Achebe’s five novels to date follow some one hundred years of Igbo civilization. Europeans have not yet penetrated Umuofia, the setting of the first novel, when it begins. Over the course of the novels, colonial rule is established, significant change takes place, and the character of the community—its values and freedoms—are substantially and irrevocably altered. They therefore form an imaginative history of a segment of a major group of people in what eventually became Nigeria, as seen from the perspective of a Christian Igboman.
Anthony Daniels wrote of Achebe’s novels in the Spectator, ‘‘In spare prose of great elegance, without any technical distraction, he has been able to illuminate two emotionally irreconcilable facets of modern African life: the humiliations visited on Africans by colonialism, and the. . . worthlessness of what replaced colonial rule.’’ Set in this historical context, the novels develop the theme of what happens to a society when change outside distorts and blocks the natural change from within and offer, as Eustace Palmer observed, ‘‘a powerful presentation of the beauty, strength, and validity of traditional life and individual. The structure of the novel is firmly based in the principles that are derived from this piece of Igbo ontolog-ical evidence. Okonkwo’s life and actions seem to be prescribed by those immutable laws inherent in the ‘chi’ concept. It is the one significant principle that determines the rhythm and tragic grandeur of the novel. Okonkwo’s rise and fall are seen in the significant way in which he challenges his ‘chi’ to battle.’’
Arrow of God The artistry displayed in Arrow of God has drawn a great deal of attention, adding to the esteem in which Achebe is held. Charles Miller commented that Achebe’s ‘‘approach to the written word is completely unencumbered with verbiage. He never strives for the exalted phrase, he never once raises his voice; even in the most emotion-charged passages the tone is absolutely unruffled, the control impeccable.’’ He concludes, ‘‘It is a measure of Achebe’s creative gift that he has no need whatever for prose fireworks to light the flame of his intense drama.’’
‘‘With remarkable unity of the word with the deed, the character, the time and the place, Chinua Achebe creates in these two novels [Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God] a coherent picture of coherence being lost, of the tragic consequences’’ of European colonialism, suggested Robert McDowell in a special issue of Studies in Black Literature dedicated to Achebe’s work. ‘‘There is an artistic unity of all things in these books, which is rare anywhere in modern English fiction.’’
Anthills of the Savannah Larson states, ‘‘No other novel in many years has bitten to the core, swallowed and regurgitated contemporary Africa’s miseries and expectations as profoundly as Anthills of the Savannah.’’
Nadine Gordimer commented in the New York Times Book Review that Anthills of the Savannah is ‘‘a work in which twenty-two years of harsh experience, intellectual growth, self-criticism, deepening understanding and mustered discipline of skill open wide a subject to which Mr. Achebe is now magnificently equal.’’ It is a return to the themes of independent Africa informing Achebe’s earlier novels but it gives the most significant role to women, who invent a new kind of storytelling, offering a glimmer of hope at the end of the novel. ‘‘This is a study of how power corrupts itself and by doing so begins to die,’’ wrote Observer contributor and fellow Nigerian Ben Okri. ‘‘It is also about dissent, and love.’’
Responses to Literature
1. Colonialism is defined by Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary as ‘‘control by one power over a dependent area or people.’’ How would the definition change if it read ‘‘control by one power over another area or people?’’ Which definition do you think Achebe would be more in agreement with?
2. Certain social movements choose to use negative or pejorative terms as terms of pride. But these words can still be hurtful if spoken by an outsider. Can language and words really be reclaimed, or should one reject the language used by the colonizer or oppressor?
3. Research a common American idiom or expression. Write an essay discussing its obvious meaning, as well as what its literal meaning implies about American culture. How would you explain it to someone unfamiliar with American culture?
4. Africa is sometimes seen by Westerners as one country with one culture. In fact, Africa is the name of the continent, and it is made up of forty-eight countries and hundreds of ethnic groups, cultures, and languages. Research three writers from different African countries, and write an essay examining the similarities and differences in their outlooks. What, if anything, do they have in common, apart from the experience of colonization?
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Chinua Achebe – Works in Critical Context
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