Representation of female genital mutilation in blossoms of the savannah and the switch

Abstract

The study investigates the representation of the theme of female genital mutilation in two novels; Ole kulet's Blossoms of the Savannah and Mary Karooro Okurut's The Switch. First, it examines the way various stylistic strategies such as figurative language are deployed to negatively represent female genital mutilation or FGM. I note that the representation covers physiological, psychological and social effects of the ritual on both the individual and society at large. The study further investigates the indications and implications of the persuasive motive in line with Aristotle's means f persuasion; ethos and pathos, as embedded in the narrative voice. In that light, it engages with the way narrative perspective facilitates the audience's identification with the opinions of the narrator regarding FGM, and how the omniscient narrator, through internal focaliSation, potentially influences the audience's attitude against FGM. The study further draws on Mikhail Bakhtin's notions of artistic dialogism and answerability. Through textual analysis and close reading of primary texts, the study reveals that language devices including metaphors, similes,irony, diction and strategies in the narrative voice denote FGM as deeply painful, brutal, destructive and damaging to female sexuality. The narratives also associate FGM with emotional complications including trauma, depression,anxiety, and terror, as well as social implications such as violation of human rights, stigmatization of the uncircumcised women, female subjugation and broken relationships. These findings locate the roots of FGM in a patriarchal ideology that prioritizes the sexual needs of men over those of women. The study further reveals that the persuasive motive that is embedded in the narratives puts extra demands on style. Sometimes the narratives over exaggerate in a bid to amplify the negative effects of FGM.