TY - JOUR AU - Eyang, Anthony Ebebe AU - Edung, Augustine Ayilewu PY - 2018/12/21 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - ‘Historical Falsehood and the Therapy of Truth: A Reader-Response Interrogation of Mukoma wa Ngugi’s Mrs. Shaw JF - GNOSI: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Human Theory and Praxis JA - Gnosi : Interdiscip. J. Human Theo. Praxis VL - 1 IS - 2 SE - DO - UR - http://gnosijournal.com/index.php/gnosi/article/view/166 SP - 147-156 AB - <p>This paper examines the portrayal of two contrasting historical accounts about the African past in Mukoma wa Ngugi’s <em>Mrs/Shaw </em>(2015)<em>. </em>&nbsp;The text is analysed from the point of view of Reader-Response and, eclectically, with insights from theories of Deconstruction and Postcolonialism. By this theoretical approach, the study examines the author’s redefinition and re-rendition of an African historical past which hitherto had been a source of vilification, demonization and mischaracterization of Africa with the attendant denigration and unjust treatment of the people. The paper also interrogates the author’s language as a facilitator of the realization of the theme of historical re-orientation and deconstruction. The paper concludes that African writers involve in the undertaking of nation-building through literary creativity. Also, like the traditional griots, they are guardians of sacred history, as this manifest in the interrogation and re-imaging of false accounts about the people’s past</p> ER -