Exploring the Prose Style Techniques of Chinua Achebe in Things Fall Apart (1958) and Athol Fugard in Tsotsi (1980) Through a Cinematic Lens

Abstract

The study is an exploration of prose style techniques through a cinematic lens of two African fiction writers. It specifically focuses on Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958) and Athol Fugard’s Tsotsi (1980). The major purpose of the study is to establish that though these are novels written in a traditional sense, the narrative techniques the authors use respectively, express cinematic technique. The study established that the cinematic prose style techniques not only concretises the story experiences in the novels but in the long run can be used to promote African literature in reconfiguration to film through a framework that rests on cinematic prose technique for its operation. The study recommends that this framework be applied to the reading of other African literary genres such as poetry, drama, oral literature and fiction for the purpose of creating more visibility for African literature