Summary of Journal Literature 2

Journal Literature 2

Reference: Mhindu, Admire. 2014. Can men surely be feminits? A feminist reading of Ngugi’s The River Between and Achebe’s Anthills of the savannah. Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL) A Peer Reviewed (Refereed) International Journal. Vol2/ 4. (2014)

In this study the research sought to critique literary works written by male writers from a feminist perspective. Since the key proponents of the feminist theory are basically women, the research intended to find out if male writers can fully address the plight of women in literary works as a way of exposing the injustices that exist between the treatment of women and women in most patriarchal societies. An analysis of two works by Ngugi WA Thiongo and Chinua Achebe was done in endeavor to unearth the extent to which male writers can be feminists. It was discovered that, despite being male, these writers try to address the address the plight of women by exposing the patriarchal tendencies that exist in society and avoiding the stereotyping of women. These writers also try to provide equal opportunities for both men and women. However, it was noted that since males are not female, they fall short of the expectations of the feminist theory as they are products of a patriarchal society. To sum up the foregoing discussion, it is worth noting that men do agree that they can never be women as their biological make-up cannot be changed. They will remain men but as far as Feminism is concerned, they can make an impact by fighting the oppression of women through writing. Male writers like Ngugi and Achebe among others have embraced the feminist theory and have tried to expose and challenge patriarchy by elevating women to influential positions at the same time trying to do away with the gender stereotyping of women. Their efforts can be appreciated because they are products of patriarchal societies. Thus, to a greater extent men can be feminists as evidenced by the discussions raised in this paper. Male writers should, however, work extra hard to totally emancipate women so that they can surely become feminists and not semi- feminists who on one side act as if they are elevating women but at the same time failing to totally empower them.