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- Title
The cult of achievement in the novels of Chinua Achebe.
- Authors
Oriaku, Remy
- Abstract
Although Chinua Achebe's novels have been written in English, expressing universal ideas, they have an unmistakable Igbo flavor. Apparently, Igbo values have influenced the author so that his literary inventions necessarily have their roots in the familiar real world of his people. Achebe's pioneering efforts were meant to counter the racist denigration of Africanness by the colonialist and restore to the African a sense of dignity and pride in his past. Where the Europeans had sought to show that Africans had not developed civilizations, Achebe tried to show that there was a coherent pattern of social organization that allowed the pursuit of individual goals within the limits imposed by the ideals of a society. A society is great to the extent that its members have been successful and one's social standing is determined by public perception of one's track record. In such a context the achievement of success as a means of gaining socio-political prominence and recognition are the chief motivations for people's actions. But Achebe has not upheld the reckless and selfish pursuit of personal ambitions, hence the tragic ends of the protagonists of his novels and the satiric thrust of his post-independence period novels. In this essay I will show how the tones of the novels are determined by the tension between the obsessive quests for personal achievements and the limits imposed by society.
- Subjects
STORY plots; IGBO (African people) in literature; PROTAGONISTS (Persons) in literature; VERSE satire; IGBO language; RITES &; ceremonies; CULTS
- Publication
NAWA Journal of Language & Communication, 2009, Vol 3, Issue 2, p163
- ISSN
1993-3835
- Publication type
Article