THE SUPERNATURAL IN AMOS TUTUOLA’S THE PALM-WINE DRINKARD AND MY LIFE IN THE BUSH OF GHOSTS

ABSTRACT

This research x-rays the existence of the supernatural and its role in reality which has become a pre-dominant factor that has gained prominence and importance from time immemorial, and how writers have tried to project this concept in their literary engagements. In an attempt to establish this argument, the researcher explored Amos Tutuola’s The Palm-Wine Drinkard and My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. These novels depict and explore the idea of the supernatural in various manifestations and they are rich in the supernatural and are rooted in the mythology and traditional African belief of supernaturalism. Supernaturalism is the belief that there are beings, forces, and phenomena such as God, angels or miracles which interact with the physical universe in remarkable and unique ways. This research is aimed at re-emphasizing the concept of the supernatural which has become an inseparable part of most of the works written by Africans, and bring to limelight the relationship it has with the human world and how both have exerted their influence on each other.