When we go back into the history of socialist countries we findrnthat at the birth of socialism 9 during the transition period~ literaturernhad a vital role to play. To be more precise 9 the socialist realistrnmethod contributed to the coming of socialism. This 50cialist realistrnmethods filled with optimislTI 9 was committed to the working class.rnMany countries in the African continent are now going throughrna transition period towards socialism. A transition period, as statedrnabove s is a very important period in which the African writer has arngreat role to play to hasten the coming of socialism. So far, mostrnAfrican writers~ using the critical realist method~ have only gone asrnfar as merely depicting society. SOCiety in turn , has been presentedrnin a deteriorating state. Apart from this, no place has been givenrnfor the optimistic rising class - the working class.rnLearning from the experience of socialist writers , a new Africanrnwriter is emerging. Ngugi~ taken as an example, has been greatly influencedrnby Gorky's Mother, a socialist realist novel. Furthermore s as the Africanrnwriter is living in a transition per;od ~ he is working towards socialism.rnThis indicates that the socialist realist method has some implicationsrnthat are useful to the African writer. These implications will helprnthe African writer as a means for the advancement of socialism, whichrnin turn, will improve the African novel.