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The Life And Works Of Chinua Achebe

 

            
            
             Chinua Achebe, prominent Igbo writer, is famous for his novels describing the effects of Western customs and values on traditional African society. Achebe's satire and his keen ear for spoken language have made him one of the most highly esteemed African writers in English literature. He has obtained many awards and written many novels, and has also touched numerous lives. Raised in Nigeria, Chinua went to school and majored in English literature with the hope of enlightening the world about his experiences growing up.
             Albert Chinualumogu Achebe was born the son of Isaiah Okafo, a Christian churchman, and Janet N. Achebe November 16, 1930. He was born in Ogidi, an Igbo village near the Niger River under British Rule. His parents were devoted Christians, and his father worked as a teacher of the Church Missionary Society (Things Fall Apart xxi). After a few months his parents baptized him and gave him the Christian name Albert, after Prince Albert. As a child Chinua was taught to look down on his fellow tribe members who practiced the traditional faith. Nonetheless, he was fascinated with the customs and traditions of his non-Christian neighbors and went to their ceremonies and festivals despite the fact his parents forbid him to do so. (World Book 26) .
             Chinua later went to the University College of Ibaden, where he studied English, theology, and history. In 1944 he attended Government College in Umuahia. This school was known for fabricating such writers as Wole Soyinka, Eleche Amadi, John Okigbo, John Pepper Clarke, and Cole Omotso (Kirjatso). In 1953 he graduated with a BA. .
             Before joining the Nigerian Broadcasting Company in Lagos in 1954 he traveled in Africa and America, and worked for a short time as a teacher. After going to London in 1956 he was invited back to Nigeria for the position of Controller of Eastern Region Satiations. Things Fall Apart was Achebe's first novel in 1958.


Essays Related to The Life And Works Of Chinua Achebe

1. Research paper---- The Sacrificial Egg

In "The Sacrificial Egg", the author, Chinua Achebe "presents the conflict between an African civilization called Igbo and Westernization, specifically European." ... "Chinua Achebe is one of Africa's most influential and widely published writers." ... As the "author of one of the enduring works of modern African literature, Achebe sees post colonial cultures taking shape story by story."... It shows us the problems Europeans brought to the Nigerians in common life, along with the goods and riches. ... They now look to Chinua Achebe as "the progenitor of the modern African novels". ...

  • Word Count: 1436
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

2. The Language Debate in African Literature

Ngungi who supports abrogation has decided to write in his mother tongue Gikuyu but this decision was taken very late in his career (late 70's) after he had published several works in English. ... Chinua Achebe openly and strongly supports the use of the imposed language in African literature arguing that it facilitates a wider distribution and in seeking to legitimize African representation English (in his case) is a suitable and appropriate medium. His stance has not changed even in later works. ... Achebe uses strategies that give the reader light to the Igbo culture by use of vernac...

  • Word Count: 2193
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart The book Things Fall Apart , by Chinua Achebe , is very similar to the poem , "The Second Coming" by William Butler Yeats. ... Chinua Achebe also reveals a major shift by describing Umuofa as it was in the beginning. ... Okonkwo ends his life as a last resort . ... If there is one concept one learns from comparing these two fine literary works . ... Chinua Achebe and William Butler Yeats make this idea understandable to us by using it in their works of art. ...

  • Word Count: 879
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Things fall apart

Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart offers us a rare glimpse into the world of the African Ibo tribe as it struggles to redefine itself in the face of British colonialism; we learn not only about the problems of a particular time and place, but encounter some of the issues dealt with in contemporary sociological literature as well. In turn, our understanding of Achebe can be tremendously deepened through the lens of works such as Mahmood Mamdani's Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism; Anthony Butler's Democracy and Apartheid: Po...

  • Word Count: 2479
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Things Fall Apart: Chinua Achebe

THINGS FALL APART: CHINUA ACHEBE I. ... ELEMENTS Chinua Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart, was written in the third person point of view. ... This helped in enhancing my reading experience because it made known to me how the character's mind works. ... Achebe's use of the setting also helped in my appreciation of the novel. ... He gave life to Nwoye. ...

  • Word Count: 2714
  • Approx Pages: 11
  • Grade Level: High School

6. The Real Goal of Charities

"While we do our good works let us not forget that the real solution lies in a world in which charity will have become unnecessary," Chinua Achebe wrote in Anthills of the Savannah. ... For example if the same amount of money donated to one organization in one day was given to a homeless person this would change this person's life. ... In the first case everyone gets enough money to survive a day or two, but the money will not make any difference on their long term life. ... " This is what Chinua referred to as the real solution. ...

  • Word Count: 1246
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Chinua Achebe's "tragic Hero" Deserves That Title

In Chinua Achebe's popular novel, Things Fall Apart, the world, especially the western world, is presented with the complex narrative of an Ibo warrior, Okonkwo. ... He is the antithesis of the primitive African that is so often represented in the white colonists" works. ... The most significant, and redeeming, event in Okonkwo's life is his own suicide. ... Throughout his life, Okonkwo had always acted with the goal of raising his prestige in the village. ... He is brave enough to not only take his life, but to be ostracized in death. ...

  • Word Count: 1421
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart is set in the late nineteenth century, and shows the great conflict of white colonial government and the culture of the Igbo tribe. ... Okonkwo works his way up the social and financial ladder by embracing his ideas of hard work. ... Realizing he is evolving into the same image as his father, Okonkwo decides to take his life in his own hands. ... "A simple story of a strong man whose life is dominated by fear and anger, Things Fall Apart is written with remarkable economy and subtle irony. ... I enjoyed reading Achebe's book and I give it two thumb...

  • Word Count: 1028
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

9. The Second Coming Vs. Things Fall Apart

Forty Years later, Chinua Achebe took the third line from that poem for the title of his book Things Fall Apart. ... It is the story of an Ibo village of the late 1800's and one of its great men, Okonkwo, who has achieved much in his life. ... In the end, in frustration, he kills an African that works for the British, and then commits suicide, a sin against the tradition to which he had been a part of for so long. ...

  • Word Count: 621
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School