Background of the study

Postcolonial era, they were a threat to the Government. The Government with a new law took away the land of the Maasai and ordered the Maasai to be educated. Thomas Kibutu in his article modernity versus manhood said, “Colonial and Post colonial policies in Kenya have combined to strip Maasai men of their sense of place in society and, indeed of their manhood-as defined by their own social values. As part of civilizing process of natives, Maasai men have had to adjust their values as modernit y has invaded their lifestyle.”http:innovation- report.com2012 The Maasai were forced to change their lifestyle by the Government. To most Maasai education has not been important ever since the colonial era the westerner wanted the Maasai to be educated. The westerners considered the Maasai as a primitive society that needs to be taught about westerns lifestyle. Education is very important; it is the duty of a parent to make sure that the children get proper education so that the children can understand and development of the world. According to Encarta Webster’s College Dictionary education is the knowledge or abilities gained through being educated Soukhanov, 2001:457 Modernity refers to various characteristics, it transforms both the structures and relationships of the world, and transforms the way people see the world and learn. People have the ability to make decisions and speak their mind about what we see of the world. According to the book The Consequences of Modernity by Anthony Giddens states that: Modernity refers to modes of social life or organisation which emerged in Europe from about the seventeeth century onwards and which subsequently became more or less worldwide in their influence. Giddens, 1990: 1 From the above statement, modernity has been in Europe for a very long time and now it has left its characteristics in hid somewhere. The reason why the writer is motivated to do this study is that Maasai are unique and interesting people. Many Asian people may not know about their existence. They have survived through the colonial era, manage to preserve their tradition until today. Now they are fighting to resist a new threat that is modernity. To find a better understanding about the role of modernity in the Maasai society, the characters in Is it possible? are a good example for understanding the role of modernity .One of the characters is Lerionka a young Maasai boy who is torn between two worlds, the tradition and modern. At first, he dislikes the idea of going to school but later in the story, he seems to enjoy it. In the novel, Lerionka is considered as a symbol where he can unite two worlds, he can still be a Maasai warrior and the same time holds a book. There are many other characters in the novel, each with his or her unique characteristic. That is why the writer chooses these characters of Is it possible? for the object of my study.

B. Problem Formulation

1. How are the main characters characterized in Is it possible? 2. How is modernity revealed through the characteristic of the main characters in the novel?

C. Objectives of the study

The purpose of this paper is to study the modernity in the Maasai society through the characters in the novel. There are two objectives of the study. The first objective is to find out the description of the characters. The second objective is to find out how the modernity is reveal by the characters. Finally the writer tries to know the character’s awareness of modernity from the beginning until the end of the novel.

D. Definition of terms

There are some terms, which the writer needs to define in order to avoid confusion and differences in understanding about certain terms used in this thesis.

1. Society

In the book Cultural Theory: The key concepts, Society can be defined as an arrangement of institutions, modes of relationship, forms of organization, norms etc. Constituting an interrelated whole within which a group of human lives Edgar, 2002: 367.

2. Modernity

Modernity can not be defined precisely and the term has been highly contested one. These are some definition of modernity which the writer has found and used for this thesis. In the Encarta Webster’s College Dictionary states that modernity is the state of being modern or up to date. Modern is defined as somebody living in the present period especially somebody whose tastes and attitudes are regarded as nontraditional or striking new Soukhanov, 2001:928. In fact one of the greatest problems when trying to engage with the question of modernity is that means of understanding. Human assumptions about time, space, people, individuals, groups, histories, truths, facts, myths, superstitions and lies are always to a certain extent determined by the forces people trying to understand: modernity. Attitudes converning consciousness and unconscious,reason and irrational,sanity and madness and so on have been directed for human decided in advance and to an extent naturalized so these things are been to be beyond question by modernity www.courses.nus.edu.sg courseelljwplecture1.htm