Quod erat demonstrandum: A comparative study of narrative technique in Ama Ata Aidoo’s Changes and Albert Camus’ Les justes (The Just Ones)

Abstract

Authors of fictional works often have recourse to irony whereby they subtly indicate their disapproval of certain ideas or courses of action. Irony is a rather complex and wide-ranging phenomenon. However, in both Ama Ata Aidoo‟s Changes and Albert Camus Les justes, the authors resort to a specific form of irony to bring the discussion of issues raised to a conclusion. The technique consists in demonstrating clearly a huge discrepancy between a “fine” idea and its practical usefulness. This study, through textual analysis, aims to show how the two aforementioned authors successfully use this narrative technique. Albert Camus demonstrates the hollowness of the idea of fighting for justice through revolutionary violence and Ama Ata Aidoo similarly demonstrates the fatuousness of the theory of women- emancipation-through-polygamy.