CHINUA ACHEBE

CHINUA ACHEBE: 

He was born on 16 November, 1930 and died on 21 March, 2013. He was a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic. He was grown up by his parents in the Igbo town of Ogidi in southeastern Nigeria. His first novel Things Fall Apart (1958) was considered his masterpiece in modern African literature. Achebe wrote his novels in English and defended the use of English, a "language of colonisers", in African literature. Achebe's novels focus on the traditions of Igbo society, the effect of Christian influences, and the clash of Western and traditional African values during colonial period. He was told many stories by his mother and sister. This helped him to express his ideas through his novels. Achebe criticized Joseph Conrad as ""a bloody racist”, in one of his lectures An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" in 1975. Achebe asserted that Conrad's famous novel dehumanises Africans. Achebe had good hand writing and reading skills during his school days. Achebe extensively used library in his school. He discovered Booker T. Washington's Up From Slavery (1901), the autobiography of an American former slave; he was much influenced by the work and it showed him the other dimension of reality. He also read novels such as Gulliver's Travels (1726), David Copperfield (1850), and Treasure Island (1883). In 1950 Achebe wrote a piece for the University Herald entitled "Polar Undergraduate", his debut as an author. While at the university, Achebe wrote his first short story, "In a Village Church", which combines details of life in rural Nigeria with Christian institutions and icons, a style which appears in many of his later works. He worked for Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS) in 1954. In May 1967, Nigeria and Biafra war took place. It was influenced on the mind of Achebe. After the war, Achebe helped in starting two magazines: the literary journal Okike and Nsukkascope. In June 2007, Achebe was awarded the Man Booker International Prize. The judging panel included US critic Elaine Showalter and South African writer Nadine Gordimer. His fictions heavily draw from Oral tradition and folk tales. Achebe has been called "the father of modern African writing." Novelist Margaret Atwood called him "a magical writer – one of the greatest of the twentieth century". Poet Maya Angelou lauded Things Fall Apart as a book wherein "all readers meet their brothers, sisters, parents and friends and themselves along Nigerian roads". Nobel laureate Toni Morrison has noted that Achebe`s work inspired her to become a writer and "sparked her love affair with African literature.”

Prizes: 

Commonwealth Poetry Prize in 1982

Man Booker International Prize in 2007

Works:

1. Things Fall Apart (1958)
2. No Longer at Ease (1960)
3. Arrow of God (1964)
4. A Man of the People (1966)
5. Anthills of the Savannah (1987)

Essays and Criticism:

The Novelist as Teacher (1965) 

An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" (1975) 

Morning Yet on Creation Day (1975)

The Trouble With Nigeria (1984)

Hopes and Impediments (1988)

Home and Exile (2000)

The Education of a British-Protected Child (6 October 2009)

There Was A Country: A Personal History of Biafra (11 October 2012)

Poetry

Refugee Mother And Child

Vultures

Beware, Soul-Brother, and Other Poems (1971) 

Don't Let Him Die: An Anthology of Memorial Poems for Christopher Okigbo  (1978)

Another Africa (1998)

Collected Poems (2005)

Things Fall Apart (1958): Things Fall Apart is a post-colonial novel written by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe in 1958. It was first published in 1958 by William Heinemann Ltd in the UK. The title was taken from a line in the poem “The Second Coming” by W.B.Yeats. The story depicts Okonkwo who lived during colonial period in Nigeria. He was a leader and local wrestling champion in the fictional Nigerian village of Umuofia. The work is divided into three parts : the first describes his family and personal history, the customs and society of the Igbo, and the second and third sections introduce the influence of British colonialism  and Christian missionaries on the Igbo community. The protagonist Okonkwo is famous in the surrounding tribes for being a wrestling champion, defeating a wrestler nick-named 'the cat'.

Characters: Okonkwo

Ekwefi 

Unoka

Nwoye

Ikemefuna

Ezinma

Obierika

Ogbuefi Ezeudu 

No Longer at Ease (1960): Achebe dedicated his second novel No Longer at Ease (1960) to his wife, Christie Okoli. The novel is about a civil servant who is embroiled in the corruption of Lagos. The protagonist is Obi, grandson of Things Fall Apart's main character, Okonkwo. Drawing on his time in the city, Achebe writes about Obi's experiences in Lagos to reflect the challenges facing a new generation on the threshold of Nigerian independence.

Arrow of God (1964): Achebe's third book, Arrow of God, was published in 1964. The story takes place in the village of Umuaro. The novel depicts the story of Ezeulu, a Chief Priest of Ulu. Shocked by the power of British intervention in the area, he orders his son to learn the foreigners' secret. Inspired by the story of a Chief Priest being imprisoned, Achebe developed an idea to write a novel.

A Man of the People (1966): 

A Man of the People was published in 1966. It is a bleak satire set in an unnamed African state which has just attained independence; the novel follows a teacher named Odili Samalu from the village of Anata who opposes a corrupt Minister of Culture named Nanga for his Parliament seat.

Anthills of Savannah (1987):  Achebe’s fifth novel published in 1987. It was in finalist for Booker Prize. The story is about a military coup in the fictional West African nation of Kangan. Achebe's first central female character in a novel is Beatrice Nwanyibuife in Anthills of the Savannah.