FREE ESSAY ON CHINUA ACHEBE

CHINUA ACHEBE

Chinua Achebe
Chinua Achebe is said to be "one of the most influential writers" of the century not only
in Nigeria, his homeland but also throughout the world (Albany). Chinua Achebe was born
in Ogidi, Nigeria on November 16, 1930. He was born a son of a Chrisitan Churchman,
Isaiah Okafo and Janet N. Achebe. Achebe was raised an Ibo Christian, which made him
stand out among his fellow peers. Achebe's lifestyle was different than that of other
people living in his village because of his religious background and upbringing. When
Achebe was fourteen he began schooling at Government Albany College in Umuahia for three
years. He then attended the University of Ibadan from 1948 through 1953. Following his
education at the University of Ibandan Achebe earned his Bachelors Degree from London
University in 1953. It was a year later when Achebe was named Talk Producer of the
Nigerian Broadcasting Service. Then in 1956 Achebe began to study broadcasting at the
British Broadcasting Corporation in London. (Critical Survey of Short Fiction) Finally in
1958, Achebe's first novel, Things Fall Apart was published. (Albany) Following the
completion of his first book, Achebe became the founding editor of Heinemann's African
Writers Series. Since writing his first novel Achebe has won many awards and honors for
his publications. Among these awards and honors are the Commonwealth Prize, and the
highest award for intellectual achievement in his native country Nigeria. (Albany)
Following the Nigerian civil war, Achebe was named Senior Research Fellow at the
University of Nigeria. Presently he lives in Nsukka, Nigeria where he teaches, 
Achebe also spends a lot of time lecturing at major Universities. Achebe is married to
Christie Chinue Okoli and has four children, Chinelo, Ikechukwu, Chidi and Nwando.
(Albany)
Achebe's first novel Things Fall Apart is about a village called Umofia in Nigeria and
the Ibo people who live there. The main character is a man named Okonkwo. Okonkwo is a
very strong and well known man. Okonkwo is driven by his desire to be a better man than
his father was. Okonkwo is ashamed of his father because he was a weak man with no
accomplishments. The book describes the village and the traditions of the people of the
village. It describes in detail their religious beliefs. All aspects of Ibo life are
based on their religion. The conflict in the story arises when Christian missionaries
force their way into the Umofia and began to tear apart the lives of the Ibos. The
missionaries try to convert the Ibos into Christians and a western way of living. When
some of the Ibos change their lives to be like the missionaries', civil disagreements and
hostility begin to occur. The story is essentially a fictional tale about an event that
really did occur in Nigeria. In this story, Achebe is describing the western movement
that Nigeria went through and is still dealing with today through fictional characters.
Achebe wrote a follow-up story to Things Fall Apart called No Longer at Ease. No Longer
at Ease is about Okonkwo's grandson, Obi who is part of the "corrupted" generation of the
Ibo people. Obi is an educated Christian, who also participates in the traditions of the
Ibo people. This has caused him to be torn between the old and new ways of Africa and
Nigeria. The new way being educated in a western style and believing in the Christian
beliefs. The old way being completely uneducated and believing in the 
traditional religion of the Ibo people. Achebe uses Obi as a symbol of the new, western
ideals and Okonkwo represents the old, traditional ways of the Ibo people. The two are
completely different, which of course causes conflict within the village. Achebe is using

this story as a way of informing the reader of what has happened to much of Nigeria with
the changes the western world has brought to their villages. What happens in the story is
exactly what happened to many Nigerians. This generation of Nigerians wanted to be
educated in the western way, but at the same time wanted to live in their traditional
style. This brought conflict and war between families and villages. 
Critics believe that much of Achebe's writing flourishes from his richly diverse
background. Achebe's background is very clearly where a large part of his writing comes
from. Achebe's diverse background is that of colonial authority, Christianity, African
social customs, and the traditional religion of his village. As one reads any of his
novels all of these things most obviously contribute greatly to the plot of his writings
(Syverson). 
The way in which Achebe uses his personal experiences and background in his writing is
displayed in his short story Civil Peace. The story is about a family rebuilding their
lives after a war has ended. The family returns to their village only to discover that
their meek, little house is still standing strong, but the big, luxurious house, built by
a far more affluent man has crumbled to the ground. After explaining this, Achebe writes,
"indeed nothing puzzles god". This statement not only shows the importance of spiritual
life in their culture, but also informs the reader as to what god means to them. When the
rich man's house is destroyed and the less wealthy man's house remained, it shows god 
does not care how rich one is or how big one's house is, everyone is the same in god's
eyes. It is this philosophy these people live by. 
This story portrays the many characteristics of war and its aftermath. These
characteristics are all based around one idea, when war breaks out everyone suddenly hold
the same values. The most important thing suddenly becomes their own lives and the lives
of their loved ones. Wealth, possessions and social class no longer matter. This comes
out in the story many times, the first being when Achebe writes, "He had come out of the
war with five inestimable blessings --- his head, his wife Maria's head and heads of
three out of their four children". Just the fact that they were alive is all that
mattered to him. It did not matter whether they had money, a place to live or anything
else, just their lives. These values are made apparent when thieves come to the families'
house demanding that they give them all their money. The father of the family, Jonathan,
willingly gives-up all his hard earned money, knowing that if he doesn't, his family will
suffer. The thieves do take the money, but Jonathan does not get angry, he believes in
his god and knows that everything will work out as he says once again, 'nothing puzzles
god". 
Jonathan buries his bicycle during the war so that nobody will steal it from him Jonathan
believes that the bicycle is something he will cherish after the war is over. But when
the war is over all he really cares about is his family, and the bike is just an added
"bonus". This just shows once again that what matters to people changes when war breaks
out. 
Achebe is very skilled at being able to use both the traditional language of his people
and the English language. This allows the reader to get a sense of the Ibo culture and
still be able to understand and follow the story. The critic Bruce King backs this
statement in his introduction to the book, Nigerian Literature by saying, "Achebe was 
the first writer to successfully transmute the conventions of the novel, a European art
form, into African literature". It is largely this skill that has allowed Achebe to be
one of, if not the most influential, writers of this century. Achebe has opened up a
whole new realm of literature with his writing, especially in Nigeria. 
After reading both a novel and a short story by Achebe it is clear what his purpose is
when writing. Achebe is trying to make people understand the African culture the way it
really was and the way it is now. Achebe has discovered that many people have a false
idea of the African culture and many people have stereotyped Africans and the way in
which they live because they do not understand their culture. By writing Achebe hopes to
eliminate some of those stereotypes and create an opportunity for people to have a better
understanding of Africa and the people who live there. He has accomplished this goal by
writing from his own personal experience and using his diverse background as the roots of
his knowledge and style of writing. 
Bibliography
Achebe, Chinua. "Civil Peace." One World of Literature. Ed. Shirley Geok-Lin Lim and 
Norman A. Spencer. New York: Houghton Mifflin. 128-133.
---. Achebe, Chinua. "Chinua Achebe." Critical Survey of Short Fiction. Ed. Frank N. 
Magill. 3rd ed. New Jersey. Salem Press, 1981. 819-823.
---. "Why The Tortoise's Shell Is Not Smooth." Discovering Literature. Ed. Hans P. Guth
and Gabriele L. Rico. 2nd ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1997. 12-14.
Culross, Melissa. Postimperial and Postcolonial Literature in English.