The Portrait of a Secondary School Student in a Contemporary Kenyan Television Drama: A Study of Tahidi High

Wesonga, O. Robert (2011) The Portrait of a Secondary School Student in a Contemporary Kenyan Television Drama: A Study of Tahidi High. Masters thesis, Kenyatta University.

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Abstract

This study seeks to examine the portrayal of student characters and their behaviour patterns in a Kenyan Television Drama, Tahidi High. Main characters from both genders were selected and studied. The study strived to find out the relationship between the behaviour patterns of the characters and their psychology. In the modem day age, it was also one of the intents of this study to incisively analyse the conduct of the student characters as seen in Tahidi High vis-a-vis the modem value system arising from emerging technological advancements. Since the student characters in the Tahidi High are not portrayed independent of other characters, this study also examines the resultant main student characters' image in their interaction with other characters in the TV drama. This is because the student characters in Tahidi High do not operate independent of other character. Besides, while noting that content is expressed in form, the research invested in analyzing the elements of style and how they enhance the realization of the characters under study. To facilitate the fulfilment of the objectives set in this study, watching of the videos of the TV drama, library research and use of the Internet were important components of this study. The internet provided insights into what scholars, both local and from other parts of the world, have said about the study of Television Drama. Theoretically, the study was informed by the stylistics literary theory and the theory of Discourse Analysis. The stylistic appreciation helped in revealing how the artistes) (creators of Tahidi High,) employ language, setting and characterization among other techniques to facilitate entertainment as well as communication of social issues. Discourse Analysis, as perspective of literary criticism, was used to explain the communicative significance of the utterances by the characters under study. This was done with the objective of seeing to what extent the discourse of the characters is reflective of their mental processes, and personality. It is the conviction of the researcher that this study is a contribution to scholarship, especially considering that this field is yet to be fully explored by scholars. Besides, the researcher believes that this study provides a fair critique on the realistic presentation of the main characters in the Television Drama. Finally, it is the view of the researcher that this study paves the way for the study of such productions as Tahidi High by both students and teachers of literature.

Item Type: Thesis (Masters)
Subjects: P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN2000 Dramatic representation. The Theater
P Language and Literature > PR English literature
Divisions: Africana
Depositing User: Tim Khabala
Date Deposited: 06 Apr 2018 08:48
Last Modified: 06 Apr 2018 08:48
URI: http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/3675

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