Solidarity of Men and Women in Class Struggle in Sembebe Ousmane’s God’s Bits of Wood and Ngugi WA Thiongo’s Petals of Blood

Abstract

Class struggle has been a pertinent issue in Literature. Literary texts have always presented conflicts between the oppressed and the oppressor. These conflicts emerge as the oppressed group try to free themselves from the yoke of oppression. While the struggle for a better society used to be carried out by men because they were believed to be brave and strong, women joined them. When this occurred, they work as a united team to complement each other in liberating the society. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine how solidarity of men and women triggers class struggle in Ngugi’s Petals of Blood and Sembene’s God’s Bits of Wood. The texts under study were selected because their thematic content is largely based on class struggle. The analysis was done using Marxism theory which urges the oppressed group to rise and unite so that they can demand for what belongs to them. This tenet was employed in the study to examine how men and women have not only risen but also united to complement each other in the struggle. The study went further to examine the changes that occur in the novels under study when men and women work together to demand for better working conditions and developments. The researcher used qualitative approach in data analysis because the data from the texts under study was non-numerical. The study is significant because it provides an insight on how the unity of men and women can trigger class struggle.