CHARACTERIZATION IN BEN OKRI’S: THE FAMISHED ROAD

Andrew Ate Agera, Ph.D
Department of English and Literary Studies,
College of Education, Katsina-Ala, Benue State.
Email: [email protected]
Orcid id: 0009-0008-4365-2769
and
Aondona Godwin Amough
Department of English and Literary Studies,
College of Education, Katsina-Ala, Benue State.
Email: [email protected]
Orcid id: 0009-0000-7292-8308

Abstract
This paper explores the techniques and functions of characterization in Ben Okri’sThe
Famished Road, focusing on how characters serve as vessels for the novel’s
Tphilosophical, political, and metaphysical concerns. Centering on the protagonist
Azaro, a spirit child navigating between the spiritual and material worlds, the study examines how Okri blurs conventional distinctions between character and symbol, individual and archetype. The analysis considers the roles of key figures – such as Azaro’s parents, Madame Koto, and the spirits – in reflecting the tensions between tradition and modernity, corruption and resistance, and the physical and metaphysical realms. Drawing on postcolonial literary theory and African oral narrative structures, the paper argues that Okri’s characterization departs from realist conventions to articulate a fluid, multidimensional vision of identity. Characters in The Famished Road are not static entities but dynamic presences shaped by myth, memory, and sociopolitical transformation, offering insight into the complexities of postcolonial African experience.

Keywords: Characterization, Mythology, Symbolism, Narrative Voice, Postcolonial Theory