)
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