RESEARCH PROPOSAL

THE ROLE OF LITERATURE IN PROMOTING SOCIAL JUSTICE AND HUMAN

RIGHTS: A STUDY OF TREVOR NOAH’S BORN A CRIME (2016) AND IMBOLO MBUE’S

BEHOLD THE DREAMERS (2016)

INTRODUCTION

Literature is not merely about tales on a page, it is a window on the human life, trials, and successes.

Books allow readers to place themselves in the position of others, comprehend other realities and

even be motivated to make a difference. This paper examines the potential of literature to advance

social justice and human rights, paying attention to Born a Crime by Trevor Noah and Behold the

Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue.

The memoir by Noah is about his childhood story of being a mixed-race child in apartheid South

Africa where the reality of racism and inequality is revealed. The novel by Mbue narrates about an

immigrant family in the United States, who struggle to go through the systemic inequality, as they

seek the dream of having a better life. Both writers have the strength of storytelling to illuminate the

wrong that exist and give the voice to those who are usually silent. This paper seeks to demonstrate

how these stories instruct, inspire and compel the reader to think about the issue of fairness, human

rights, and social change.

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Even nowadays, we are surrounded by the stories of inequality, discrimination, and oppression.

Irrespective of the legal provisions that safeguard human rights, a large number of individuals

continue to endure unjust treatment and structural obstructions. Literature is a special means of

approaching these issues on a personal scale to give the readers a chance to experience the effect of

injustice through characters and real life stories.

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Born a Crime and Behold the Dreamers, which were released in 2016, are two very good examples

of that. The personal experience of Noah reveals the human price of apartheid, whereas the fictitious

story of Mbue is a demonstration of struggles of immigrants and oppressed people in a contemporary

community. These readings make us remember that books are not just a form of entertainment but

they may also be mirrors of the society and call to the change.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Injustice, oppression, and inequality continue to be issues in many societies and the debate on human

rights is usually abstract. Theoretically, people can learn about the notion of fairness, but when it

comes to personal stories to relate to it might seem remote. This gap can be filled by literature which

makes social and human rights issues accessible and interesting to the reader.

The issue that this study will solve is the following: what can literature do to raise awareness,

educate the society and foster social justice and human rights? This study will attempt to demonstrate

how storytelling can illuminate the injustice and provoke contemplation and action by reading the

works of Noah and Mbue.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES

The main aim of the research is to explore how literature can promote social justice and human rights

through Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime and Imbolo Mbue’s Behold the Dreamers.

Objectives:

1. To examine how the authors depict social injustice, racism, and inequality.

2. To analyze the storytelling techniques they use to engage readers with human rights issues.

3. To explore how literature can educate, inspire, and influence social consciousness.

4. To highlight the potential of literary works in advocating for fairness and equality.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. How do Born a Crime and Behold the Dreamers present issues of social injustice, racism, and

inequality?

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2. What narrative techniques do Noah and Mbue use to engage readers with human rights concerns?

3. In what ways can literature contribute to educating society, fostering empathy, and promoting

social change?

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

This research will take the Critical Theory as its theoretical approach with a special focus on its

implementation in social justice and human rights. The Frankfurt School of Germany produced the

Critical Theory in the 1920s and 1930s, and its development was facilitated by Max Horkheimer

(1937), Theodor Adorno (1944), Herbert Marcuse (1964), and others. The theory dwells on

questioning and interpreting social structures that perpetuate injustice, inequality, and oppression. It

promotes the challenge of the prevailing societal standards and the questioning of the everyday

functioning of power and privilege. The Critical Theory produces a perspective that can be used

within the framework of literature to examine how authors uncover social injustices and promote

human rights. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah and Behold the Dreamers by Imbalo Mbue are literary

works, which present inequalities, racism, and oppression in society. Through the Critical Theory,

this paper will examine how these stories can bring into focus the plight of the oppressed people and

prompt the reader to consider fairness, equality and social transformation. Also, the Social Justice

Theory, which has been linked to other scholars such as John Rawls (1971) is a supplement to the

Critical Theory, in the sense that it argues that fairness is critical, people should have equal rights,

and society should strive to uphold human dignity. The ideas of justice outlined by Rawls can be

used to make a valuable reflection on the way in which literature may strengthen human rights,

evoke compassion, and criticize unfair social structures.

METHODOLOGY

The research proposed to be undertaken will assume a qualitative research methodology since the

main objective of the research is to investigate and learn how literature can advance social justice

and human rights by telling stories. A qualitative design is appropriate since it enables an exhaustive

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study of textual material, analysis of themes and interpretation of the social and human contexts that

are depicted by the works by Trevor Noah and Imbalo Mbue. The two literary works: Born a Crime

(2016) by Trevor Noah and Behold the Dreamers (2016) by Imbola Mbue are the main sources of

this research. Both writings are full of stories that describe the social injustice, oppression, inequality

and struggle of dignity. Through these texts, the research aims at knowing the ways in which

storytelling is a way of conveying complicated social realities and encouraging readers to consider

issues of human rights. Textual analysis is the primary method that will be used in the study. This is

achieved through critical reading of the texts in order to find and tell the important themes, patterns

and literary devices. It will focus on how the authors employ the use of characterization, narrative

voice, structure, and personal or fictional experiences to bring about social injustices and voice of the

marginalized groups. Such themes as racism, inequality, identity, and struggle of human rights will

be discussed in detail. Besides the initial texts, the analysis will be supported with the secondary

sources. They will consist of scholarly articles, literary reviews, and discussions about social justice

and literature, and interviews with the authors. These will supply more background and contribute to

the knowledge of how these works have been understood and treated in the wider societal discourse.

Moreover, the analysis will also take the socio-historical and cultural backgrounds of writing of the

books. The memoir written by Noah will be examined within the framework of apartheid and post-

apartheid South Africa, whereas the novel by Mbue will be interpreted within the frames of

immigrant experience and the systemic inequality in modern America. The insights into these

contexts will enable one to take a more nuanced approach to the way the issues of social justice and

human rights are brought up in the texts.

CHAPTER OUTLINE

Chapter One: Introduction – Overview of the study, objectives, and research questions.

Chapter Two: Literature Review – Existing studies on literature, social justice, and human rights.

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Chapter Three: Theoretical Framework – Explanation of critical theory and social justice

perspectives.

Chapter Four: Textual Analysis – Detailed study of Noah’s and Mbue’s works.

Chapter Five: Discussion of Findings – Interpretation of how literature promotes awareness and

action.

Chapter Six: Conclusion and Recommendations – Summary, contributions, and suggestions for

future research.

CONCLUSION

Literature has the power to educate, inspire, and challenge societal norms. Trevor Noah’s Born a

Crime and Imbolo Mbue’s Behold the Dreamers demonstrate how storytelling can highlight

injustice, encourage empathy, and inspire action. This study will show that literature is not just a

form of entertainment it is a tool for promoting social justice, human rights, and fairness in society.

By analyzing these works, the research hopes to emphasize the importance of stories in shaping a

more just and equitable world.

REFERENCES

Mbue, I. (2016). Behold the Dreamers. New York: Spiegel & Grau.

Noah, T. (2016). Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood. New York: Spiegel &
Grau.

Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of
antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory, and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal
Forum, 1989(1), 139–167.

Rawls, J. (1971). A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Horkheimer, M. (1937). Traditional and critical theory. In Critical Theory: Selected Essays (pp.
188–243). New York: Continuum, 1982.

Marcuse, H. (1964). One-dimensional man: Studies in the ideology of advanced industrial society.
Boston: Beacon Press.

Ashcroft, B., Griffiths, G., & Tiffin, H. (1989). The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in
Post-Colonial Literatures. London: Routledge.