Abstract

The orphan plays a very prominent role in many African folktales, despite the fact that he is usually the underdog in society. However, it would appear that there is a dearth of scholarly studies on this controversial character in folktales. The tale The Orphan and the Prince has two levels of meaning: the chronological surface level and the deeper structural level where images and symbols signify meaning. This article provides a thematic analysis of the tale and explores these two levels of meaning. The paper also ponders over what we can benefit from studying the tale, as well as what society can do to ameliorate the plight of orphans and the downtrodden people in African society.

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