From Subalternity to Subjectivity: Rethinking the Child's Postcolonial Identity in Okri's The Famished Road

Abstract Okri’s fiction is celebrated for its moral insights and didactic purpose. However, the way this perspective elevates and emphasises children's subjectivity in a postcolonial context has not received sufficient critical attention. This study revisits this aspect by analysing the child’s postcolonial identity in The Famished Road. Drawing on the postcolonial concept of subalternity and Derrida’s deconstructive approach, the paper shows that, within the novel’s narrative society, children are viewed and treated as subalterns because adult-centred systems restrict their self-assertion. It also highlights that some child characters make heroic efforts to challenge these systems, acting as social and moral agents with the capacity for self-determination and self-realisation. The study proposes that the postcolonial notion of subalternity in Okri’s work does not symbolise “the silent centre” as Spivak (1988) suggests, but rather a "space of transition” (de Jong & Mascat, 2016), which allows for the reclamation and recognition of child subjectivity. Ultimately, the paper contends that Okri’s novel serves as “a literature of recognition” (Bhabha, 1994), advocating the dismantling of ideological and traditional barriers that deny children their right to exist and live in an inclusive society.