| dc.description.abstract | The study of autobiographies has traditionally focused on dreams, reflections, memories, narration, self and history. However, studies that have engaged directly with the influence and the place of the elusive father-figure in the lives of the protagonists of autobiographies have not been conclusive. This study explores the place of the elusive father-figure in the lives of the protagonists. Specifically, the study sets to examine the portrayal of the father-figure in the autobiographical texts of study, evaluate the narrative strategies employed in the depiction of the father-figure and finally interrogate the extent to which the father-figure is attributive to the making of the personality of the protagonists in the selected literary texts. The study is limited to African-American autobiographies mainly Alex Haley's The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965) and Barrack Obama's Dreams from My Father (1995). These two autobiographies were selected through purposive sampling since they mirror the absent father as a subset of identity. The study adopted an analytical research design and used content analysis in generating data. The data was then coded and analyzed according to the modes of characterization, narrative strategies employed and the impact of the memories and reflections of the absent father on the ambitions, personality, and worldview of the protagonist. Tenets of postcolonial, psychoanalysis and narratology theories helped in the reading, analysis, and interpretation of the selected texts. The concepts of the organization of personality, anxiety, instinct and the unconscious in psychoanalysis were used to explore the mind and actions of the protagonists. The findings provide knowledge on autobiographies and the ongoing debate on identity in the postcolonial world. Also, about African American autobiographies, the study provides scholars with a new perspective on the role of absent fathers on the lives of the protagonists of autobiographies. The findings reveal that the autobiographers have portrayed absent fathers as agents of change in environments of racial discrimination. In their depiction, knowledge, and power emerge as tools for racial discrimination and emancipation as well. The absent father ¬figures have further been constructed by use of retrospection, points of view and focalization. These techniques have helped diversify themes and problematize the absent father. Consequently, these strategies have highlighted the identity and role of the absent fathers in the texts. Through memories, dreams, and reflections, absent fathers have continued to influence identities and personality formation of their children. Contrary to the previous studies that have always associated absent fathers with delinquency witnessed in African American children, the study establishes that absent fathers have the capacities to influence children's personality both positively and negatively. | en_US |