Chapter three

Textual analysis
This chapter deals with textual analysis. My primary data gathering was the
assemblage of the five texts, Lord of the flies, Animal Farm, Anthills of the
Savannah, The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born, and Devil on the Cross.
Materials from related literature review were the secondary data collection. After
reading the texts, the summaries, synopses, of the five texts are presented. The
presentation of the synopses proceeded diction presentation in the five texts. The
stylistic theories applied in this study are those of Jeffries and Mclntyre (2010).
Both, Jeffries and Mclntyre, believe that ‘Stylistics is the scientific study of styles
and it involves the description of a writer or a speaker’s choice and the effects that
these choices have on readers or listeners. It is concerned with the organization of
language in text and discourse and how it can be used to persuade, inform,
entertain, and create aesthetic experience’. Another stylistics theory applies in this
story is that of Azuike (1992). Azuike explains the theory of style as individual
seeking to establish symmetry between a person’s expressive capacity and their
other peculiarities. Symmetry means a carbon copy, the exact match in size and
shape between the two halves of something. For this reason, it means that the style
in a piece of writing is suited to the very identity or nature of the author. The
fictional texts were studied in the following order: Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm,
Anthills of the Savannah, The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born, and Devil on the
Cross.

Analysis of Diction in the five texts

3.1 Lord of the Flies
3.1.1 Synopsis

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 The Lord of the Flies written by William Golden, The first of his five
novels, is his most influential literary piece of writing.
The theme, the most important lesson in a literary piece, is the exploration of
darkness and primal aspect of human nature. In other words, good and evil are
native to man’s nature. There are no adults on the island, still the boys growing up
on their own come to shed infinite evil.
The subject matter, what the narrative is all about, centres on a group of
British boys, six to twelve years of age, stranded in a desert or coral island after
their plane crash during a war time evacuation; their crew killed, the boys left to
their devices. There is fruit to eat, a clean pool for swimming and Piglets to be
hunted for their meat. The plot or storyline is woven around the major character,
the older boys called the ‘biguns’, such as Ralph, Maurice, Piggy, Jack Merridew,
Simon, Roger and more. The ficelles, that is, the minor characters, are made up of
the junior boys called the ‘littluns’ such as Sam, Eric (Sam and Eric, twins,
collectively referred to as Sameric, Johnny, Phil, Percival, Harold, Robert…
Ficelles are minor characters that throw light on the major characters.
The boys attempt to establish order and civility but their society descends
into anarchy and violence. Ralph is selected at first as a leader for his forwardness
honesty and tenacity. Though not remarkably intelligent, yet, Ralph is conscious of
their needs and the means to reach out for those needs. For instance, it is Ralph
who discovers the conch shell which Ralph initiates to become a symbol of
authority. Whoever holds the conch retains the authority to address the assembly.
For his lead roles, Ralph is easily the central character, protagonist.
The boys get grouped into three. Those to build shelter, those to stoke fire
(for the smoke as signal to announce the boys’ presence on the island, and so to be
rescued by the adult world from without). The third group is the hunting team.

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 The routine becomes irksome. The smaller children lose interest in their
tasks. The bigger boys prefer continuous hunting to less glamorous duties. In an
attempt to confirm the rumour gaining the rounds that a fearsome beast lurks in the
forest, they discover on a night the dead body of a parachutist. The discovery
heightens the more their fear of the lurking beast. In an attempt to come to the
reality of it, Simon loses his life. Jack is chosen as a new chief because he
promises to return the islanders to a life of primitivism. After Simon’s death,
Piggy’s follows. The conch, symbol of authority, shattered into pieces, the means
for assembly, cohesion and coercion ends. The former, chief, Ralph, begins to find
himself as an outcast. He begins to be targeted as a scapegoat. He manages to
escape the blood thirsty boys who have become savages or brutes. The rescue ship
surfaces at this stage ironically. Ironical in the sense that while Ralph’s pleas for
them to stoke the fire for their rescue is ignored, their wild activities summarized in
setting the island on fire to hunt Ralph down to death set up the island aglow which
becomes the notification for the rescue team. At this time, all the boys are in a total
mess of their dirty-mindedness, chaos and violence at about the last page of their
lives on the island, and of the book, when the omnipresent and omniscient narrator
reports, ‘Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart’ (250).

3.1.2 Diction in Lord of the Flies

Diction is a clever choice of words to enhance the understanding of what is
spoken or written. It is a manner of speaking or writing. Clarity of diction is
paramount to a public speaker or writer. In diction, one can become isolectical, i.e.
in spoken language, or idiosyncratic, written. Both forms of diction means a
peculiar way of doing things especially in speaking or writing.
(a) Home Counties (13)

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 The omniscient narrator in describing places mentions Home
Counties. Home Counties as an expression is made up of noun adjuncts.
Home is a noun describing counties, also a noun. Home Counties are the
English Counties surrounding London. A county is a region of Britain, Irand
or the USA with its local government. This diction is capable of some
headache for the African Reader.
(b) Conch (23)
Conch is a large spiral-shaped marine shell, which can be used as a
trumpet. Conch is also alien to an African reader. The parallel or equivalent
of conch is whistle or trumpet.
(c) Gib., and Addis (30)
The above abbreviations denote Gibraltar and Addis Ababa.
Abbreviations are however ill-advised in any serious writing. Abbreviations
and diminutive words form do not pose as good model for an unfully
cultivated reader.
(d) ‘All them other boys’ (14)
The above is an expression of ‘fat boys’ in reply to the ‘fair boys’.
‘Fat boy’ and ‘fair boys’ because the children have just arrived the island
and have only started coming together for self-identification after the crash
landing of their aircraft. ‘All the other boys’ uttered by Piggy is septic. It
ought to be ‘All the other boys’. The ‘fat boy’ that is, Piggy, is middle lower
class in origin (Methuen, 29). The lower class is synonymous with lower
linguistic background. Piggy’s low linguistic performance is, therefore, a
direct proof of Piggy’s poor linguistic background. More of similar
construction is further dealt with immediately after the next sequence. It is a
creative resort of the author to put whatever language in the mouth of
character to reveal who or what they are.
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 (e) Off-hand (14)
Off-hand, adjective, is not to be interested in somebody or something.
This is the way the ‘fair boy’ responded to the ‘fat boy’ when the ‘fat boy’
suggested to the ‘fair boy’ ‘Some of them must have gone out’. The some of
them’ means the adults who probably came to the island with the children.
More of piggy expressions are as follows.
(f)
(i) We was attack (15)
‘This is the reply of piggy to the fair boys as an explanation for the
children fending themselves on the island
(ii) ‘When we was coming down’ (15)
(iii) ‘And this is what the tube done’ (15)
(iv) ‘It wasn’t half dangerous with all them tree trunks’ (15)
(v) ‘Can’t catch me breath’ (15)
(vi) ‘I was the only boy in our school what hand asthma’ (15-16)
(vii) ‘We was scared’ (195)
(viii) ‘We was on the outside’ (196)
(ix) ‘We was in that dance’ (196)
Next to Piggy‘s expressions are a few examples as found in Ralph’s:
(x) ‘They has smoked him out and set the island on fire’ (244)
The foregoing is Ralph’s explanation about the other boys setting the island on fire
to hunt Ralph to death.
(xi) then you has a chance (245)
From the beginning of the text to the end, i-ix is characteristic of Piggy’s
expression. x-xi exemplify those of Ralph. An author’s portrayal of a character in
their true linguistic colour is a style to show instead of telling method.

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It is idiosyncratic though ungrammatical. Its ungrammaticality is not an authorial
error, as it is a technique, a style to demonstrate the linguistic originality of a
speaker /character. Suiting language to the station of a character is character code-
concordance. Such things as education or background, class, position or status of a
character are revealed in the way the character speaks. In all the forgoing examples
of expressions by Piggy and Ralph, both are shown to have a lowly linguistic
acquisition.
(g) The following diction in the accompanying sentences by Piggy
presents the author’s intentional semantic errors. The errors are a choice, a
ploy to categorize the linguistic habit of Piggy.
i. ‘I didn’t expect nothing’ (20)
ii. ‘Nobody don’t know we are here’
iii. ‘I can’t see no smoke’ (85)
iv. ‘Aren’t I having none’ (94)
v. ‘Of course there is not nothing to be afraid of in the forest’ (106)
This is a second category of Piggy’s linguistic malapropism. The first category
borders on grammatical issue. This second is on semantics. The author creates
characters and the quality of language to create a certain linguo-literary
understanding. The error in the following, semantic, it borders on the use of double
negative discredited by the traditional grammarians. The meaning of each sentence
is recast as follows;
(i) ‘I don’t expect nothing’ –I expect something.
(ii) ‘Nobody don’t know we’re here’ – Somebody knows we are here.
(iii) ‘I can’t see no smoke' - I can see some smoke.
(iv) ‘Aren’t I having none?’ – I am having some.
(v) ‘Of course there isn’t nothing to be afraid of in the forest’. – There is
something to be afraid in the forest.
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For the foregoing sentences not to have the miscarried meanings outlined above,
they should be recast as follows’
(i) I didn’t expect nothing.
(ii) Nobody don’t know we are here.
(iii) Nobody knows we‘re here.
(iv) I can’t see no smoke.
(v) Aren’t I having none?
(vi) Of course there isn’t nothing to be afraid of in the forest’.
Anywhere Piggy speaks from the beginning to the end of the book, intentional
authorial grammatical and semantic errors are palpably noticed. But such errors are
placed for stylistic purpose of showing instead of telling method of revealing the
linguistic rank of a character. Other areas of diction traceable to Piggy and Ralph
are as hereunder. The diction in each of the expressions is a violation of correct
linguistic procedure. The violation is however a linguistic art or style by the author
to present the linguistic personality of characters to achieve character code-
concordance or verisimilitude.
(i) I am sorry I been such a time (17)
Personal pronoun ‘I’ is used in the place of it for an object. The
sentence should read, I am sorry it has been such a time.
(ii) ‘This an island isn’t it?’ (22)
The omission of the ‘be’ verb ‘is’, and following the statement with a question tag
using the ‘be’ verb ‘is’ are the problems. The sentence ought to be, ‘This’ is an
island’, then the question tag, ‘isn’t it?
(iii) ‘Nobody don’t know that we’re here’ (22)
The issue of the use of double negative in (iii has been earlier dealt with). The
present problem is one of concord on ‘nobody don’t know’. The subject/ noun,
‘nobody,’ is singular. The verb ‘do’ ought to be ‘does’, to reflect its singular
7
subject/noun. Piggy has a problem with managing second person singular. Then he
obviously has with the first person singular and plural, third person singular and
plural, too.
(iv) ‘Him with the shell’ (32)
‘Him’ is in the position of ‘he’. ‘He’ should function as the subject of the sentence
in (iv). ‘Him’ is in the objective case, as ‘him’ is the object of a ‘be’ verb or
preposition to refer to a male person or animal.
(v) ‘Perhaps they knew where we was going to’ (46)
‘We was’ instead of ‘we were’ shows the problem of Piggy in handling first person
singular and plural is real.
(vi) ‘Him with the mark on his face’ (62)
This is the problem in (iv) repeating.
(vii) ‘Except me and my hunters’ (66)
Jack is reporting to Ralph that the members of his hunting group were about their
schedule and so could not take part in building the shelters. The sentence ought to
read, ‘Except my hunters and I’. Although ‘Except me and my hunters is
grammatically correct, it is not semantically acceptable because the sense is wrong.
It is always others before self. This is so because language has something in
common with politeness and common sense. A sentence can be grammatically
correct but cannot be acceptable if it is not semantically ordered. In other words, it
is both grammaticality and semanticity that can profer linguistic acceptability. She
is a ten years old woman is a correct expression but not acceptable. A woman
cannot be only ten years old. That man is undergoing menstrual period. This, too,
is grammatical but the sense is wrong as a man does not experience menstruation.
(viii) ‘What we going to do’ (156)
‘Are’ acting as an auxiliary of ‘going’ is omitted. This is a characteristic pattern of
Piggy’s language behaviour, as a result of his natural linguistic deficiency.
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However, Piggy is perplexed in this instance (viii) above, about the ‘beast with
teeth and big black eyes’. So, interrogating Ralph about their fate, Piggy is
speaking from psychological disorientation. His spirit is warped as his safety is in
the balance. The fear pervading about him is subliminally indefinable.
(ix) ‘Safely I looking at Piggy and not seeing him’ (160).
The infectious psychological disorder of Piggy adversely affects Ralph. His diction
needs updating such as; I have been carefully looking for Piggy still I cannot find
him. ‘Seeing’, from see, one of the five stative verbs. The stative verbs are taste,
see, smell, hear, and feel. The five stative verbs are derived from the five human
senses. They are senses of tasting, seeing, hearing, smelling and feeling. As we
have no control over these senses, we cannot use them progressively as in ‘I am
seeing you’, ‘I am hearing you’, I am smelling it’, ‘Are you hearing me?’ ‘Are you
seeing’, etc. But one can say, ‘I can see you’, I can smell it, ‘I can hear you’, ‘I feel
the cold weather’ etc. However, ‘I am seeing you tomorrow has a different shade
of meaning. ‘I am seeing him tomorrow’ means ‘I am going to see him tomorrow’.
More areas of diction in Lord of the Flies are drawn from the following
expressions;
(i) ‘Presently Ralph stopped and turned back to piggy’ (34)
(ii) ‘Presently, seeing ralph under the palms he came and sat by him’ (83)
(iii) ‘Presently they were all laughing so absurdly that the biguns joined
in’ (111)
(iv) ‘Presently they were all jabbing at Robert who made mock rushes’
(143)
(v) ‘Presently they all began to inch forward sweating in the silence and
heat’ (168)
(vi) ‘Presently he stabbed down at the ground with his finger’ (169)

9
 (vii) ‘Presently he stood up, holding the dripping sow’s head in his hand’
(171)
(viii) ‘Presently Ralph rose to his feet looking at the place where the
savages had vanished’ (176)
(ix) ‘Presently the creepers festooned the trees less frequently’ and there
was a scatter of pearly light from the sky down through the trees (182)
(x) ‘Presently all was quiet again’ (205)
‘Presently’ is used in all the foregoing by the narrator to report all the happenings
as expressed in each of the sentences. ‘Presently’ is used to mean a short while
after or a short while to come. This means there must be an antecedent in each
situation where ‘presently’ applies. So, the use of ‘presently’ as exemplified by the
following constructions is a misnomer:
i) Presently I am a lecturer at the Benue State University.
ii) Presently I am the chief Executive Officer of the Access Bank.
iii) Presently I am doing the assignment.
The acceptable alternatives for i-ii above are as these:
i) I am a lecturer at the Benue State University at present.
(ii and iii) above take the same expression, ‘at present’ instead of ‘presently’
The reconstruction of (i-ii) is still septic in a way as illustrated as follows:
i) I am a lecturer at the Benue State University at present is septic, because
‘I am’ already shows the tense, i.e; at present’ so, ‘I am a lecturer at the
Benue State University’ is the most correct.
The same goes for (ii) and (iii), above.

(h) Whee-oh! (46)

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 Whee, is an exclamation to express excitement. Jack uses it to
establish agreement with Ralph and Piggy on the need for them to have rules
to govern them.

(i) Bong (46)

The sound made by a large bell. This is an expression of Ralph suggesting
that Jack has hit the nail on the head in respect of Jack’s opinion that they have
to have rules.
(j) Yah – Fatty! (60)
Yah is a way of saying or writing ‘yes’ to show the speaker has an upper
class accent. Used in that way, it shows that the speaker has a low opinion about
somebody or something. The speaker is Jack. Addressing Piggy in the manner
shows that Jack has a low opinion of Piggy. Fatty is the name Piggy was known by
on their arrival on the island. Jack belongs in the upper class, and Piggy, low
middle class. Their belonging to different classes shows that London is a class
society. Not only London is a class society, many societies are class society across
the world. Nigeria is a class society – divided into ‘have’ and ‘have nots’. A class
society breeds ill feelings which arise from pride, prejudice, and snobbishness of
the privileged groups. Class society puts a wall of division between people.
Therefore a class society is not a restive society. Exposed individuals the world
over clamour for classless society.

(k) Bollocks to the rules (116)

It is Jack who says to Ralph, Bollocks to the rules. The rules are those the
boys must follow on the island for their security. Bollocks is an offensive word or
11
taboo. It is a rude swear word used in informal English to express disagreement,
dislike or defiance. Jack saying bollocks to the rules means that the rules are
nonsensical. So he, Jack, is none of it.

(l) Dunno (118)

Dunno is a way of writing the informal spoken, ‘I don’t know’. Dunno is a
slangy word. The use of slangy words by Piggy to Simon shows that as boys, they
are close to each other. However, affinity linguistically demonstrated such as this
by peers among one another is considered inappropriate between an adult and a
younger person. Among the Africans, especially within the Nigerian culture, the use
of slangy, shortened or diminutive words or expressions by a younger person in
addressing an adult is deemed impolite, discourteous or out rightly abusive. This is
a proof that language and culture are both faces of the same coin. It is just as well as
in some western countries a child or a younger person may tell a parent or an adult,
‘don’t be silly, stupid or something,’ just considered a piece of advice. Tried here,
Nigeria, the child or younger individual is branded a riff-raff, an ill-bred, social and
cultural outcast or mulato and the child or that younger fellow simply dismissed
with a wave of hand as having no cultural content.

(m) Pulling our legs (127)

If someone pulls your leg, they tell you something untrue as a joke. The
twins, Sam, Eric -Samaneric, ask Jack, ‘I suppose you aren’t pulling our legs?’ as
Jack and Ralph introduce the sharpened wooden splints to them as spears. The
idiom, to pull one’s leg is common but ignorance can lead to its literal
interpretation as in the case of a sermon, ‘Do not be selfish’, misinterpreted as ‘do
not sell fish’. Transliteration or local colours such as proverbs, and idioms border

12
on pragmatics, the expression whose meaning lies outside what is said; what is said
plus what is not said added to arrive, at meaning.

(n) Nuts on the signal (134)

Jack tells Ralph, ‘you’re nuts on the signal because Ralph continues to
watch out for fire smoke which Ralph cannot find. Jack telling Ralph that Ralph is
nuts on the signal means Ralph is a fool.
British English also uses nutter to also mean a fool or the mad. The fool-hardiness
with which Ralph is imbued is as a result of Ralph’s inability to locate the smoke
signal.

(o) Dog-eared (141)

A dog-eared book or a piece of paper is one that is over used so that
the corners of the pages are turned down or crumbled.
There are other antecedents of idioms in the Lord of the flies before the
immediate foregoing. The reader need not relax or become lax in order not
to lapse into literal meaning of words. The reader only needs the underlying
meaning to unravel the context to which the idiom relates.

(p) …hang there . (142)

…hang there appears in the sentence:
‘With the boar only five yards away, he flung the foolish wooden
stick that he carried, saw it hit the great snout and hang there for a
moment’.
Tense error noted is as follows. Hung ought to have been the correct tense where
‘hang’ is as in hanging something on another. However, if as in hanging a person,
hanged is the past tense and the past participle form. The diction, ‘hang’, instead of
13
hung creates a grammatical error which spills over into semantic error and
therefore confusion about the true semanticity of the construction.

(q) Crest fallen (147)

Crest-fallen, to be sad and disappointed because you failed but you
did not expect to, describes the emotional state of Jack after failing to
recognize a particular cliff, ‘I don’t remember this cliff’.

3. 2 Animal Farm
3.2.1 Synopsis
Animal Farm written by George Orwell, Arthur Eric Blair, is a satirical
allegory. The human master, Mr. Jones, symbolizes the oppressive ruling class,
and the animals, the oppressed masses in Soviet Union. Animal Farm then is the
scathing satire of the oppression of the masses by the ruling class in Russia. The
bitter critique of the totalitarian Russian government thus resulted in the Russian
revolution of 1917, and gave birth to Stalinism in Soviet Union.
Allegorical about the oppression of the masses by the ruling class, the plot
of the story revolves around an oppressive human master and animals on the
Manor Farm. One of the pigs, the oldest on the Manor Farm, the specific setting of
the novel, is Old Major. Old major leads in the rebellion against their human
master, Mr. Jones. Old Major outlines the principles of Animalism, a philosophy
advocating animal equality. After Old Major’s death, the animals, led by pigs,
especially Napoleon, become like the humans they originally rebelled against.
Animals manipulate other less endowed animals, re-write history and become
corrupt leaders, as animals head the affairs of their fellow animals. In short, the
animals become what they criticized in Man. The key theme, the most important
lesson, is the authorial reflection, ‘Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts
14
 absolutely: The foregoing statement was only erroneously credited to George
Orwell as a result of the absence of critical source evaluation. The actual statement
of the original author, Lord Acton (1834-1902 is, ‘Power tends to corrupt; absolute
power corrupts absolutely’. George Orwell’s use of Lord Acton’s statement is
suffering a stroke. The second theme is that if there is oppression, there will be
rebellion. The human master, Mr. Jones, oppressed the animals, the animals
rebelled. The 1917 Bolshevik revolution in Russia came on the hot heels of
oppression of the masses by the ruling class in Russia. Following the thematic
motif of Anima Farm, Russia was not more ripe than Nigeria today for rebellion by
the masses sequel to the cruel oppression of the masses by the contemporary crop
of rulers of Nigeria.

3.1.2 Diction
(i) …eighteen hands high (2)
Eighteen hands high occurs in ‘Boxer was an enormous beast, nearly
eighteen hands high’. The expression was drawn from the linguistic antiquity of
the setting of Animal Farm. By 1945 when Animal Farm was published, this form
of expression had no place in Britain. If it was used by an African, one would be
confident to say the time setting of Animal Farm was at the traditional African
society without the art of literacy, and above all, science. Within the time setting of
this novel, the expression could have been one and half feet high.
(ii)…All the animals were now present except Moses. (3)
The now ought to have been then, to make up for the complete sense of
the reported event.

(iii) Last Night (7)

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 The expression, Last Night, is capable of generating misunderstanding.
Last night on earth? Last night after spending some nights in a particular place?
Then it is safer to say the previous night or the night before. Similarly, ‘the minutes
of the last meeting’ conveys an ambivalent meaning. Is it minutes of the last
meeting of the club or minutes of the last meeting of the year? The minutes of the
previous meeting to mean the meeting held and none held up until the present one
offers a better understanding. If the offered option is not regarded, the reader or the
audience can be tempted with confusing semanticity.

(iv) Now (12)

‘Now, as it turned out, the Rebellion was achieved much earlier and more
easily than anyone had expected’. In reporting, adherence to appropriate events,
time deixis such as ‘now’ and ‘then’ is vital. A past phenomenon, the sentence
ought to begin with ‘Then, as it turned out…’
(v) Skulking (65)
‘Snowball was known to be still skulking on Pinch field Farm’. Skulking, to
sit at a place quiet’ because you do not want to be seen, aptly describes the true
character of snowball as sneaky. Secretive, slippery or dishonest, Snowball
continues to be largely associated with Man in an unholy alliance though
Snowball’s other lots have fallen apart with Man.
(vi) Smiling Beatifically (68)
‘Smiling beatifically, and wearing both decorations, Napoleon reposed on
a bed of straw on the platform, with the money at his side, neatly piled on
a china dish from the farmhouse Kitchen’.

16
 Beatific, adjective, showing or expressing great happiness. Napoleon is in
ecstatic mood expressed as ‘smiling beatifically’ because he is in charge and
has come a long way into Man's shoes into self-determinism.
(vii) Look-outs (69)
A look-out is someone watching for danger. Look-outs are the animals
placed in strategic places on the Animal Farm to watch for approach of human
characters after the victory of the animals in the Battle of Cowshed. Look-outs are
akin to sentinels or sentries. A sentinel or a sentry is a soldier to guard over a camp
or building.
(viii) Sallied (69)
After the look-outs had reported to the other animals that Frederick and his
followers had come to the farm through the five-barred gate, the animals were
reported to have sallied forth to meet Frederick and his followers. To ‘Sally’
means going or moving to a place quickly or energetically. The manner of the
movement of the animals in this way betrays the attitude of the animals towards
their self-determinism. They are shown as focused, bold, courageous or audacious.

3.3 Anthills of the Savannah

3.3.1 Synopsis
The theme of Anthills of the Savannah written by Chinua Achebe is about
the tussle for power and change. Whoever is stronger, irrespective of legality or
illegality, loots power and wealth with violence for personal gain. This is the case
with post-colonial military regimes in Africa especially Nigeria. The subject matter
is about the author’s attack, among other among things, of the irresponsible display
of power, corruption, hypocrisy and cynicism that characterize the military regimes
in Nigeria after independence. The setting of the story is the fictional state of
Kangan.

17
 The storyline or plot centres on Chris, Sam, Ikem, and one influential female
character, Beatrice Oko. Sam, contrary to his desire to become a medical doctor,
goes to Sanhurst to train as a soldier. He returns to his country to discover there is
coup. His school friends invite him to be the head of state. He forms a kitchen
cabinet in Kangan with the headquarters in Bassa. The cabinet formed is with the
help of his friends, and both Sam and the friends are the members. After a while,
Sam wants everybody to vote for him to be a life president. The people of Abazon
do not accept voting for him because to them it is an aberration for a military
officer to endure in power. Shortly after their refusal, a drought comes over
Abazon. The Abazonians ask the government to help them but the government
refuses. The people, the Abazonians, decide to pay the president a solidarity visit.
The officials become afraid, getting in the headquarters. At the headquarters, the
head of state sends Professor Reginald Okong, his Commissioner for Home
Affairs, to pacify them. For fear of other tribes following suit, the visit is not
covered by the media.
After their ignoble reception, the delegation from Abazon heads for hotel
room. There, Ikem, indigenous to Abazon, editor of National Gazette is invited to
meet the delegation. The head of state learns about Ikem’s meeting with his
tribesmen and thinks that Ikem has joined Abazon to incite insurrection. For this
reason, the head of state directs Chris to prepare a sack letter to be sent to Ikem but
Chris refuses. Humiliated, the head of state angrily masterminds the killing of
Ikem in cold blood.
Chris is next in the line for killing after Ikem has been carefully assassinated
by the power-drunk military junta: Chris is declared wanted by the police. The
police accuse him of exposing the irregularities or excesses of the government to
foreign media. To save his neck, Chris moves to a hide out within the GRA. He
later departs Bassa for Abazon on a self-exile. He does so in the company of
18
Emmanuel, another fugitive, a Student Union President, also declared wanted
(persona non grata) by the police. Chris leaves Bassa in the company of his taxi
driver friend, Braimoh.
On their journey to the northern part of the country, they are stopped by a
frenzied or compos mentis group of corps and civilians who have stopped a
truckload of beer to celebrate the recent coup in the country. In the drunken orgy, a
police cop attempts to rape a girl but Chris does not allow him. Fracas ensues, the
cop shoots Chris dead. About the end of the novel, the death of Ikem and Chris
established, Elewa, lkem’s wife gives birth to a baby Christened by Beatrice as a
result of the absence of a male figure in the family.
This researcher (Odiniya, unpublished) sees Nigeria as Kangan. His vision a
different synopsis of Anthills of the Savannah, as this:

19
The Land of my Birth Land of running orphans and
Earth becomes heaven, cripples,
Heaven, earth. Is this the land of my birth,
Day exchanged for night- A free-born whose head
Truth in limbo, Gay balanced on the neck
Homeland And born to walk
A pledge for lie, slavery. And to run?

Homeland The land of my birth

Dressed in feigned oyster pearl, Which only yesterday
Ooze sceptered-hand Held out before all:
And a cap The obsidian,
From the camp of hell The onyx and peacock plume,
Crown shell An oath that the sand,
To rule, reign… This very land,
Would birth silver and gold,
Oh ripened punchy insults! Even egg as pounded yam,
Wingless fatherland And milk as common domestic
Despised, disarmed water?
The arms, the legs fractured
The brain dismembered Hunger blooming
A wingless butterfly … Night booming
A choppy, meaningless sentence Both casting gloomy looks
To birth mismatched missions! At the dreamless dreamers
Head to toe Marching towards a toxic end.
Crowned Deceptocracy The forests …
Militocracy appealingly dressed, To savannah, desert tilting?
Flowing robes
And damasked civilian apparels. No desert from us
Our obsidian, our onyx,
Its priest king Our moon, our sun.
The honourable Utopian citizen The sweet-scented flowers,
Polyglot-tongued Our garden pearls heavenly depths.
But George Awoonor William’s
Dzogbese Lisa not truly ours.

20
Diction
3.3.2
a. Flaunt and flout (5)
The Attorney-General says, ‘Your Excellency, let us not Flaunt the
people’. Mr. Oriko, not satisfied with the semanticity of the sentence, tells the
Attorney-General it is Flout, ‘Flout, you mean’. His Excellency also displays
ignorance on the implication of the use of Flaunt for Flout by the Attorney-
General. Instead of His Excellency settling first the real semanticity of flaunt
and the intended meaning as contextually dictated, His Excellency side-steps
that only to ask, ‘The people?’ Clearly, the Attorney-General is guilty of the use
of misnomer or malapropism. But a character’s linguistic weakness does not
reflect the linguistic weakness of an author. The linguistic error of a character is
an intentional grand design of the author to achieve a goal. In this example,
Chinua Achebe’s sole purpose is the condemnation of corruption, the
irresponsible display of power, hypocrisy, cynicism, among other things. The
author then creates assortment of characters and designates them with language
appropriate to their stati or statuses. Matching language with character status is
character code-concordance. The Attorney-General’s inability to differentiate
Flaunt from Flout shows his non-fitness as Attorney-General.
To flaunt something one has is to display the something in a very obvious
way. Flout is used in terms of breaking a law. To wit, if one flouts a law, order,
or rule of behaviour, one deliberately disobeys it. The Attorney-General’s
intended meaning aborted by his use of the misnomer, flaunt, is that they in
power should not fail, disappoint or disregard, that is, flout the people.
Showcasing ignorance thus, Chinua Achebe is saying the Attorney-General is a
round peg in a square hole. From this singular instance, it can be summarized
Kangan is Nigeria. In this way, Anthills of the Savannah is a total indictment of
postcolonial military or dictatorial rule in Nigeria and most African countries

21
where irresponsible power display, corruption, hypocrisy, cynicism among
other negatives, are rife among the rulers, military or civilian.
(b) ‘You und’stand’ (24)
His Excellency warns the Attorney-General that the discussion between
he, His Excellency, and the Attorney-General about whether or not Chris,
Information Commissioner, is loyal or disloyal to His Excellency must be kept
screwy and never to be heard by anybody. ‘You und’stand?’ /ʌund’stœund/’and
is the question His Excellency asks the Attorney-General to underscore or
hammer in the warning. The phonology in “you understand? /ʌund’stœund/ is
important. ‘You und’stand’ is a diminution of ‘You understand’ /ʌund’stœund/
with a rising tone to underline the warning. In voicing ‘You und’stand’, the
morpheme and its phoneme in ‘er’ /ə/ are swallowed. The phoneme swallowed
symbolizes the discourse or subject between His Excellency and the Attorney-
General which the Attorney-General must keep secret.
(c) ‘That was short and sweet’, says his little painted doll of a secretary in the
outer office (44).
The novel is rightly wrought in indirect or reported speech, with
occasional maintenance of direct speech where speaker /character originality is
called for. However, ‘says’ that should have been ‘said ‘is in violation of the
rule of indirect or reported speech. The error regrettably may not be
typographical.
‘At a loss I simply glare at her and then slam her door after me. But a few
steps down the corridor what I should have said comes, too late, to me’. (44)
Chris is reporting an action he himself took in Ikem’s outer office instant of
Ikem’s female secretary. The report of his action ought to have been in indirect
or reported speech as follow. ‘At a loss I simply glared at her and then slammed
her door after me. But a few steps down the corridor what I should have said
came, too late, to me.’ If the technical error in this is not typographical, the
author could choose the expression for Chris, Commissioner for Information, to

22
showcase an unworthy Information Commissioner, mangling language as he is
doing. It may be the author’s way of reprimanding those presiding over the
affairs of others with wrong choices/decisions like placing a square peg in a
round hole resulting in mismanagement, corruption, hypocrisy and all that mar
the masses. Nigeria is a glowing example of a typical government in question.
Like the two foregoing excerpts, the following words, not the words of
the original speakers, be expressed in indirect or reported speech:
(d) (i) …says lkem (54)
(ii) …Mad Medico pours out two long gins (54)
(iii) …He pours a little tonic water into each and ask…(54)
(iv) …Then throws… before letting it drop (54)
The italicized words should be indirectly reported, as the omniscient narrator
ought to characteristically report in the past except where the actual words of a
character/speaker are meant, and so expressed in a direct speech. The
omniscient narrator /the author may orchestrate multiple points of view via
different characters. The various narrators like the omniscient narrator must
express their points of view in indirect or reported speech except an original
speaker is directly quoted. Ikem, acting the omniscient narrator made all the
foregoing statements (i-iv) which should have been cast in indirect or reported
speech. Except in these examples and some other more that are illustrated after
these, the entire text is legitimately wrought in indirect or reported speech save
the direct speeches of the original speakers. If the narrative is in indirect or
reported speech, sub-omniscient narrators cannot adopt an ambivalent narrative
technique, not ingrained in narrative tradition.
More errors of such deviation include:
(i) ‘more or less’, replies Ikem’ … (57)
(ii) ‘NTBB’ replies Ikem (57)
There ought to be a comma after ‘NTBB’.
(iii) That’s marvellous’, says Dick brightening up (57)

23
 (iv) The girls and Mad Medico laugh. (57)
(v) Dick still looks puzzled. (57)
(e) … says Dick with a solemnity that seems surprising even for him (66)
i. ..., says Mad Madico (60)
ii. …, Says Elewa
iii. …, explains Ikem again (60)
All the foregoing examples (italicized) represent inappropriate narrative
techniques in the place of indirect or reported speech throughout the text since
the expressions are those of the reporter(s) not those of the original speaker(s)
which are already done in direct speech.
(f) Me and Chris (45)
A sentence can be grammatical but unacceptable if semantically wrong.
Me and Chris is septic, sense wise. It is the other person first before self when
and where reference to other personages and self are involved. Therefore, me
and Chris is Chris and me.
Ikem, editor of the National Gazette, is the speaker. Such a semantic error
emanating from the editor of the National Gazette shows his appointment into
that position is compromised. Then, it is a way of the author frowning at a
dictatorial rule riddled with autocracy, where the overall head hand-picks
people of his choice into positions willynilly. This is precisely the-stock-in-
trade of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, 2016-2023.

(g) …take the bullet in your Chest (4)

Ikem has started noticing elements of cowardice in Chris’ approach to
discourses or negotiations for power with His Excellency. lkem is unhappy that
Chris is not confronting His Excellency frontally with discretion. Ikem
therefore advises that instead of womanish approach to issues as affect His
Excellency and Chris, Chris should be courageous, or fearless and not minding
consequences believing that not minding consequences pays better. This

24
courageous approach is advocated in ‘March to the stake like a man and take
the bullet in your Chest’. The expression hinges on the philosophy or belief
about fighting soldiers at war front. A soldier shot at the back depicts a soldier
running away from the thick of a fight. The one shot in the chest is
demonstrative of gallantry, courageousness or fearlessness.

(h) Salaaming (46)

Salaam means to bow with one’s right hand on one’s forehead as a formal
and respectful way of greeting someone. People sometimes greet each other like
this in India and Muslim countries. English is a mixture of other languages such
as Latin, French, Italian, Portuguese and so on. The phonology of Salaaming is
akin to the Hausa/Arabic word, Asalam in asalamulekum with the response,
aleikumsalam. Therefore, salaaming is probably rooted in that Hausa/Arabic
word just as some English words are in other languages. Ikem in an aside
becomes indulgently involved with stating the manner of people visiting Sam to
ask for political favours. The greeting way, salaaming, is in the present
continuous tense. This means the flow of people visiting Sam, kowtowing and
being subservient is continuous. This is a clever choice of word.

(i) Seeing (55)

‘Perhaps she is seeing any white man at close quarters for the first
time’.
There are five human senses. Senses of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and
feeling. These verbs see, hear, taste, smell, and feel -derived from the five
human senses -are called stative verbs. The stative verbs are not used in the
present progressive sense as we have no control over the five human senses
from which the verbs are derived. ‘Perhaps she is seeing…’ maybe recast as
follows:
(i) -Perhaps this is the first time for her to see a white man at close quarters...

25
(ii) -Perhaps she can only see any white man for the first time at close
quarters…
(iii) -Perhaps she has come to see any white man at close quarters…
However, she is seeing a white man tomorrow connotes a different shade of
meaning - that she is going to visit a white man tomorrow. ‘seeing’ is used in thi
way as a verbal noun or gerund, not as a verb in a progressive sense. The other
stative verbs looked at in a glance can be used as follows instead of their present
progressive form:
(i) … hearing you - a) I/we/they/can/hear you
- b) He/she/hears you
He/she/hear/him/us
(ii)…tasting it - a) I/we/they/can taste it
- b) He/she/tastes it
He/she/can taste it
(iii)…feeling cold - a) I/we/they/feel cold
- b) John/he/she/feels cold
(iv) … smelling it - a) I/we/they/can smell it
I/we/they/smell it
- b) Mercy/he/she/can smell/smells
(v)…..seeing him - a) I/we/they/can/see/see him
- b) He/Bello/she can see/sees him
The linguistic error, ‘seeing’, maybe intentionally allocated to his
Excellency by the author to showcase the hypocrisy of the one with claim to
answering the title, if not so, the author cannot escape the responsibility for the
misnomer His Excellency.
(j) Dick is now speaking (56)
The narrator/author says. ‘Dick is now speaking in his lugubrious
way’. Placing is and now together is semanticity-blurring. It is an error of
tautology, to place two words that have the same meaning together side by side

26
in the same place where one of the words can do the work for the two. Is means
now, i.e; the present, and now points to is the present. Recast, the sentence
becomes Dick is speaking in his lugubrious way.
(k) I am now really irritated (58)
Dick says to MM, ‘Let’s face it MM’. Dick then adds in parenthesis, ‘(I
am now really irritated)’. The placement of am and now in the same
environment impinges on grammatical correctness. Am (is) equals present;
now, present. Am and now placed together is a tautological error as am and now
perform the same function. I am really irritated replaces I am now really
irritated. A tautological error’ occurs where two words used in the same
environment have the same meaning or perform the same function. A
tautological error is a semantic error.
More of the tautological errors can be cited as follows:
i) He is now more open-handed with information (59)
He is more open-handed with information
ii) … now he is sad (61)
... he is sad
iii) His expression now is a puritanic scowl without the moral gravity of a
puritan (61).
His expression is a puritanic scowl without the moral gravity of a puritan.
iv) Literally Sam is now my boss and I am Ikem’s boss (65).
Literally Sam is my boss…
v) And you are now asking me … (119)
And you are asking me ...
In (i-v), ‘is’, ‘are’ ‘indicate ‘now’ so they cannot co-occur in the same
spot or environment.
(l) …an observer can only see if he resists... (48)
‘But I am glad I didn’t in the end, because there are things, which an
observer can only see if he resists…’

27
He as a relative pronoun to observer is septic. So because an observer may be
either of the genders. When it is believed he is a historical pronoun, therefore
encapsulating both genders, the appropriateness of he in a sentence of this
nature is supported. However, since language is a growing subject, it is more
advisable to use the following which BBC English favours more. The sentence
becomes ...an observer can only see if they resist… They comes under the
concept of notional concord where the sex of an observer can be either of the
genders and the actors collectively meant. To demystify the kind of sentence,
some may opt for …an observer can only see if he or she resists. However,
They is considered to be atop he or she considering the currently more favoured
British usage.
Under the notional concord, the following examples in A are
preferred to the alternatives as hereunder in B column.
A B
(i) Everybody loves their mother. (ii)Everybody loves his mother
(iii) Everybody loves his or her mother
(ii) If a politician is sick, They (i) If a politician is sick, he should go
should go for medication for medication.
(ii)If a politician is sick, he or she should
go for medication
The following examples of the linguistic structure under review are taken
directly from BBC Dictionary as follows:
(i) If you surprise someone, you attack them (emphasis mine) (p.1180)
(ii)If someone is being hypocritical, they (emphasis mine) are pretending to
have beliefs, principles or feelings that they do not really have (p.570)
The indefinite pronoun, ‘Someone’ is at the base of this notional concord. The
‘someone’ may be male or female, all taken collectively.
The sentence therefore cannot be:
(i) If you surprise someone, you attack him.

28
 The persons pronoun ‘them’ subsumes both genders. It becomes if you
surprise someone, you attack them.
(ii)As in (i).

(m) So therefore. (48)

So therefore you na dog is a statement made by a rustic or an uncouth
character (name not stated) to a second hand or handed-down clothes seller in
the market. The way so and therefore have been used show that both are
conjunctions. ‘So therefore you na dog’ has an antecedent, ‘No, he means that
to kill you is like to kill a dog’. This antecedent was ongoing on the lips of one
rustic character before it was intercepted and completed by another, so
therefore you na dog. If constructed by just one person, the sentence reads:
‘No, he means that to kill you is like to kill a dog so therefore you na dog’.
The sentence can be edited in two ways as follows: ‘No, he means that to kill
you is like to kill a dog so you na dog’. ‘No, he means that to kill you is like to
kill a dog therefore you na dog’. As so is a conjunction and therefore is a
conjunction, both cannot co-occur in the same environment. Tautological error,
a semantic type. But this is an expression of a rustic character and it is a
conscious style by the author to achieve character code-concordance that is,
suiting a character’s expression to their social status. Apart from using together
two words that mean the same thing, the use of Pidgin by this rustic character
reveals his low social class the more. Pidgin is commonly used in a multilingual
society like Nigeria where many not privileged to acquire Standard English
resort to Pidgin for survival. Language is language and what is important is the
ability to communicate to others no matter how crudely -for survival. Above all
it is not easy to be a Saint grammarian or claim sovereignty in words usage. In a
multilingual society like Nigeria, each person finds a language they can express

29
themselves in - to meet up. It is like saying if you cannot beat them you join
them - all in a bid to succeed or survive.
(n) …horse-mouth. (75)
Lou, an American female journalist has come to Kangan to censor the
political tone in that part of Africa. Ikem, editor of National Gazette, is the one
to feed Lou directly with the needed information. Ikem is, therefore, the horse-
mouth. Horse-mouth, idiom, is about information given straight by somebody
who is directly involved and therefore likely to be accurate. Information given
by Ikem, editor of National Gazette, is atop all other sources in validity and
reliability. To hear such information from Ikem is to hear it from the horse-
mouth. All ‘Idioms and proverbs are local colours identified by the
nomenclature, transliteration. Transliteration has the same destination as
pragmatics, the term whose meaning is deducted from what is said and
what is not said. Pragmatics has a suprasentential implication, that is, having
meaning outside the sentence. Gabriel Okara saying in his fictional text The
Voice, that ‘Chief Izongo has a bad stomach (p 69) can easily be literally
accepted. But ‘bad stomach’ in this sense is evil mind. The Igala people have
this same linguistic understanding. Most often, it is this manner of
transliteration or vernacular English that carries more effective delivery in
regard to local experiences than the standard or kings and queens English. The
researcher’s viewed in this direction may be moderated based on the kind of
linguistic culture or audience.
(o) If I went to America today, to Washington DC, would I, could I, walk into
a White House private dinner and take the American President to hostage.
And his Defence Chief and his Director of CIA? (81)
What to consider is the conditional if + went. The speaker instead of using go,
present tense of went, the speaker resorts to using went. This expression has a
linguistic implication classified under structuralism. Structuralism goes with the
implication of structural linguistic items. In this way, structuralism is one with

30
discourse, Agbedo (2003) believes that three alternative ways of accessing
Discourse Analysis include:
(i) Discourse as suprasentential, that is, language beyond the level of the
sentence.
(ii) Discourse as a type of language behaviours linked to a social practice. In
legal profession for instance, language is framed in such a way as to preclude
loophole. Similarly, registers used in various fields or disciplines differ, and
are peculiar, to the extent that one can decipher or identify a field or
discipline by the registers even when the field or discipline is not stated.
(iii) Discourse as a system of thought. This holds that ideas about knowledge and
truth emerge from particular social and historical situations. This is in
disagreement with the view that knowledge and truth are either universal or
objective. This third way is the most scientific of the three alternative ways
of having Discourse Analysis.
As in discourse or structuralism, some words or expressions are fixed to be used
only in the way they have been structured or fixed. The following are three
examples of structural linguistic items:
(i) Conjunctions ‘either…or’/’neither…nor’
It can never be either …nor/neither…or. Each conjuction applies only when
two things are meant like either Mary or John will do, and neighter Mary nor
John will go.
(ii) Impossibility
(a) I wish I grew wings
One can never grow wings no matter the strength of the wish. On ground of
impossibility of the wish, the verb grow, is expressed in the past. This is the
order of this structure. It can never be I wish I grow wings.
(b) How I wish I were a woman
It can never be no matter much how I wish to be a woman.
(iii) Delayed action

31
(a) It is high time you went to bed
(b) It is time you did something about your aching tooth.
In both examples, the verbs are expressed in the past. This is to indicate that the
times for taking the actions signalled by the verbs were long gone. This pattern
of expression is structured for use the way it is, and cannot be in any other way.
a) It is time you go to bed is not acceptable.
b) It is time you do something about your aching tooth is not acceptable either.
Following from the foregoing, If I went to America belongs to the
structure of probability. If I went to America can be compared with if I go to
America... The distinction between. If I went to America… and if I go to
America is as follows:
If I go to America… is conditional + go (present) means the chances of your
going to America are very high. It is very likely that you will go to America and
if you go to America, you will carry out your threats. In that state of possibility,
would becomes will. Contrarily, if I went to America, conditional + went, past,
means the chances of your going to America are very slim. The past form of a
verb for an action that is yet to be consummated signals near-impossibility.
Because of the less likelihood of going to America, the mild or the uncertain
form, would is employed. So, could is advisable instead of can, in such
circumstances. The choice of these words and expressions by the author in the
foregoing contexts shows nothing but the author’s linguistics classicism.
(p) Last night. (107)
‘Last night now seemed far away, like something remembered
from a long and turbulent dream. Last night? It wasn’t last night?
If one says last night, what really is the implication? Is it last night on earth? Is
it last night of the year? Or if one says, the minutes of the last meeting, does it
not raise questions such as last meeting of the year? Last meeting before
something phenomenal happened?, or last meeting in what sense or way?

32
Owing to semantic implication of the expression last night’. ‘Last meeting’, and
‘last year’, a speaker is likely to be more plausible with the following
alternatives:
(i) The previous night
(ii)The night before
(iii) Yesterday night
Similarly, it could be expressed:
(i) The minutes of the previous meeting to mean the minutes of the meeting
since no other meeting has been held before the present one.
(ii)Minutes of the immediate past meeting.
Whatever diction or expression of which ever character is traceable to the
author. The author is at freedom for whatever language choice to suite the
purpose of his craft. If the author wishes to show a character for what and who
the character is, it is the author’s prerogative. But when and where that is not
the intention of the author, the author may be passed for use of grammatical and
semantic indiscretion or non-discriminative approach linguistically.
(q) Hell of an effort. (118)
Hell of an effort is used in the context to mean a serious effort. It is a slangy
expression with a tint of idiom.
(r) …the large crowd that had accompanied it to the palace were Abazon
indigenes in Bassa… (120).
The following linguistic issues as related to the use of the expression…
Abazon indigenes are examined as hereunder:
i) The word, indigene, is a nounce word. A nounce word is a word that is
coined for use in an occasion.
After the occasion, a nounce word is thrown away. Examples of nounce words
are invitee, whose correct version is invited guest; pensioneer -pensioneer;
counsellee -the counselled and attendee instead of attender. Similarly, trek is a
coined word. It was coined in South Africa where the blacks held in subjugation

33
under the weight of the white minority were forced to go long distances
sometimes with loads and several hazards to their persons. In other words, one
can only say one treks when long distance is involved with pains or suffering. A
coined word, trek, should not be used to mean going on foot, an expression not
having the implications of trekking.
ii) Abazon indigenes can be replaced as follows:
(a) Abazon indigenous people
(b) People indigenous to Abazon
Following the foregoing, we can have the following expressions involving
indigene to hammer in its semanticity.
(i) Linus is indigenous to Gboko
(ii) Bala is an indigenous person of Makurdi
(iii) The Fulani herders are not indigenous to Nigeria
(iv) I am indigenous to Ankpa in Kogi State
(s) - Foo-foo (124)
The ‘expression, ‘…bowl of foo-foo set before him by his wife ...’
Foo-foo is not a lexical item but fufu. New Eighth Edition of Oxford
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (p.606) defines fufu as ‘a smooth white food
often eaten with soups or stews and made by boiling and crushing the roots of
plants such as cocoyam and cassava’. Beyond the lexical definition, it is to be
added that fufu does not only occur whitish. It can be yellowish as in garri, and
black as in amala. This researcher has been going with the spelling, foo-foo, as
noted in reading Chinua Achebe’s earliest novel, Things Fall Apart.
(t) Aha! Come to think of it. (14)
Come to think of it is a cliché. In the 1970s and 1980s, this expression was on
the lips of virtually every body who had savoured or was savouring English in a
tertiary institution. It was celebrated by all who wanted to identity with the
Joneses, seen as civilized or linguistically advanced. By the author’s use of this
expression, this student is inclined to reading the author as passionately trying

34
to adopt a modernist approach in his literary craftsmanship. This is true because
if one compares Chinua Achebe’s language in Anthills of the Savannah with
that in his earlier novels, it can be seen in a glance that the language in the
Anthills of the Savannah is by far radically modernist-inclined. It does appear he
is responding to some external critics for being tied to a form of language like
transliteration, that is, the use of local colours such as idioms, proverbs and so
on.
This researcher’s view is complemented by a review by Financial Times:
(blurb)… “ ‘Achebe has written a book which is wise, exciting and essential, a
powerful antidote to the cynical commentators from ‘‘overseas’’ who see
nothing ever new out of Africa’ ”.
This researcher also confirms the newness of the author’s language experiment
in this novel given the unbelievable linguistic and technical mismanagements
beginning after the first chapter and continuing up to chapter seven.
(u) ‘We couldn’t see very well whether his face was swell up. It was too
dark. So we don’t know whether it was because of the dark or that his
face was swell up’. (166)
Beatrice who is the speaker in the foregoing excerpt was introduced to Lou,
an American female journalist, on a mission to censor the political tone in
Kangan. Beatrice was introduced as having a first-class honours in English. By
so doing, ‘Beatrice beat the English to their game’. Diction/expression in
disregard of grammatical value in terms of tense:
(i) … Swell up instead of the past participial form, swollen up.
(ii)… don’t, v + adv, in reporting a past linguistic behaviour, didn’t, side-
tracked.
All the foregoing errors are purposeful creations of the author to create
meaning. Beatrice who is a first-class honours graduate from Queen Mary
College University of London speaking this gutter-level English is a betrayal of
her qualification. By this, Chinua Achebe means to tell the world that Beatrice

35
only typifies other consorts or impostors who as military putschists and
cowboys, even cowgirls, masquerading as political juggernauts in postcolonial
era in many African states is an irreparable aberration. Nothing can be more
insulting to the intelligence of a country than an executive officer, symbolized
by Beatrice Okoh, Senior Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Finance,
blushing the way she does before a foreigner, Lou, a female American journalist
who has come to Kangan to censor the political tone of that part of Africa.
Beatrice Okoh is only shown as a farce, a big Joke, symbolizing many other
political Lilliputiours branded Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe in
most African countries especially Nigeria.
(v) Every day some vulture would descend on us from nowhere... (231)
The use of some + singular noun, vulture, is a linguistic structure with a
distinct grammatical implication explained after more examples like some
vulture as here below:
(w) Some woman is singing.
This means that the speaker knows that a woman is singing, known, instance by
the voice, but the particular woman is not known.
(i) Some girl was beaten here.
The speaker is aware that the one beaten is a female who is a girl. The speaker
must have known this from certain trait that belongs only to girl. The particular
girl, however, is not known to the speaker.
(ii) Some song was sung yesterday in the class. The particular song sung is not
known by the speaker but certain signs in the class tell the speaker that a song
was sung yesterday in the class.
In other words, some + a singular noun in the forgoing structure presupposes
that the speaker/reporter does not know the particular thing but the noted
attribute or quality of that thing shows that it is that thing.
Some vulture means, non-definite or particular vulture but that which would
descend on them is surely a vulture. Within the context, the vulture is a political

36
type. Just as vulture has both avariciousness and insatiability, so does a political
vulture. The political vulture could be the military putschists or the regular
political power mongers who rape, loot and sack their country as in Nigeria.

37
3.4. The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born
3.4.1 Synopis
The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born is a novel written by a Ghanian, Ayin
Kwei Armah, published in 1968. The subject matter or storyline is about moral
decay, corruption or public theft and struggle for integrity in post-colonial
Ghana. The Novel is a critique of Post-independence African Society. It is
therefore an examination of the impact of corruption and moral compromise on
individuals and communities. The lessons about existentialism and personal
integrity are thereby thrown into relief. The theme of the novel derives from the
title. The title suggests a hopeful or a promising future, despite the current
challenges and moral failures depicted in the narrative. By implication, the
theme encourages the reader, all and sundry not to despond but to keep moving
courageously focused. This theme is a true panacea for the masses of Nigeria.
Another theme is that if one is virtuous, one will be lonely. The man, the
protagonist, the only one who does not accept bribes, is seen as bad. For the
reason, he is hated, insulted, bashed, rejected even by his wife and relations in
the bloodline.
The story is build around characters such as The Man (the protagonist),
Koomson, Naked Man, Billy Koffi, Else, the timber man, Teacher, Zacharias
Lagos, Oyo, Estella, Koomson’s wife. The novel begins with the man resisting
the temptation of bribery and corruption, despite the pervasive culture of
dishonesty among his contemporaries or peers. He comes under pressure from
his wife, relations and others to take advantage of his position for personal
profit, yet the remains focused and steadfast the pressure notwithstanding. As
the story unfolds, the man becomes more disillusioned with the state of his
country and the moral bankruptcy arising from compromises he witness.

3.4.2 Diction

38
The title, The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born, is the first artistic or stylistic
use of language by the author in executing this. This researcher sees the
adjective, beautiful, in relation to pornographic beauty where as ‘beautiful’
means full means an idea that is intellectually redemptive. Pornographic beauty
and intellectual beauty are therefore not on the same page. Pornographic beauty
like all material things, depreciate. Pornographic beauty attracts and repulse
Intellectual beauty is both appreciative and timeless in addition to being
redemptive the absence of people with beauty in Ghanaian polity and citizens
generally impels the novel tittle as the Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born. In
Ghana (at the time seething of this novel in the 1960s) giving and receiving
bribe was a normal thing and bribe giving was termed a national game. (p.55)
Capitalizing the initial letter of every word in the tittle has a subtractive
quality on the linguistic aesthetics or aestheticism of the tittle. Beyond that
entitling a book essay art ide that way is demeaning or rather lessens or hum
ours seriousness. Minor words such as verbs prepositions and adverbs do not
have their initial letter capitalized but the last word in a tittle irrespective of the
status of that word is initially capitalized the Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born
ought to be the Beautyful Ones are not yet Born
(a) …too loudly and too completely said (4) the above excerpt can be
understand as adjective adverbial phrases in the sentence:
‘In the conductors mind everything was already too loudly and too
completely said’.
The entire sentence is the report of the omniscient narrator regarding the
imaginary thinking by the bus conductor about the man’s possible punitive
measure against the conductor for receiving more than the normal fare from
the man. For the conductor the way the man was intently watt ding him after
collecting the fare from him is too obvious an evidence for the punitive
action against him not to be taken the degree adjective too in too loudly and
too completely said show this conviction. The semanticist off too in the

39
 foregoing expression is the loudness and completeness of the ill thinking of
the man towards the bus conductor as inferred by the bus conductor as so
great that it does not engender any debate. The loudness meant in the phrases
is one of dairy and certainty not auditory.
The degree adjective too may be abused as follow
i. The man is too handsome: the man is very handsome is the correct order
ii. Bello is too good: Bello is very good is the right expression.
In both example of abuse of too the degree adjective very correctly applies too
in both example may connote both negative and positive imagine as follows.
i) The man is too handsome:
The handsomeness may make it positive for him to be loved by all. The
handsomeness to pride.
ii) Bello is too good:
This would mean bello is good to a fault it can also means bello is so good that
he cannot err one must distinguish between the two degree adjective too and
very about the position where either applies too in a negative sense strikes
philosophical cord that when goodness over reaches is dimes it falls on the other
side. This is a proof that language and thinking are both sides of the same coin.
(b) You bloody fucking sonofabilch art ide of no commercial value you think the
bus rulings to your grandfather (6)
This expression is obviously grossly impolite or discourse us showing
that the speaker the bus conductor uncouth is a riff-raff. Then the expression is a
style of the author to foist the character on the reader. By so doing the reader
comes to terms with the social category of the character. This method of
matching language with the social category of a character is character code-
concordance. The language of the conductor shows he is mean dirty backward
ill-bred corrupt and morally bankrupt.
(c) Uncanny (12)

40
 BBC English dictionary (p.164) defense canny adjective being diver and
able to think quickly. Uncanny is the exact opposite. The word uncanny
appearing in the following context contradicts the semantic motif of the
sentence:
‘What had been going on there and was going on now and would go on
and on through all the years ahead was a species of war carries on in
silence of long ages, a struggle in which only the keen, uncanny eyes
and ears of lunatic seers could detect to deceiving, easy breathing of
the struggles’.
Judging the general semantic direction of the words, ‘Keen… eyes and ears of
lunatic seers…’ the words ‘Uncanny eyes…’ cannot go together as Uncanny
contradicts ‘keen… eyes’ in the same sematic position. The word, Uncanny, is
therefore a misnomer in that context where canny rightly applies.
(d) Some trouble with most of the lines (16)
Some, determiner or pronoun, can be used with singular or plural,
count noun, depending on the meaning one wishes to achieve. In particular,
some with a singular count noun denotes an unspecified item. In this example,
the speaker knows that what is on hand is ‘trouble’ but the types of trouble is
not known. However, some troubles means specifically and plainly a number of
troubles.
(e) Everybody prospers from the work he does (32)
The foregoing expression is the response, rather advice of the visitor to The
Man for refusing to accept bribe.
Everybody may not be ‘he’. Everybody could be man or woman, boy or
girl. ‘He’ can be accepted as a historical language to include both genders but
language is a living thing so what is currently in use in British English is
notional concord such as everybody prospers from the work they do. Everybody
proper from the work he or she does may be an argument as an option for ‘he’

41
 but ‘they’ notional concord, is superior to either – ‘he’ or ‘her or she’. Examples
of notional concord as follows can be citied from the BBC English Dictionary.
i. (P.295): ‘If someone or something is deficient in a particular thing, they
(emphasis mine) do not have as much of it as they (emphasis mine) need’.
Someone or Something, should take, the singular pronoun ‘he’ or ‘it’ takes
‘they’ collectively, notionally.
ii. (P.370): ‘If you say that someone (emphasis mine) is empty- headed, you
mean that they (emphasis mine) do not think sensibly and often do (emphasis
mine) silly or stupid things’. We expect someone, subject single, to agree with
the singular pronoun ‘he or she’ but they, notionally more acceptable for
individuals collectively is ticket.
iii. (P.658): ‘If someone (emphasis mine) is a leading light in an organization or
campaign, he, he or she is one of the most important, active one influential
person in it’.
(f) Good evening, Sah. (32)
The expression is the of a sleep – walker, Atia… Sah, an illiterate word or
English, is a conscious style of the author by matching language with character
(Character code – concordance) to show the social status of the character. The
Sah instead of ‘Sir’ shows exactly who and what is, as one deficient in English,
showing the lock of education, aid so invariably belonging to the lower rung of
the social ladder
(g) Page 1-34
Is in correct narrative procedure the correct narrative procedure are
illustrated as follows:
i. The light from the bus moved uncertainly ... (i)
ii. The driver climbed down …(ii)
iii. Then he sat down ...(iii)
This procedure is in accordance with reporting a past phenomenon using
reported or indirect speech in which. The verbs are expressed in the past.

42
 Example of another class of narrative procedure follows as here under:
i. ‘I know’ said the man … (15)
ii. ‘What?’ ‘What?’ the clerk asked… (15)
iii. ‘You can use the Morse’, the clerk said … (16)
These three example show a cardinal procedure of narrative pattern. The speech
of a speaker is a direct speech which is always preserved exactly in quotation
marks. Next the narrator report what the speaker says in a direct or reported
speech and so the reporting verbs must be in the past.
The third category of narrative technique involves stating general principle or
philosophy of life by the omniscient narrative. This narrative technique occur in
habitual tense and so the present form of verbs is adopted. The narrator office is
the same as the authors and both are in tandem or are the same shoe with a
researcher whose discussion must occur in the habitual or present tense except
when referring to past phenomena. This researcher has found the beautiful ones
are not yet born to be in the correct foregoing orders on page 1-34. However
page 35-43 is in violation of the foregoing three narrative technique. Example
of the violation are sample as follows:
i) Under a dying lamp a child is disturbed by a long cough coming from
somewhere deep in the center of the infant body… (35)
ii) At the end of it his mother calmly puts her mouth… (35)
iii) Up at the top the bus arrives…(35)
There three example show an aberration procedure in these aberration example
is not about stating a general principle or philosophy. The sentences are not the
direct speeches of a character, therefore is in (i) ought to be was, puts in (ii)
should be put, and arrives in (iii) ought to be arrived, as the narrator is reporting
a past happening, not a trinity issue.
Page 44 is in a correct order. Page 46 is written in a habitual tense because
the narrator is stating some life principles. The narrative disorder is found on
page 52; after page 52, the disorder tails off but only to resume on page 68,:

43
‘So tree little boys turn their back to the white man’s bungalow and bring down
ripe mangoes with unripe ones follow on the ground before’.
The narrator is reporting past happening in the above sentence without resort to
proper tradition of narrative technique. Page 104-113 harbor the same erroneous
narrative technique.
(h) There was some sugar left though not so much that it could be given away
(102) since the sugar left is not much to be given away, some structural
items such as;
(i) ‘ a little’ and ‘little’
(ii) ‘a few’ and ‘few’
Should have been employed. The semantic implication of a few used only with
count plural noun, is as follows; ‘a few’ means not many but one or two can be
given out. ‘Few’ means so few that non can be given out. A little and ‘little’
follows the same meaning, so, the grammatical implication of their usage can
occur like this;
(i) (A) Audu: John give me some mangoes, please.
(B) John: Audu, I have a few mangoes left so you can have two
But:
(ii) (A) Audu: please give me some mangoes please
(B) John: I have few mangoes left.
In section B, john stales that he has few mangoes left. The fact that he says ‘few
mangoes’ are left is a clean statement that the mangoes he has are just enough
for himself only. The listener should not wait to hear that on mangoes can be
given out, the speaker says few not a few mangoes are left.
‘A few’ examples more in member whereas ‘few’, less. ‘A little’ and ‘little’
used with a singular and non-count noun follows the same semanticist so the
sentence. ‘There was some sugar left through not so much that it could be given
away’ can simply be reduced to few words; there was little sugar left. If the
listener continues pestering the speaker for sugar it means the listener does not

44
understand the grammatical indications of ‘little’, not ‘a little’. ‘A little’ implies
more in quantity. ‘Little’ implies less so one must distinguish between the
grammatical implication of ‘a few’, and ‘few’, ‘a little’ and ‘little’. Reduction of
word in the treated sentence is important because economy of words is a
cardinal feature of a good writing.
(j) Cloth, (114)
Cloth non count noun refers to the fabric as made in the factory.
Sewn for use it becomes a cloth or clothes count noun. Clothe can be both
noun and verb we can cloth the body that is cover the body with a cloth or
clothes. Cloth in another sense takes the determiner ‘a’, meaning, cloth of
this second sense is constable. Cloth of this second category means a
cloth used for a particular thing such as cleaning the fleur covering a table
cleaning grease in an automobile and so on. The use of cloth in the
following excerpt is examined after the excerpt;
‘Before dawn his own inner anxiety had awakened the man. He
had not taken care to cover himself properly with has cloth in the
night, or perhaps it had slipped off him while he slept’. (14)
The meaning of cloth in this context is the meaning of cloth in a second
category that is, it is a cloth used for particular thing and not cloth, non-count as
fabric just from factory. There is only a thing line of division between cloth and
cloth as contextually meant in this usage.
(k) Fine fine (164)
Fine fine comes under reduplication of words. Reduplication is for
emphasis. This found in English, is very common in Igālāá, for example wa pio
pio, come quickly. The pio pio is quickly. Though reduplications is a part of
morphophonoligical process in Igālāá as yet reduplication is a natural Igālāá
structure unlike other aspects involved with the addition of affixes such as
prefix, infix and suffix to change the morphology of words as in coinage:
(i) Bucket – ibukiti

45
 (ii) Ruler – iruler
(iii) Ball – ubolu etc.
3.5 Devil on the Cross
3.5.1 Synopsis
Devil on the Cross (sub-entitled Cataani Mutharaba-Ini in Gikiyu) written by
Ngȗgi wa Thiong’o tells the story of Wariinga, a young woman from rural
Kenya who faces numerous challenges in her quest for a better life.
The novel begins with Wariinga who leaves her rural village to seek work
in the city. In Nairobi, she encounters exploitation and corruption at every turn.
She finds a job at a factory but shortly discovers that the factory owners mistreat
their workers and pays them sparsely. Despite these terrible hardships, wariinga
remains faithful to improving her lot.
As the narrative progresses, other characters who represent different
strata of Kenya society come into view. Kigȗȗnda is a wealthy businessman
who exploits both workers and women. There is Gicaamba, an educated man
ever struggling with his identity and beliefs.
Wariinga later becomes entangled in a web of deceit and betrayal. She
falls a victim of orchestrated designs by powerful individuals who take
advantage of her vulnerable feminine nature. The worst of the schemers is the
Old Man who puts Wariinga in a family way but refuses to be responsible. He
pushes Wariinga to the street, for her to be only a hair’s breath from suicide. As
Gatȗiria tries introducing Wariinga to his parents for marriage, Wariinga
discovers that the Rich Old Man who made her pregnant is the father of Gaȗiria.
The child of that pregnancy is Wambui. Wambui is old enough for marriage at
the time Gatuiria tries to engage her mother, Warringa. The Rich Old Man begs
Wariinga to annul the intention of marriage with his son to save his honour. His
only son, Gatȗiria, marrying a woman for a girl, the Rich Old Man as a wedded
Christian who cannot himself marry Wariinga will face loss of face. Wariinga
not accepting the Rich Old Man buy her all the dazzling worlds to shut down

46
their marital plan, makes the Rich Old Man the devil incarnate, to have come to
the cross-roads of decision, Devil on the Cross. The Rich Old Man continues
pestering and encumbering Wariinga. Wariinga lodges three bullets in his chest
with her pistol. Outside, she shoots Kihaahu wa Gatheeca and Gitutu
Gataangȗrȗ, all some of the agents of Wariinga’s troubles, set-backs, slavery
and darkness in Kenya.
Devil on the Cross. (sub-entitled Caitaani-lni in Gikuyu) has its subject
matters as a variety of ills which add up to be headache of Kenyans symbolized
by Wariinga. The subject matters or the storylines include colonialism and neo-
colonialism; capitalism and exploitation; resistance and liberation; feminism
and gender inequality; spiritual and cultural reclamation. In sum, Devil on the
Cross discusses colonial legacy, economic injustice, gender inequalities and
enduring spirit of resistance or resilience in post-colonial Africa.
The themes, the most important lessons in the subject matters, include the
need to fight for self-conviction and dignity as exemplified by Wariinga. The
need for knowledge and continual self-improvement for withstanding societal
injustice or exploitation is illustrated by Wariinga. Devil on the Cross touches
on the age long belief in the operation of nemesis or retribution or poetic justice
clearly shown in the life of the Rich Old Man of Ngorika.
Satire and allegory anchored by the use of songs, poetry (the two divided
by a thin line), proverbs and playlets used in many places throughout the novel
play vital roles in conveyance of the messages.

3.5.2 Diction in Devil on the Cross

(a) …I am hearing the echoes. (8)
Hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling and feeling are the five human senses.
The verbs hear, see, taste, smell and feel are derived from these five human
senses. The verbs derived from them are called stative verbs and cannot be used
in a progressive tense as we do not have control over the five human senses… I

47
am hearing… impinges on semanticity of the sentence, ‘…I am hearing the
echoes of silence?’
The acceptable alternative is:
i. … I can or hear the echoes?
Similarly, seeing, tasting, smelling and feeling can be used by ‘I’, ‘he’, ‘she’,
‘they’, ‘we’ and ‘it’ in the stative form as in (i).
(b) St. Peter’s Claver Church. (12)
Observations based on the immediate foregoing expression are
as:
(i) Abbreviation such as ‘St’ is not exactly alright in a serious writing that
purports to be a model. Its major disadvantage is failure to expose the reader
to correct spelling practice. At certificate examination on English,
abbreviation of words is punishable. The examiner would like to find out
whether or not a candidate can spell an abbreviated word. The word, Saint,
abbreviated to ‘St’ is an honorific adjective. Diminutively written, an
honorific adjective lowers the honour of the personages they (honorific
adjectives) govern. Honorific adjectives such as professor, reverend,
honourable should never be diminutively written except in flying papers.
Once such honorific adjectives govern specific names, their initial letter is
capitalized. Instances such as Professor Godwin Yina, Honourable Michael
Jibrin and Reverend Father Simon Ada suffice. St. Peter’s Claver Church
becomes Saint Peter’s Claver Church.
(ii) St Peter’s Claver Church
It became necessary for this researcher over a decade ago to start
considering the merit and the demerit of these expressions:
(a) St Peter’s Claver Church
(b) St Peter Claver Church
The expression in (a) is a possessive case whereas (b), ‘Peter Claver Church’,
Peter, proper noun and noun adjunct, adjectivally moderating ‘Claver Church’

48
depicts quality rather than bare ownership. In possessive case, no other
immediate meaning apart from Saint Peter owning the Church is attached. In
adjectival case, meditation leading to prying into the nature of Saint Peter
ensues. This aspect is certainly what the Catholic Church celebrating the
institution of sainthood intends. Peter as a Saint has his peculiarities,
idiosyncrasies. Other Saints have. In the Catholic Church, members are
orchestrated into different societies marked by their patron saints and the
church’s target in so doing is to obtain the saintly attributes or blessings or
patronage for the members. Saintliness differs according to different Saints.
This means that each member should be ruled by the characteristics or
peculiarities of their societal patron saint or the name of patron saint borne as
baptismal name. Those in saint Peter society Should go by humility; Saint
Lawrence, care of the poor/needy; Saint Mary, patience or resilience; bearing
Stephen, forgiveness…
However, this researcher is afraid, most members are in oblivion of the
significance or implication of the various patron saints borne as names or
whatever.
Schools, churches and other church institutions ought to use the adjectival
rather than the possessive form of expression for identification of such as
follows:
(i) Saint Mary Catholic Church
(ii) Saint Peter Society
(iii) Saint John Primary School
(iv) Saint Paul College
(v) Saint Veronica Clinic etc

(c) :
i) Page 1 to 16 and 26 to 29 are correctly narratively ordered.
ii) Page 17 to 25 is not

49
 The linguistic mechanics constituting correct narrative tradition have been
discussed earlier in (c) and (d) of Anthills of the Savannah.
(d) Parsing of the following expression (28):
She only looked back once, just to see if the man was following her.
She did not see him. And I never asked for his name, Wariinga
thought.
It might be on the card he gave me. But all men, whoever they are, are
soothing blood-suckers.
In parsing the above excerpt, it is observed that the syntax is in correct narrative
order, past phenomena reported in the past but, But all men whoever they are,
are soothing blood suckers, as an expression is in the present or habitual tense
for the following reasons:
i. The expression is an all-time general philosophy of life
ii. The diction borders on eternal truth
Examples of eternal truth include:
i. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west
ii. Woman, the world over, is the home keeper
iii. Children are the naughtiest species of mankind.
In all the three examples, each sentence is about what has been, what is, still
will be. In a narrative procedure, all past happenings are in the reported or
indirect speech but reference to a happening which borders on eternal truth is
reported in a present habitual tense, so is But all men whoever they are, are
soothing blood-suckers

(e) Incorrect narrative procedure (30)

The first half of page 30 is not in accordance with a legitimate
narrative approach for the following reasons:
i. What is narrated is not about a certain philosophy or reflection on life.
ii. What is narrated is not about eternal truth

50
iii. What is narrated is not the direct speech of a character. If it were, it would
have been treated accordingly, the direct speech is quoted. However, outside
the foregoing reasons, about the first half of page 30 operates in present,
habitual tense, instead of reporting the past phenomena accordingly. About
the second half of the same, 30, is wrought correctly in the standard
tradition.

(f) … egg him on … (31)

… egg him on … means to stir him, urge him or encourage him.
Mwaura’s Matatu Matata Matamu Model T Ford taxi being praised by
Mwaura so people came out of bars and shops asking, egging, that is, stirring
or urging on or encouraging Mwaura to tell them, they, the audience, all
about the attributes of the taxi to use Mwaura’s talk as a vantage point.
Idiomatic, egg him on may be understood literally instead of literarily by the
reader.

(g) ... gossipers … (39)

The diction, gossipers, in the sentence:
Is not for gossipers and rumours mongers…
Last line of the song written in haiku or haikus (from Japanese, a poem of three
lines). One who gossips is a gossip, never gossiper. The diction can motivate
the use of misnomer in the reader.

(h) …theft, robbery … (44)

… theft, robbery used together in the same environment is a stylish
way by the author to assist the reader in distinguishing between the semanticity
of both words seemingly the same as they appear. Theft is an act or crime of
staling’ (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, p.237). ‘Robbery is the action
or an instance of stealing’ (Oxford Advanced Learner s Dictionary, p.1017)
51
BBC English Dictionary (p.1214) says ‘theft is the act or crime of stealing’,
agreeing with the Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary whereas ‘robbery is the
crime of stealing money or property often by using force or threats’ (BBC
English Dictionary, p.1007). The definition of robbery by BBC English
Dictionary, this researcher’s option, sets apart the definition of theft from
robbery. While theft is without violence, robbery is given the employment of
‘force’ and ‘threats’. Force and threats are symptoms of crisis and crisis brings
danger. This claim is traceable to Andrew Jerome Yeung’s explanation of the
Chinese term for crisis. That term is wei-ji. Wei means danger. Ji means
opportunity. Put together, crisis means opportunity for danger. Theft and
robbery can be distinguished one from the other by trying to see theft as a civil
crime while robbery, violence. Therefore, both words co-occurring in the same
environment as in:
The whole country would be cleansed of theft, robbery … is not
tautological.

(i) ... blessings and the fruits… (54)

... blessings and the fruits of their sweat is not from them…
What is studied in the immediate foregoing excerpt is on concord/agreement as
follows:
i. The subject/noun, blessings, plural, is expected to be complemented by
plural verb are
ii. Fruits is joined with blessings by the conjunction ‘and’ making blessings
and fruits double subject/noun, plural expecting them to collocate with the
plural verb are. The status of the entire sentence is explicated or extricated
as here under:
(i) Blessings though seemingly plural, is taken as a single unit by the author.
Fruits also seemingly plural, is taken as a unit by the author.

52
(ii)If double subject/noun joined together by a conjunction ‘and’ means one and
the same thing, a singular verb is adopted. Examples of double subject /noun
agreeing with a singular verb are as follows:
a) My chairman and secretary is here. This means the chairman and the
secretary is one and the same person
b) My wife and darling is cooking. My wife and darling is the same person.
Therefore ‘…blessings… fruits of their sweat is not wrestled from them
…’is a linguistic creative way of styling the message by the author. If the
author’s meaning of intending or having blessings as a unit and fruits as an
entity fails, then the sentence ‘…blessings and fruits of their sweat is not
wrestled from them…’ cannot stand for reason of grammar not well
accounted for. In that case, the sentences should read ‘…blessings and the
fruits of their sweat are not wrestled from them…’
(iii) Fruit is a non-count noun. Adding the plural marker(s) to fruit as in fruits
may corrupt the grammatical destination of fruits. The following syntactic
examples are adjudged incorrect while the alternatives are set at the right
hand side of the table:
Wrong Right
(i) I have many mango fruits. (i) I have much or a lot of mango
fruit
(ii)There are many cashew fruits (ii)There is much or a lot cashew
in the basket. fruit in the baskets
Having or regarding fruits of a particular tree as fruits is not grammatically
acceptable. However, cashing in on geographical language such as waters when
all the various categories of water are brought together, we can talk about fruits
in the plural sense, an assemblage of fruits of different trees in the orchard.

(j) …conversations in foreign language (56)

Study is made of the following excerpt regarding the above expression:

53
 Gatuiria spoke Gikuyu like many educated people in Kenya people who
stutter like babies when speaking their national language but conduct
fluent conversations in foreign language.
Saying gatuiria spoke like many ‘educated people’ in Kenya … but conduct
‘fluent conversations in foreign language’.
Has the following implications:
i. Most citizens of some African countries speak the language of the
indoctrinating colonial father. Most African countries are defined as
Francophone and Anglophone countries. Nigeria is an Anglophone West
African country. Kenya, an east African country is an Anglophone country.
Apart from mother tongue (L1), most citizens of various countries as in
Nigeria and Kenya have their second language (L 2) which may be
indigenous or non-indigenous. Then the L 2 may be made a national
language or lingua franca in a multilingual country like Nigeria. Nigeria,
Anglophone, has English as a national language or lingua franca. Every
Nigerian compulsorily acquires a good measure of English before obliging
the government for a functional opportunity. Because English is Nigeria’s
National Language, it is incorrect to define English as a foreign language in
Nigeria. Though English at first is non-indigenous to Nigeria, it has been
domesticated since. A foreign language is defined as a language not
officially studied in a community or an environment. Kenya’s national
language or lingua franca is English. The Republic of Kenya became a
British Colony in the 19th Century. English, therefore, cannot be defined as
a foreign language in Kenya or if foreign languages are used in
conversations by Gatuiria and other ‘educated people’, who would be their
audience, since a foreign language is one not officially studied in a
community or an environment? It can only be said Gatuiria and other
‘educated people’ speak English, their lingua franca, and their mother
tongues or their other ethnic languages fluently in conversations.

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 Or if Kenya is digloxic like Nigeria, and it ought to be, it can be safely
claimed Matuiria and other ‘educated people’ communicate with others not so
linguistically endowed in the Low (L) of Kenya’s digloxia. In Nigeria, two
versions of English exist. The Standard English (High) and Pidigin or Broken
(Low) while Standard English (H) is used in official procedures, the L, all
purpose-driven, is used by street citizens in communication to avert their
drowning.
(k) …thatched with grass… (59)
…thatched with grass… appears in:
Often, when I’m alone in a hut thatched with grass..
Thatched means roofed or walled with grass. Thatched with grass is therefore
tautological as thatched embodies grass. The sentence appropriately reads as
‘Often, when I’m alone in a thatched hut…’

(l) ...English Literature (61)

English Literature occurs in:
He is in the Department of English – English literature.
(i) It is not likely that it is known as Department of English -English
literature but rather, Department of English -Literature-in-English as we have
different types of literature such as American Literature, African Literature,
Caribbean Literature, Indian Literature, Chinese Literature and son on.
(ii)English literature ought to be English Literature, that is, ‘l’ be capitalized
since the kind of literature is defined by the adjectival noun, English. This is
so because it is not River niger but River Niger, not African continent but
African Continent…

(m) The sun never rises…it set… (71)

The sun never rises the way it set…

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The above ought to correctly read, ‘The sun never rises the way it sets…
Because the sun rising and setting is a habitual phenomenon, set ought not to be
expressed in the past or non-habitual sense.

(n) …harvesting and husbandry is… (85)

…harvesting and husbandry is … occurs in:
Who told you that harvesting and husbandry is not hard work?
There is a grammatical issue of concord/agreement. The subject/noun plural,
harvesting and husbandry followed, by is, singular verb, impinges on
grammatical rule. Harvesting, verbal noun or gerund, joined with husbandry by
the conjunction, ‘and’ shows the expression contains two subjects or nouns.
(o) …he has now gone… (99)
The expression, …he has now gone… as in the following:
One of the boys has finished his education at all the universities in Africa, and
has now gone abroad to accomplish a similar feat there.
is looked at as follows:
i) …has is an axillary verb governing gone.
ii) …Has points to the present called the historic present.
iii) …now means the present.
Has and now cannot co-occur because both mean the same thing. Therefore.
‘has and now’ gone becomes …and has gone.
Some examples of the historic present include:
i) I have done the work, (not I have now done the work). The presence of
has in this structure shows the work done is there, awaiting an appraisal.
ii) He has come (not he has now come). He that has come is standing right
there waiting to be addressed.
iii) The thief has died (not the thief has now died). This means that the body
of the thief is still there awaiting burial. All (i) - (iii) point to happenings that
started in the very recent past but continue to the present, now.

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(p) …in Icieiri district… (101)
If a place name that is a noun adjunct is specified by the next word that is
also a noun adjunct, that second noun adjunct takes an initial capital letter.
Icieiri district therefore becomes Icieiri District. Kiambu district (ibid) is,
Kiambu Distric.

(q) There are… now. (107)

The above expression appears in:
There are two ideas that I’d like to develop now…,
Parsed, … ‘are’ is equal to ‘now’. ‘Are’ is present, the ‘now’. The sentence
therefore becomes ‘’There are two ideas that I’d like to develop”, to suppress
the presence of tautology in adding ‘now’ to ‘are’

(r) … everybody … his share (III)

The above is studied in the parsing of the following except:
What will be left for you after everybody else has grabbed his share?
(i) Everybody may be either of the genders, therefore the male determiner
his is not the fairest choice.
(ii) …his may be argued as the fairest choice in the light of his being a
historical language encasing both genders but the ambiguity in semanticity still
remains.
(iii) The attempt to avoid the ambiguity in the use of his in a subsumed
manner for both genders in such constructions leads to the use of notional
concord in British English, the most current, the most acceptable today and the
most agreeable to this researcher, as language is a living and therefore a
growing thing. The sentence becomes what will be left for you after everybody
has grabbed their share.

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 The following are examples of the use of notional concord instead of ‘he’ and
‘his’, ‘he or she’, ‘his or her’ etc. in accordance with the British English:
(i) ‘Someone (emphasis mine) who is harassed feels worried because they
(emphasis mine) have too many problems’ (BBC English Dictionary, p.527). In
this example, the number issue is the disagreement of someone, single, with the
plural relative pronoun, they. Since someone is single, the relative pronoun is
expected to be single. But someone may be male or female so the singular relative
pronoun ‘he’ is not in tandem with someone, then notional concord, they, as
individuals collectively functioning as either male or female is ticked.
(ii)‘If someone is decadent, they (emphasis mine) show low standard’ (BBC
English Dictionary p. 290). (ii) is the same pattern as (i).
One more violation of this kind of structure found in Devil on the Cross
is as hereunder:
Anyone who is desperate for a place to lay his head will he forced
to buy a nest from us which he will be able to fold and carry on
his shoulders or slip into his pocket.
Since anyone may be male or female, his becomes their, he becomes they, to
answer the British English in maintaining notional concord.

(s) Every Sunday …… morning mass. (139)

Every Sunday her aunt would take her to the morning mass at the
church of the holy rosary.
If mass without the initial capital letter, it refers to different things or people
gathered together. ‘Morning mass at the church’, mass ought to begin with
capital letter M.

(t) …. witch…. his (156)

Now in the same village there lived a very dangerous witch who was also
very much feared because his witchcraft was even more potent than

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 Kamin’s.
Witch, feminine, cannot answer a male determiner his. The antonym of witch,
wizard, can.

(u) … thief... he. (158)

Because in many cases we point at a thief in rag, forgetting that perhaps
he steals because he is hungry and thirsty.
Thief could be male or female. The sentence if parsed, becomes the example as
in (r).

(v) … Window dressing. (167)

The meaning of window dressing is two-edged. It is the art of arranging
goods in store/shop windows in an attractive way. This, the literal meaning. The
second, used disapprovingly, idiomatic, is the fact of doing or saying something
in a way that creates a good impression but does not show the real facts.
Politicians are the best example of those who window dress, especially while
canvassing for votes. This idiomatic meaning may pose some semantic
challenge to an amateur reader on ground of their inability to decipher the
literary meaning.
Window dressing is a confessional statement by Mwireri wa Mukirat
instant of the chairman of the national stealing and robbery competition by
thieves and robbers. Mwireri’s staking is that the posting of the Africans as
company managers, store or shop keepers and so on by the imperialists is only
to safe-guard the imperial interests. That the only love of the imperialists is to
indirectly exploit, dominate and maximize personal interests. The doings of the
imperialists in that guise is tantamount to window dressing. If the reader is not
on guard, this second meaning can misfire to become the first meaning. All
idioms come under Pragmatics. All Pragmatic expressions have the said plus the

59
unsaid, the two-sided aspects combine to produce the needed wholesome
semanticity.

(w) … seeing through their mouths (177)

This excerpt is contained in the sentence:
I tell you, they all ended up seeing through their mouths instead of
their eyes,
means being surprised or even shocked beyond telling to the extent that they
cannot close their mouths, making it seem as if it is their mouths that see, not
eyes. This is a part of the testimony of Nditika wa Nguunji at the cave, relishing
in the suffering of his employees receiving only desert pay for their services.
This re-echoes the subject matter of the novel which is the exploitation of the
masss by both the imperial or colonial and neo-colonial capitalists.
(x) …do her best... (199)
The above appears in:
Wariinga decided that she would not tell Gatuiria about the dreams,
but she would do her best…
The expression, to do one’s best is septic. It ought to be she would do the best
she can. Similarly, ‘I’ ‘we’ ‘he’ ‘she’ ‘they’ ‘it’ can do the best … can.

(y) …who was beside himself with laughter …(213)

Being beside oneself, idiomatic, is losing one’s control because of the intensity
of emotion one feels. The receptionist is beside himself with laughter because of
the humour evoked by Mwireri wa Mukiaa’s taxi code-named Matatu Matata
Matamu Model T Ford whose meaning sticks in its onomatopoeic sound.

(zi) … he or she ... (222)

And if one of the workers had an unexpected problem, he or she was
allowed to borrow from the common pool to meet his or her needs...

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The he or she was earlier treated in (e) of The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born
and (r) of Devil on the Cross. But for avoidance of doubt, it is examined here in
passing as hereunder:
(i)He or she is used by many to avoid the grammatical impasse as inherent in a
structure such as if anyone is sick, he should drink medicine. But the he, the
historical language covering both genders produces a lot of misgivings.
Therefore others resort to a structure as if anyone is sick, he or she should drink
medicine. The ‘he or she’ structure is a serious attempt to amply provide for
both genders, instead of the historical ‘he’ only. But because language is living
and growing, the British usage cited earlier in (r) of Devil on the Cross is found
to be atop of either ‘he’ or ‘he or she’ structures. So, he or she, in the excerpt
under review is replaced by they, and his or her by their …

(zii) ... garage... (222)

Garage appears in the following excerpt.
It is to the garage that Wariinga is going this Saturday to finish her job
before setting off on the journey to IImorog.
Parsed, the contextual meaning of garage in the foregoing excerpt is motor
park. Motor park is the place of embankment or boarding and disembarkment or
alighting from vehicles by passengers or travellers. However, a garage may be
contained by a motor park. A little outhouse or shed where vehicles are
temporally parked in a motor park is a garage. Garage is also found in
institutions where officers, staff of the institutions park their vehicles. A
mechanic workshop or shed or an outfit at the outskirts of a town is a garage.
Individual home owners may insert a garage in their building for parking their
vehicles; Therefore, garage as in the foregoing excerpt is a misnomer capable
of derailing the vocabulary of the reader.
(Ziii) …garage (238)

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 Garage as in (zii) is the same as in (ziii) confirmed by the
sentence.
Did I tell you that today we were informed that we have to quit our
Mwihotor garage premises?

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