Defragmentation of social genocide in A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul and A Grain of Wheat by Ngugi Wa Thiong'o

This dissertation aims to state "social genocide" term in post-colonial era and analyse them in the selected works, in the order of; A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul and A Grain of Wheat by Ngũgĩ Wa Thiong'o. In this respect, the perspectives of the two writers about colonisation, imperialism and social genocide are examined in the light of their other works and other sources related to the topic. In the analysed literary works, the coloniser is shown as the superior force and the basic structure of the social genocide because of their subhuman wills. As the initiation and the source of these aims, the Industrial Revolution is examined in the first place. The Industrial Revolution was a turning point in the world and it caused several major changes for each society during its time and afterwards. Even though it brought many benefits to England, it also ended up with harsh conditions for its own society. On the other hand, the thought of having an endless power created a way for Europeans to have an idea of possessing other regions with this power and brought colonisation to African countries. However, colonisation did not remain only as a policy and did not bring civilisation to the countries as it was claimed. It changed the lives, culture, language and traditions of the indigenous people. Furthermore, this practice brought about genocide but not only physically, but also socially and psychologically because the destruction of a society's culture means destroying that society which leads to social genocide. All these perspectives of colonisation and the results of it as a social genocide are narrated in the works of V. S. Naipaul and Ngugi Wa Thiong'o. V. S. Naipaul demonstrates both the colonisation and neocolonialism periods by the characters and the themes in A Bend in the River. By the characters he embodies the colonisation and in this way as a result of it, social genocide is clearly seen from each perspective. In another perspective, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o describes colonisation by narrating only four days before the independence of Kenya. However, these four days express all the incidents and the hardships of indigenous people caused by colonisation, and thereby, this work goes beyond its time. Considering all the evidences from these two novels and the secondary sources, colonial periods, the effects of colonisation, the roles of the coloniser and the colonised and social genocide as a result of colonisation are examined in this study.