Brian Chikwava’s Harare North: A Pedagogy of Resistance in an Exile Narrative

Abstract

Connecting Zimbabwe and England through an exile narration, Brian Chikwava’s Harare North is received with acclamations and excitement among critics, particularly literary critics. The unnamed protagonist, through his particular way of telling [his] transnational stories has attracted critical attention and given rise to analyses combining exilic, linguistic and identity issues among other interests. In this analysis though, emphasis is placed on the very protagonist and his narrative style with the objective of showing that the novel is a pedagogical material bringing to the forefront pragmatics of resistance; resistance being a space of negotiation across geographical locations. As a consequence, this work is elaborated through Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis and Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s postcolonial perspective which will shape the interpretation of the novel and recounted events throughout the analysis. This study is located within the terrains of decolonial discourses with the aim of resulting in possibilities of countering alterity among African migrants/exiles.