Unfettered expression and human dignity: Langston Hughes's not without laughter, the big sea and Chinua Achebe's anthills of the Savannah

Abstract

In literature as in other disciplines, freedom of speech entails the unburdening of one's intent from the innermost recesses of one's mind. It is a great relief and a ventilation of the conscious and sub-conscious being. Langston Hughes and Chinua Achebe are noted human rights proponents in their American and Nigerian milieus. In Not Without Laughter and The Big Sea, Hughes effectively voices the African-American people's desire for freedom from racial and socio-economic discriminations. He is forthright and uncompromising in both the autobiographical and fictional texts. Achebe on his part imaginatively depicts a frank and uncompromising journalist who unfathoms the abuses and decay in the Nigerian political machinery, but is brutally murdered in cold blood by the government security officers.

Lwati: A Journal of Contemporary Research Vol. 4 () 2007: pp.140-150