It is the embodiment of its civilization and therefore represents or dramatizes modes of perception within its cultural grouping. At this level, language is not merely technique. Brown aptly says Achebe's fictionĭemonstrates his preoccupation with language, not simply as a communicative device, but as a total cultural experience. His language a major component of his artistic strategy, which not only enriches the English language but gives the reader the experience of a whole culture. He makes use of devices like proverbs, folktales, and religious tenets conveyed through prayer, speeches and song sequences. His characteristic mode of writing, in other words, fulfills Achebe's own idea that the "English of the African will have to be a new English, still in communion with its ancestral home but altered to suit its new African surroundings." In his own fiction, he succeeds in creating an English that is not only, as critics have pointed out, "detached," "stately," and "impassive" but also singular in its ability to bring a whole range of human experience before our mind's eye by his consummate use of imagery drawn from both native and alien sources. What sets him apart from other African writers is the fact that he is, by far, more successful than others in flawlessly translating he working of African psyche from one medium to another, from an indigenous oral tradition to an alien form of European origin without obliterating the freshness and vigour of the former, and despite the vast difference separating the two cultures. The crowning glory of Achebe's novels is undoubtedly his use of the language and aphorisms of oral culture. Rao, Mrs A.V.N.College, Visakhapatnam, India. Proverb and Culture in the Novels of Chinua Achbe Jayalakshmi V. Set in Britain, Lagos, and also refers back to the main character's home village of Umuofia.Proverb and Culture in the Novels of Chinua Achebe The main character, Obi, is the grandson of the main character of Things Fall Apart, providing continuity and a familial link.ġ950's colonial Nigeria. Conflicting values, love, and corruption. Impact of British colonialism on the individual. Finding himself overwhelmed by spiralling loan repayments and financial responsibilities he accepts a bribe against his better judgment. He later falls in love with a girl his parents do not approve of. S et in and focused on the affairs of six rural Igbo villages in Umuaro.įollows Obi Okonkwo, who leaves for an education in Britain before returning to work for the Nigerian civil service. Impact of British colonialism on the religious and social life of the Igbo community.ġ920's colonial Nigeria. Having lost faith in the God Ulu, the community undergoes mass conversion to Christianity. Most notable is the unjust jailing of a priest of Ulu which disrupted usual processes and led to delayed harvest and famine. Set predominantly in Umuofia and also a period of exile in Mbanta, a rural village.įollows the disastrous consequences of British interference in Igbo affairs. Pre-colonial Nigeria and the first wave of colonialism in the 1890's. Impact of British colonialism on the individual and wider Igbo community. As the novel progresses, we see how European missionaries disrupt their way of life. Follows the life of Okonkwo, his family, and community.
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