Abstract
The main objective of this study was to show the major socioeconomic problems of Ethiopian young adults in three selected Ethiopian young adult novels written in English. This study contends that contemporary Ethiopian young adult novels in English strongly represent contemporary socioeconomic problems of Ethiopian young adults which face in their day today activities. Eclectic approach was employed in this study so as to identify the major issues represented as challenges of young adults by using thematic analysis in the three novels, namely Breaking the Chain, Behind the Invisible Bars, and The young Crusader. This study comprises five chapters. Chapter one dealt with the background of the study which contains introduction, statement of the problem, research questions, objectives of the study, scope of the study, significance of the study, and limitations of the study.
 Chapter two deals with the review of related literature where theoretical discussions of young adult literature, postmodern socioeconomic problems of Ethiopian young adults’ and conceptual frame work of the study utilizes as a guide line are out lined. In the third chapter methodological issues are specified. The fourth chapter focuses on a thorough analysis of the three novels where thematic issues, choice of characters and narrative point of view were identified and explored. The major thematic issues as challenges of Ethiopian young adults’ are viewed under the sections parallel themes and divergent themes. These include poverty, corruption, family problems, caring responsibility at early age, human trafficking organ harvesting, sexual abuse, teenage pregnancy and abortion, homelessness and loss of parents, alcohol and drug abuse, kidnapping, and new love. Choice of character(s) and third person narrative point of view in the selected young adult novels in English were identified as the styles of the authors to represent the real socioeconomic challenges of Ethiopian young adults in detail. In addition, using visual imagery and setting are identified as language feature used by the three authors. The thesis concludes with a chapter in which findings in the fourth chapter are summed up and generalization is made.
Highlights
BACK GROUND OF THE STUDYStarting with literary works in Ge’ez language, Ethiopia is known for the emergence of literary works in Amharic and other vernacular languages
Even though there are many young adult novels written in English which deals with different subject matters of young adults, due to some constraints such as time, finance, expertise, etc., this study only focused on identifying the major socio-economic problems of Ethiopian young adults
Ethiopian young adult novels in English have started to publish following the lunching of the Burt Awards in African literature
Summary
BACK GROUND OF THE STUDYStarting with literary works in Ge’ez language, Ethiopia is known for the emergence of literary works in Amharic and other vernacular languages. Among other pioneer authors in English, Ashenafi Kebede and Wolde Haile have each published a novel only in English (Ibid,p.7).When we consider the nature of the settings and themes embodied in these Ethiopian novels in English, most of them appear to feature the historical past, focusing on important events or/and personages drawn from the past socio-cultural and political reality. It indicates that Ethiopian authors convey issues of Ethiopians in their writings that dealt with the subject of the different historical periods in which those peoples of Ethiopia have passed through.
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