The man was of a different clay: Interrogating masculinities in selected African novels

Abstract

From the mid-1980s, studies on men and masculinities have seen a steady growth. Literary studies have applied the theory of masculinities in research and come up with interesting findings that prove art forms as a true reflection of society (Ennin, 2013, 2014; Sam, 2016). Similarly, as texts that were produced in or about true African places, the novels selected in this research present more than just their narrative content. These texts talk about issues of masculinities germane to the African man by showing how men remain men, and the ever-changing configuration of what it means to be a man. I show in this research, how men perform their masculinities based on changes in setting and social status. This research argues that setting and social status are huge determinants in the way men act, and shows how men try to align themselves to social constructs of masculinities to their detriment. Setting and social status are therefore used to show how men endeavor to adhere to such social constructs and what the negative effects of such attempts to adhere reveal about the workings of masculinity.