Characters And The Issue of Self-Denial in Festus Iyayi’sThe Contract

Abstract

Abstract

ct by festusIyayi seems to be the portrayal of Nigeria whose main scourge is greed that inevitably leads to corruption. In this novel, Iyayi creates characters among whom some are so greedy that they feel obliged to kill any moral and ideal to achieve their goals. The killing of one’s moral convictions and ideals made by main characters is what this study refers to as self-denial. Our intention is to highlight the reasons and manifestations of this rejection of moral values through the agents of the status quo on the one hand and characters against the status quo on the other one. The will to change displayed by characters against the status quo echoes the author’s will to help in the building of a new society.