“Man of the People” by Chinua Achebe Essay

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Introduction

Man of the People was published in 1966 by Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe at the height of the struggle for black rights in America. This novel explores the problems of young people’s rejection of established patterns of discrimination. The story raises many issues, including the political characteristics of the development of the state, and draws attention to how upheavals occur. Man of the People is a collective term that describes an individual capable of protecting his people. However, it is a story of how colonial regimes can ruin people. The colonizers, Americans and Europeans, are enemies to the African people because they hide behind people who have been subjected to propaganda.

Overview

Man of the People is the story of how one man, recognized by no one, turned out to do more for his country than the one in whose hands power was concentrated. The story begins with the excitement surrounding Nanga, a leader, and teacher who has become a man of the people and achieved unprecedented heights. He encounters his student Odili, who is suspicious of his political activities. As events unfold, Odili becomes increasingly convinced that his former teacher uses unholy methods to gain recognition. In chapter seven Nanga bribes the editor of the Daily Matchet (Achebe). This angers Odili, and he decides to go against Nanga and oppose his authority. His friend Max Kuramo supports him, and together they devise a strategy to overthrow Nanga. Although these attempts are unsuccessful and bloody, eventually Odili is followed by people, and they stage a military coup. The coup brings freedom to the country, and Chief Nanga is left with nothing, enslaved by his desire for power.

Behind Whose Backs the Colonizers Are Hiding

Nigeria was able to resist the invaders and obtain justice for its people. Its connection to the events of the story is unconfirmed, so one can analyze and relate it to the influence of Americans and Europeans on the development of African countries. Selfish and traitorous sentiments are conveyed through the personality of Chief Nanga: he is a strong man who succumbed to the “Western temptation” of corruption and wealth (Achebe). Nanga betrayed his people, forgetting his original goal of preserving cultural heritage. Such actions are often associated with the America of the 1960s, when internationalism was increasingly influential: for example, the rights of blacks and Hispanics were repeatedly infringed upon. Nanga’s betrayal also reflects how white people resisted the civil rights movement in America: he preferred to put his interests above those of people, just as he was pitting himself against the conflict. The conflict in the story is similar to how America resisted the liberalization of human relations–thereby expressing a dislike for all things alien.

The European colonizers are represented through an unusual device: the female will. The women’s struggle is expressed through the wife of Chief Nanga, who honored tradition and wanted her children to do the same. She regularly took them to the homeland to remember their roots and origins. Mrs. Nanga’s shows the imperialist ambitions of the European colonizers, who wanted to take over the whole land and force everyone to live according to their laws. Mrs. Nanga’s attitude toward Europeans and their traditions is harmful, and she resists their influence on her children. For example, she resents that people “hardly speak our language” and often “they will answer in English” (Achebe). African people have always had a lot of traditions, including languages and dialects, and European colonizers wanted one thing: to destroy that culture to satisfy their interests, which is what Chief Nanga wanted.

The attitude toward England can also be seen in the educational segment: in the first chapter, Odili speculates that his job as a teacher will soon be unnecessary. He mentions that even in educated England, “you don’t have to be an economist to be a minister of finance or a doctor to be a minister of health” (Achebe). He brings up the corruption by which any office is bought, and the main objective is to be part of the party. He understands that his education does not matter – it only matters what university he came out of. Odili, like Mrs. Nanga, draws attention to the fact that people are increasingly speaking English. He is tense and believes it is wrong because one must remain “faithful to one’s native tongue” like Mrs. Nanga (Achebe). Moreover, Odili protests against the unnecessary prefix “mister,” which seems pointless and unnecessary to him.

Conclusion

Thus, through a story filled with satire and irony, people’s complicated lives in postcolonial Africa are revealed. The reader sees what the colonizers have brought: the corrupt Nanga, who has forgotten his people for the wealth; the spread of English and the forgetting of native traditions; the destruction of the teaching profession. The Americans and Europeans are portrayed in the novel as overbearing people who gradually destroy all African traditions. Man of the People became a landmark novel because it showed that new Western motifs do not always reflect well on tradition and culture.

Work Cited

Achebe, Chinua. onlinereadfreenovel. Web.

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IvyPanda. 2023. ""Man of the People" by Chinua Achebe." January 1, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/man-of-the-people-by-chinua-achebe/.

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