PERSONALITY CONSTRUCTION AND GENDER DECRIMINALIZATION INBRAVE NEW WORLD BY ALDOUS HUXLEY AND A STRANGER FROM LAGOS BYCYPRIAN EKWENSI

Abstract

This study examines the themes of personality construction and gender decriminalization as portrayed in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and Cyprian Ekwensi’s A Stranger from Lagos. Employing a comparative literary approach, the research interrogates how both authors depict the shaping of individual identity and gender expression within their respective sociocultural and political contexts. The study is guided by four core objectives: to analyze how societal forces construct personality, to examine how gender roles are reinforced or subverted, to evaluate the role of institutions in shaping identity and gender, and to compare both authors' thematic approaches. The analysis reveals that in Brave New World, personality is artificially constructed by a totalitarian state through genetic manipulation and psychological conditioning, with gender rendered obsolete through the suppression of traditional family structures and sexual norms. In contrast, A Stranger from Lagos presents personality as shaped by social mobility, economic struggle, and urban complexity, while also portraying gender as a dynamic force negotiated through power, seduction, and agency in a patriarchal society. The study employs qualitative literary analysis supported by feminist and sociological theories to uncover how institutional power be it technological, economic, or cultural manipulates identity and dictates acceptable gender behavior. Findings indicate that while Huxley critiques the loss of individuality in a hyper-controlled society, Ekwensi reflects on the moral and gendered complexities of post-independence urban life. This research contributes to the broader discourse on identity, gender politics, and the intersection between literature and social constructs. It recommends more interdisciplinary literary studies, a diversified educational curriculum, and the utilization of literature as a tool for gender advocacy and social reform.