Literature and culture: A critique of selected works of Kofi Awoonor and Ama Ata Aidoo
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Abstract
Humans strive to attain excellence by instituting norms that guide the conduct of constituent members. This effort is the basis of culture. One of the key mediums for transmitting culture is literature because it possesses the capacity to influence the way people think, shaping their attitudes. This paper, however, underscores the relationship between language and culture, sings some selected works of Awoonor and Aidoo as illustrations. For Aidoo, the focus is on her play “Anowa”, while for Awoonor, two of his poems, namely “The Weaver Bird” and “The Cathedral” are used in unravelling the ways that literature helps the reader to achieve excellence in his or her endeavours. The paper attacks the monopoly of Western culture, exposing its hideous aspects, favouring multiple cultures, not one globalised culture. It calls for changes in aspects of Ghanaian culture that tends to suppress the attainment of full rights by women.
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