Vol. 7, Issue 2, Part F (2025)

This study investigated the shifting perspectives of the auto/biographical hero in the text with Sarah Elderkin (2013) Raila Odinga: Flame of freedom. This work was later variously truncated as Flame for the purpose of this study. The researcher explicitly explored how the auto/biographer projected his subject in intrapersonal fashioning which led to conclusions based on the projected perspectives that are in tandem with the specific objective of the study. This research benefited from three theories: autobiographical, biographical and new historicism theories. Autobiographical theory based on Lejeune (1975), Anderson (2001) and Freedman (2007) was used to analyze the un/reliability of information presented in Flame in relation to Raila’s character. Textual analysis was used to scrutinize the metaphorical aspects employed to render meaning to the text. Biographical theory anchored on Denzin (1989) and Raghukul (1993) arguments assisted the researcher in understanding Raila the person by focusing on how he presented himself to the public through his ancestry, earlier life and education, and how he expected to be understood in Flame; the subject’s perspective. New historicism theory anchored on Dilthey’s (Ed. 2020) philosophy focused more on the textuality of history and the historicity of texts. Greenblatt (1982) and Butler (2005) developing on Dilthey’s writings argue that as literary texts and other discources are studied, history is recreated leading to no facts but interpretations, hence ploughed into politics, ideological and philosophical convictions and how these led to perspective assumptions by the author of the subject vis- a - vis the self. A qualitative research methodology was adopted since the researcher was to do a close reading of the primary source(s)) for a better interpretation. This research established, inter alia, that firstly, Raila was opportunistic both economically and politically among other negative traits. Secondly, he was found to have contributed positively towards the establishment of Kenya Bureau of Standards and the formation of the Kenyan Constitution 20l0 to mention a few. Thirdly, our subject can be read as alternative history in Kenya and beyond. These research findings from this study would be beneficial to scholars for they would find out that auto/biographies are both factual/fictional because they are viewed through different eyes in the process creating similar and dissimilar view-points about the same subject and these are bound to lead to new insights in autobiographical, biographical and new historicism theories. This research concluded that our subject was a very complex character in his role in Kenyan politics. Finally, this research recommended that Raila’s auto/biographies should be read for one may borrow his positive traits, especially, politicians who may want to enjoy an illustrious political career.