Born Albert Chinualumogu Achebe in November 16 1930, Achebe is an African novelist, poet, and critic of Nigerian origin. His writing style and fiction from novels to short stories are patterned after the Igbo people oral tradition of which local folk tales were woven in addition to his own creativity and style (Killam, 1969; Wikipedia, 2008).
Achebe’s most popular story is Things Fall Apart, apparently written in 1958 about a traditional village, the leader Okonkwo, and his downfall. It acknowledged the interdependency of the masculine and the feminine or community values such as the earth and sky. Things Fall Apart centered on Okonkwo, an ambitious and powerful leader who relied mainly on physical strength and courage. Okonkwo is considered blessed, with large compound, peaceful wives, fertile garden that grows yams, and respected by his fellow villagers. Okonkwo accidentally killed a clansman and banished from the village but his downfall his refusal to accept change. Set in the 1890s when western missionaries and colonial government colonized Igbo society and the rest of the eastern countries, Okonkwo fought alone against colonialism (Killam, 1969).
Achebe’s stories are also known to use proverbs that incorporate the values of the rural Igbo spread throughout the narratives and highlighted in conversations. Anjali Gera (2001, p 32) said that “Arrow of God” seem to “serves to create through an echo effect the judgement of a community upon an individual violation.” The 1994 Arrow of God is said to have been set in the 1920s with the protagonist Ezeulu a priest. While Ezelu gained respect of the English district superintendent for sending one of his sons to missionary school, he failed to defend their local traditions as “he is unyielding, unable to reach a compromise, and afraid of losing his authority,” (Book and Writers, 2002).
Nevertheless, proverbs and folk stories do not sum up the oral Igbo tradition as Achebe integrated it with philosophical thought and public performance such as that of Okwu Oka or “speech artistry.” Individual excellence is much a part of the Igbo tradition as seen In Things Fall Apart where lead character Okonkwo through his friend Obierika pronounced an impassioned oratory.
In addition, folk songs and dancing is also incorporated in Achebe’s works, such as No Longer At Ease where Obi the lead character is met by women singing “Song of the Heart”. Both Igbo and English were used by Achebe, thus: “Is everyone here? / (Hele ee he ee he)” (Gera, 2001, p 25). Things Fall Apart also painted vividly the ceremonial dancing and the singing of folk songs as an Igbo reality and practice.
Ogede (2001) suggested that Achebe’s short stories are not as popular as his novels and comparable to folktales that provide morals and emphasize the importance of cultural traditions.
Achebe have chosen to write in English and his essay “The African Writer and the English Language” acknowledged that people with differing languages find in English “a language with which to talk to one another” (Ogbaa, p 192). However, Achebe noted that:
“..an African writing in English […] often finds himself describing situations or modes of thought which have no direct equivalent in the English way of life. Caught in that situation he can do one of two things. He can try and contain what he wants to say within the limits of conventional English or he can try to push back those limits to accommodate his ideas… I submit that those who can do the work of extending the frontiers of English so as to accommodate African thought-patterns must do it through their mastery of English and not out of innocence,” (Ogbaa, p 193, Wikipedia, 2008).
The successful Things Fall Apart was followed 2 year later by “No Longer At Ease” and “Arrow of God” both written in 1964. Both, while with different characters, focused on traditional Igbo life that clashed with colonial missionaries and the imposed government. The 1987 “Anthills of the Savannah” is considered a “polyvocal story with multiple narrators […] set in an imaginary West African state, its central character is Sam, a Sandhurst-trained military officer, who has become President,” (Books and Writers, 2002). The story also told of his friends Chris Oriko and Ikem Osodi who died fighting the brutal abuse of power of the regime. In the death of Sam, Chris’ girlfriend Beatrice Okah who was educated in London, was passed on the tasked with her community of women to strive for peace and order in the locality.
The 1966 “A Man of the People” according to Books and Writers (2002) “is a satire of corruption, and power struggles in an African state in the 1960s.” The protagonist is the teacher Odili who tells the story. Odili had differences with the government as Nanga the Minister of Culture has seduced his girl friend. Nanga and Odili’s political confrontation became violent where Nanga’s almost private army created chaos and inflicted brutality, of which the armed forces responded by staging a coup.
Achebe has also written collections of short stories, poetry, and several books for juvenile readers including the 1971 “Beware, Soul Brother” which is “about his experiences during the Civil War,” (Books and Writers, 2002). According to Book and Writers (2002), he was awarded the Margaret Wrong Prize, the New Statesman Jock Campbell Prize, the Commonwealth Poetry Prize, and the 2007 Man Booker International recognitions.
References
- Books and Writers (2002). “Chinua Achebe.”
- Ezenwa-Ohaeto (1997). Chinua Achebe: A Biography. Bloomington: Indiana University Press
- Gera, Anjali (2001). Three Great African Novelists. New Delhi: Creative Books.
- Killam, G.D. (1969) The Novels of Chinua Achebe (Paperback), Heinemann Educational Publishers.
- Ogbaa, Kalu (1999). Understanding Things Fall Apart. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press
- Ogede, Ode (2001). “Oral Tradition and Modern Storytelling: Revisiting Chinua Achebe’s Short Stories”. International Fiction Review. Vol. 28, Issue 1/2. pp 67–77
- Wikipedia (2008). “Chinua Achebe.” Web.