A Study Of Irony In Nguji Wa Tiango's Novels

Irony is a very important artistic technique in Ng?g? wa Thiong’o’s novels.Because of irony,the absurdity,exaggeration and humor in Ng?g?’s novels are all colored with resistance,containing his challenge to the authority.It is the author’s understanding and constraint after suffering.It is the edge he sometimes shows under his calm narration.It contains his reflection and creation in the chaotic times and embodies his unique writing style and profound ideological connotation.This paper first studies the periodical characteristics of irony.According to the intensity of irony,the seven novels are divided into three stages.Ng?g?’s ironic style has been evolving under the background of the colonial era,national uprising,national independence and post-colonial period of Kenya.It changes from restraining to extreme exaggeration.His view of the world has evolved accordingly.Secondly,Ng?g? creates the ironic effect by sharp inversion and deliberately exaggerating the description of characters and events,resulting in the mismatch between semantics and context to express the ironic attitude towards colonialism and the post-colonial government.What is more valuable is that Ng?g? has always upheld the original intention of correcting society with irony.By means of post-modern elements,his works return to reality and reverse the phenomenon of "spiritual wasteland".In terms of narration,Ng?g? deliberately denies the truth of the story,but intersperses with many real events.It is his narrative choice in extreme circumstances.Ng?g? makes use of the unreliable narrators created by oral literature to give the readers the right to judge true and false,thus transcends the perspective of the narrators and allows them to conduct "double decoding" in reading.Africans have grown suspicious of their identity as a result of the invasion of western culture.Ng?g? expresses his position with irony,calling on black compatriots to face up to their identity and get rid of servile thinking.Ng?g? also shows the social status quo of Kenya by the seasonal changes with unique African characteristics,reveals the real social life with irony full of contradictions and paradoxes,guides people to explore the abnormal world under the surface,and constantly plans the road for the future of the country.In the end,Ng?g? uses irony to avoid simple preaching and rebel against plain narration to meet readers’ expectations.He also explores the cohesive function of irony,opens a direct dialogue with Kenyan workers and farmers,speaks the voice of the people at the lower levels,and makes the language hidden under the surface go to the majority.Ng?g? uses irony to reflect his writing choice,artistic techniques and philosophy of life.The study of irony is an indispensable part of discussing the art of Ng?g?’s novels and should be one of the focuses of attention.