Understanding characterization: the young adult character in the prose fiction of selected Ugandan female authors

Abstract

This article explores the details of characterisation, particularly that of the young adult character in the prose fiction of selected Ugandan female authors, through a thorough reading of Barbara Kimenye, Mary Karooro Okurut and Glaydah Namukasa's novels and short stories. This study positions the texts within the broader literary analytical realm of the fundamental analytical framework of characterisation. Drawing from the archetypal critical theory and young adult studies, the work locates young adult protagonists as they navigate life's complexities, expectations, and their own personal perceptions about family, peers at school, teachers, and other people in their lives. Different characters are studied from their different settings accorded to them by the different writers; the schools, street environments, and later a university setting, all of which offer adolescents spaces to discover who they are. They rebel, they bond, they conflict, and they grow even as they negotiate their spaces in a world that is dominated by adults. The study highlights the physique of characters, their actions, their reactions and narrative voice, which reflect their agency and their search for identity. This analysis of characterisation of the young adult in female-authored prose fictional works stresses the role of Ugandan literature in increasing worldwide understanding of the young adult character in prose fiction.