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Difficulty: HardTypes and Genres of Prose

Read the excerpt below:

"July 14, 1978 — The Minister had assured us that the petroleum decree would pass smoothly, but as I sat in the gallery, I watched Chief Kalu—whom everyone in Lagos knows is modeled directly on my late uncle, Senator Ojo—rewrite the bill's key clause in real time. My published narrative records his exact speech, though I disguised his title and name to shield myself from libel."

Based on the narrator's explanation of how real-life political figures are represented under fictitious identities within a narrative framework, which prose subgenre does the author's work exemplify?

  1. Roman à clefAnswer
  2. B
    Epistolary novel
  3. C
    Memoir
  4. D
    Biography

Answer

The prose narrative described is a roman à clef, which represents actual historical events and real individuals behind a veneer of fictional characters and altered names.
The passage describes a fictional narrative that transparently overlays real historical events and actual political figures using disguised names. This structural technique defines a roman à clef (literally 'novel with a key'), where informed readers can unlock the real-world identities behind the fictitious character names.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the structural details provided in the passage text.
The narrator states that the characters (e.g., Chief Kalu) directly mirror real political figures (Senator Ojo), but names and titles have been altered for fictional publication.
Identifying the relationship between factual figures and fictional representation is necessary to determine the subgenre.
2
Evaluate subgenre definitions against the passage evidence.
A narrative that depicts real-world events and living people under fictitious names is explicitly defined as a 'roman à clef' (French for 'novel with a key').
Matching narrative attributes to prose subgenre definitions establishes the correct classification.

Key Concept

Roman à clef and Subgenres of Prose
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Topics

Types and Genres of Prose

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