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OverviewDespite Chaka being considered an African literary masterpiece, Thomas Mofolo has paradoxically been dismissed by critics as a “mission boy” who wrote “as a Christian” and, thus, naively extolled the virtues of the white man’s “civilizing mission” in Africa. David Mengara’s, Colonial Discourse and the Jesus-fication of King Chaka: How Thomas Mofolo's Chaka Turned the Zulu Monarch into a Messiah offers a re-reading of Chaka to show that Mofolo, in fact, astutely deconstructs, and then reconstructs, King Chaka into a messianic figure whose life trajectory and destiny blasphemously mirrors that of Jesus Christ in the Bible’s New Testament. Instead of rejecting the traditional “mission interpretations” of Chaka, this book provides an interpretative inflection to paint a more nuanced picture and balanced understanding of the novel. Organized into five chapters, Mengara explores King Chaka as a historical and mythologized figure, the circumstances and controversy surrounding the publication of Thomas Mofolo’s novel, the “mission interpretation” context, the Jesus and Chaka similarities, the subversion of missionary ethos of the time, and the reassessment of Thomas Mofolo’s nationalism. This book appeals for a rediscovery of Mofolo’s work to resituate him as one of the finest authors Southern Africa has produced. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Daniel M. MengaraPublisher: Lexington Books Imprint: Lexington Books Dimensions: Width: 15.90cm , Height: 2.20cm , Length: 23.60cm Weight: 0.499kg ISBN: 9781793650955ISBN 10: 1793650950 Pages: 214 Publication Date: 30 August 2024 Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Manufactured on demand We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier. Table of ContentsReviewsColonial Discourse and the Jesus-fication of King Chaka: How Thomas Mofolo's Chaka Turned the Zulu Monarch into a Messiah is a fascinating work of literary criticism and historiographic reclamation. Daniel Mengara offers a crucial rereading of Chaka, a text damned by its canonization, but essential to the history of the African novel. --Deena Dinat, University of British Columbia Author InformationDaniel Mengara is professor of French and Francophone studies in the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Montclair State University. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |