Corruption in the Contemporary Nigerian Society: An Appraisal of the Stylistic Devices in Uche Nnyagu's Mediocrities

Abstract

Although fiction is a work of imagination, it is a mirror of the author’s society. Writers of fiction are inspired based on what they experience. A reader therefore, reads a work not just for the entertainment that it offers but also for the education it offers about the society. In other words, writers have the responsibility to use their creative writings to expose, condemn and criticise aberrations in the society. This is why creative writers are seen as the gadflies whose duty it is to reform the society. Therefore, fiction is a crucial weapon used by the concerned to correct certain impressions in the society. In writing, writers apply varied stylistics to make their works unique. This is why readers delight in reading some authors while certain authors’ works do not impress the audience. Style is an indispensible element of writing, indispensible in the sense that if the author’s style isn’t impressive, no matter the subject matter of his work, it will never impress many. Uche Nnyagu’s Mediocrities is a contemporary novel that aptly X-rayed abnormalities in our contemporary society especially in the academic enviroment. Nnyagu has used the novel to condemn such ills with a view to reforming the contemporary society. In this research work, the researchers have reviewed the stylistic devices applied by the author with the aim to ascertain how the author has effectively applied the stylistics to effectively pass his information. The author has incorporated proverbs, pidgin, use of Igbo words and phrases as well as transliteration in the novel and he has been able to effectively harmonise them to maintain plausibility and credibility of the plot.