NAMING AND DESCRIBING AS CRITICAL STYLISTIC DEVICES IN SELECTED NOVELS OF HELON HABILA AND DUL JOHNSON

Abstract

This article analyzes Helon Habila's Waiting for an Angel and Measuring Time, as well as Dul Johnson's Across the Gulf and Deeper into the Night, using Lesly Jefferies' (2010) Critical Stylistic approach. The objective is to establish how both writers used the critical stylistic device of naming and describing to relate relevant sociopolitical situations in Nigeria. The qualitative study uses a descriptive method to analyze twelve extracts (3 from each novel) that were purposively chosen for the analysis. The findings reveal that the naming and describing technique is used in novels to package information, label characters' identities, and situate them in the social sphere. This technique also brings the reader's attention to the writers' ideological views. Finally, the creative implementation of the naming and describing device highlights ideologies such as religious fundamentalism, patriarchy, militarism, modern and traditional customs