The Novel in Africa

Throughout the course of the book Achebe frequently uses African worlds and phrases to describe and show the different aspect of Igbo culture. The familiarity in, which the narrative focuses on the African language creates a sense of authenticity to the writing. What is unique about the narrative tone found within the book is that not only does the author frequently insert the african language within the diction, but the way he translates or explains the words in plain english so the readers who are unfamiliar with the language can still follow, for example: “ ‘Agbala do-o-o-o! Umuachi! Agbala ekene unuo-o-ol’ It was just as Ekwefi had thought. The

Things Fall Apart is not the only “weapon” that Achebe created to challenge Western literature’s portrayal of Africa; he also wrote Image of Africa with the intention of abolishing the usual Western portrayal of Africa. “We are accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there we could look at thing monstrous and free” (Achebe, “Image of Africa” 251). Achebe’s reference here in Image of Africa brings light to how Conrad portrays Africa. Indeed, one can easily notice how each word brings up a negative connotation to the audience, which in this case, Conrad transforms the image of “the shackled from of a conquered monster” to “monstrous and free” in order to

My room-mate had a single story of Africa; a single story of catastrophe”. Adichie also tells how growing up in Nigeria reading only American and English children’s books made her deaf to her authentic voice. As a child, she wrote about such things as blue-eyed white children easting apples, thinking brown skin and mangos had no place in Literature. That changed as she discovered African writers.

One of the biggest points Adiche makes in her TEDtalk is that people in Western countries have a single story of Africa- that, in Adiche’s words, it is composed of “people fighting incomprehensible wars, dying of AIDS, and waiting to be saved by a kind white foreigner” (Adiche). Adiche does a wonderful job at giving us a whole new perspective of what people initially might think when they hear the word “Africa.” We get to learn about the culture and religion of Nigeria, clearly expressed from by papa, and the two Fathers. Adiche also integrates Igbo words into the story, allowing for the story to seem more realistic, despite the book not containing a glossary. The exploration of sociopolitical topics is also extremely prevalent. Papa’s work, for one, heavily criticizes the Nigerian government, a risky job that he is praised for. Ade Coker, Papa’s coworker is another symbol of the corruption in the country as he is a strong critic towards the Nigerian government and is later killed by the state. When many people hear the word “Africa” the first thought it not usually brave faces such as Ade, which is why it is important that Adichie gives us close insight on this era in Nigerian

Anderson starts out the book by introducing the reader to her interest in African culture,and relates how she sent essays to an anthropological board so she could go to Africa to do her graduate study. She soon realised that she would be unable to do so because

The excerpt finally ends with the Commissioner’s last thoughts, as the reader is then told that the book would be entitled “the pacification of the lower Niger”. Achebe adds this in to serve as indirect characterization of the Commissioner, as it depicts an ignorant man who believes he is superior. This is done intentionally to portray the notion that western culture about the status of society in Africa.

Generations pass down cultures and traditions. In literature, African writers share the pain and struggle experienced by their ancestors. Key literary elements such as allusion, symbolism, and metaphors express such hardships. Through the use of stories, poems, and folktales many cultures share traditional morals. Indeed, the folktale “The People Could Fly” by Virginia Hamilton verifies the truth of strength and tradition for a more promising viewpoint.

Achebe includes many literary devices like personifications, hyperboles, and imagery. He writes with liveness reminiscing the old times as “the sun rose slowly to the center of the sky, and the dry, sandy footway began to throw up the heat that lay buried in it”(Achebe). He creates this tone in his writing by describing his experiences, like sudden flashbacks. This causes the readers sympathetic and more open to looking through the African native perspective. This conveys a message to foreigners that there is more to Africa than land and natural resources. It has divine culture and ancient civilizations.

Before African writers emerged, the world viewed Africa as “‘the antithesis of Europe and therefore of civilization”(Adeche, 1977, p.3) Joseph Conrad’s idea of a civilized nation is Europe, but his ignorance towards other forms of civilizations, lead Conrad to publish Heart of Darkness. Conrad’s interpretation of Africa in Heart of Darkness, being the only one at the time, created the daunting beastial stereotype of Africa. Though Conrad’s story does not entirely embody Africa today, his opinions still sway the minds of Americans today. Similarly, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie encounter a like situation where she fell victim to the single story of Africa. When arriving at an American Adichie’s roommate immediately feels pity for her. When Adichie questions her assumptions she highlights the impoverishment present parts of Africa based on a newspaper article she previously read. Adichie roommate's lack of knowledge prompted her to form a false opinion about African based on one story. When we only embrace one story, we fail to embrace the stories of

Instead, "the real question is the dehumanization of Africa and Africans which this age-long attitude has fostered and continues to foster in the world." (12). Questioning whether a novel which "celebrates this dehumanization, which depersonalizes a portion of the human race, can be called a great work of art" (12), Achebe responds by doubting Conrad's talents as a writer.

Chinua Achebe shows the reader the change of Africa as seen by the main character of the novel, Okonkwo. Okonkwo has the hardship of living in an ever-changing society. It is thru Okonkwo that the reader is able to visualize a society of immense cultural standing, and not as European colonizers would say, a society of savages. The main theme of culture is present in all areas of the novel, which helps to show to the reader all of its underlying themes, themes of tradition and themes of religion. Achebe sees the themes of culture, tradition, and religion in one bright light and European colonizers see those same themes in a totally different, somewhat snobbish dim light. However these themes are viewed, one thing is certain, change is on the horizon.

Chinua Achebe, a well-known writer, once gave a lecture at the University of Massachusetts about Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, entitled "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." Throughout his essay, Achebe notes how Conrad used Africa as a background only, and how he "set Africa up as a foil to Europe,"(Achebe, p.251) while he also "projects the image of Africa as 'the other world,' the antithesis of Europe and therefore of civilization."(Achebe, p.252) By his own interpretations of the text, Achebe shows that Conrad eliminates "the African as a human factor," thereby "reducing Africa to the role of props."(Achebe, p.257)

A famous criticism of Conrad’s novella is called An Image of Africa, which was written by an African native named Chinua Achebe. In Achebe’s criticisms of Heart of Darkness, he points out the difference between descriptions of the European woman and the African woman, who was Kurtz’s mistress. The narrator describes the European woman as being calm and mature, and the African woman as being “savage” (341 Norton). Even though many writers claim that Marlow is kind to the Africans by bringing light to their situation, the real problem does not lie in his description of their situations, but his descriptions of the people themselves (30 Heart of darkness Interpretations).

Elisabeth says then there will never be any solution to the problem of novel in Africa if the Africans wanted a ‘living voice’. The main problem faced by them was because the African writers unlike the French and the English were not acting as writers but were actually behaving like interpreters of their exotic cultures and that the root of their problem was ‘ Having to perform your Africanness at the same time as you write.’

To start off, Ngugi’s views on authentic African writers discriminates against other African literature. To be more