“il {| CHINUA ACHEBE An Anthology of Recent Criticism if _ Edited by Mala Pandurang Peneraft International Dethi-110082Chinua Achebe: Novelist as Critic Peter T: Simatei No accout of the development of ercism of Aficas erature over the last four decades i complete without th acknowledgement of te role played by Chua Achebe in Uberting this practice fom folonalsteaegores In hit therein reflection, Achebe ofa ‘etumed to conten he cra mentality that always misconstrued te toca English eau) or the univerl and which thereaer ded [can wring i ems of velevaee fo the "univers Indesd [Achobe's theoreti! contestation of what he terms “colonialist ‘rcs sendy impli inhi fiional writings which according {6 Gikand, “evolve naaive procedure through which the colons Tangue, wi war previously intended t dtignnte and reprodace ‘he colonial ideology, now evokes new forms of expression, profes new oppositions sours"! I Achebe tin was ena in defining fre rections in the evelopment ofthe Afcan novel even ae recat he Wester cane innev Tip isreal esas pariculary those collected in Morning Teton Creation Day and oper ond Impedinonn, directa the feat ‘on the complicity of European Titerture and scholarship inthe ‘Promotion of bli and assumptions that constructed Affe less ‘vised and hence in need of Wester pteralis asstance. I this “ens Achebe joins th rake of thors like Edward Sai and Frantz Fanon whose work consti the genesis of what has come fo be ‘known today a5 posteolonial ert ‘Acibe's contin othe rim of Aca erature an be «categorized into two main areas namely, fnction ad form of Arian Ttertire, He ctcuses the fnction of Afun tre in ode tieate i relevance tothe African suience while thinking the Init category hat shaped European aude to ASN eng WW i A ibinoue 4 ‘ne moe ection of Aan ers aged Achebe inthe aly ays of independence, war tt of defig portsmperial sense of Satonood nd ica For i he relevance of An Iertre then ey in hlping cet gain se al nd pt ay the Complete ofthe yu of dsiatn a slestasemen Tis wat ‘tak tnt meat he questioning of clo shore Sisccurses that ha peda central olin at vey dengan he ‘Mica pron fr 2 Petr Day puts In dig of Fon, ‘thes step toners pocoloialponpective to alin oes ‘om pat then the second to bela deh sei cology ‘whieh tha pst a Ren Sea “Thus, ke Fen before him, Ace enero colonialism as iplnting an ier complxin the Asan pools Setoying and buying cau originally. Andi he may out of is Fredcanet is men colon ~ to boow fey Ng wa ‘Thongs tem ecloiing the ind Achebe corned sk 10 ile emancipation of erica of Ac Inet, self « rai ol te decooneton etre, ome clog of he “taser Cloister of Aiea Ace tll tathering of he Associaton fr te Comores Lee snd Tguag Stadia Makerere Usiesiyn 19 "drs fom he ‘ame basi ade an ssysons seaom sl ™ D0 Colonialism, i order to legitimate sajugatin of ices, nad them a5 unas erentues in eed of arpa elon, he Colo erie rend Afican wring a tne pods of fiat ame nani mind which wl tine vats fica ely ten tmeasreso weston era frm By iui panerng Sats, Acebe became the visti of is Sona nsec. Hs Bove ton Fie Fal Apart, ws weed Epi ESeal cies nt an ery ten bat rather as simple secamenaton of gb tr paces? sprays ch Siseuson and host reception of sve atone hee tn stongly dete te famer of judgenen of fea rare. Tor Achebe, Ewopean erica of Aen eared one fundamental Da iso t conespaie Aton lero pak ‘the English eadion and in so ding edt nts how ie ering indigenes Meratres were slowly Spacing the Engsh {ton ates ohe nw eis woh inp a Sena art of hing and wich Abe say ne ala fwetion of Alcan fton tats formtve year ctl the estonng of Wester values ht ha ben contd etsIt Pent nina all inte fetter i ae Fe Apts | [ij raresnae gti ws sing some of sil pe wa as bing atin an hs No loge coud preset one epon ‘end vals or frp le tore aes were comes "ingle ori hat ale cone ow ot ee Stahisey af he re lace foe gi rms ich ‘Sdibemmnone sor ofbcng paced poli onal oF tom" open etc, it seamed to Ache, wate ube 1 come to teams ih the ew fle ens af cola edo” which in ‘it ei we mnie ne ied ing ht felonisingteropcan clr! istttons bad Hibero preted as ‘soll nivel ales nd tended, ht Acute detested ‘st nthe apm of Euopean eis was cadens) to anys imagine tnt Europe sepestted the saver! and tat Westra erates he enodiment of tet enehngng sence In the suture of hing, he comments in Mornington Craton Day thewerofa Wenem ris ual normed ty elves Ieisonly ters who mut svete ashes. asthoughuiveraiy ‘teres tat beat nth awh 900 iy ke iyo et {ar enough nie deci of Europe or Ameren 04 pt gate sane between you dour ome tld i ose te word ‘overated stop om the dso f Aen Uae ‘stesevng pociiom f Europes (hs eapha) Acie’ argument ere lear: Eurocentric norms an practices promoted inthe guise of enivereal and eternal alacs assigned to Wester eraturs its such parents, well etl at the tine ‘we thedstsafeutral difference were ettomake an ict on the Tterary scene hat demonsate Achebe’ freight The frerounding fof isues and questions of cull difetence and sivesty that “ures fahonabe among postcolonial eres, the ecetting Sbsolatat and homogenisng posons engendered in colonialist Aiscouses, were already common assrpions ahs eral writings Achebe: Net a re a inthe 60, His titi of Sseph Conat's Heart of Darkness as & cist text was a welcome subversion of the iberal humanist eoxpions of lira text (lasses) a anscenden and univers Enough tobe tinted by liniations and pecularies of the ge twas rien Libera humanist assumption hat iterate Spas o what is constant inhuman naar and is the ease of Cnr, hs nahing to o with colonialism was recogised by Achebe a pat of hose litsry snthodones hase tine had passed. In bi discussion of ear of Darkness, Achebe arculated what Edward Said was demonstrating ‘around the sme period tai how Hterary texts inserbed dina ideologies and consolidated ways of scing sad thiking wich a ‘um conribted othe funtoning of cla power Heart of Darkness may be unser of eouve es mos readers o, locating Chious Achebe Rimsll, ss a eiigue of nperal, ‘exploitation and violence but foxeph Cona’s power exaging the primiivism ofthe Other makes Achibe's reading frac in ha ‘novel quite coving. Inthe ess "An Image of Afi, Raise Conrad's Hert of Darkness Achebe describes te ove 6" tr) in which the very hamanly of ck people ealled no queton (projets th image of Aca athe ee world. the thesia Europe a therefore of civilzation, apse whee man's vaunted intelligence and refinement are finally mocked by wlomphant bestliy”! According Achebe, Heart of Darkness di ot reve the canonical stats it had been given by Wester eres, or how can “a novel which celebrates (his) debumanistion (of Ales), which ” For Achebe, to exeae the poate dangers of Alienation posed bythe use ofthe language ofthe oppressor 1 move award from Eurocentric versions af history to redemptive isons, ‘euler arse that imposes an Aca oben on Europe realist forme, At Harow notes in ifn context there subtext nd Intertextal Acan systems consi a counter sicoure fo the extent ne repressed Alcan values. This what 1 once ornament aaron Freee aa eens we dbo A Coc orenmmentece te ae en ery eee eee "emphasis", approximates the kind of literary project advocated by Se ee a ‘Ath Unive ed ame apaing novel ost fe (ang ope Cy’s much pied Jon} ns ell ha the ty We etc could ot be ld foros by amore ese no mater how ie tel enn. ARogh il tot set bout consul fa ‘Gastena way, now now that oy fbok Thing Fal Apr, was {Sect of eon sh my ps the ital un an oe of & ‘roti on™ However in hit atest collections of esas, Home and Exile, writen while nbs long sjour in the Unie Sates, Achebe rethinks {hs empire wie bac’ aphorism arguing instead that he cost have titer anyway, even fhe had not rea Joye Cans novel. But here Uno dou thatthe project of Aan erature in is inne was feaiy overdetermined bythe condons of clonal, Yet in ‘tng asia clonal clare spd values, te African writers i not henge na simple Manichan exerese of merely inverting and ‘rgaing colonial deoloie; they sought oorgnise a whale new fealty whore onrdistintion oh olla word would be defined ot oly in tems of fe emancipatory pote but aso inthe Psoning ofthe Aci person and he Aican word inthe cente [rlitrarydicouse. Inher words AfFian Tera emerges ito ‘ring troagh eistance to conditions that deny the posses of txts, te evalish in the process what Homi haba would ‘Spaces of sobalen signification” where alization s ested end salelton of power i disturbed” ‘heb’ chasis nthe ole of Aen erature in posteaonal ain: formation nas matched by hewn responses though ton nd cola essays to the cri at tedeviled Nigeria imneiatey er independence. One eh eri was De 1966 cl war tha followed. frat the aetironst counter coup and the federalHil 7, Simael rrwnersephebb ibd timer, may Wn Ache eons ees Maat hcthoelasct igen shen Ben ‘ngs hair te te esta ‘TaScntpne fap ted tn Be nj ‘an faaen Ba eA oes he inotenen of be Ran wer tdi the xt fr which his peplr hing an png ot ern fom he vont ‘tay Alcan wns pt and res = inte big eae Ae. ‘Theta pot emai she ce, Bain wre ‘commited tthe eel sug het pol rosie me independece™ “This involvement of Baan writers as diverse as Christopher (Okigto, Gabriel Okara, Cyprian Ekvensi,Onuora Neck, Nker Nwankuo,Joha Manorye, WC. The, ta Flora Nwaps, ange fom responding “ote intensity of enemy fre wth savoes of ese to parteipaton natal pyscal combats i Christopher Okigbo who Tosti ifeinthe online. Achebe meanwhile played the ciplomat or ‘he Blain ease, moving om oe foreign capital to bother, selling the idea of Bafa, Given he stress of war, is reatve contibuion at this time tok he frm of poetry ~ "something shor, itense, mere in ‘eepng with my mood” ~ and eral essays rather than fiction All tint Achebe wre whether ton or eral eays, was predated ‘oni faith inthe soca ueton of Aca iterate eu he Best ‘spounde trough is elaboration ofthe concept of mbar colour feremony among the Overt Igbo which i" peofoud affirmation of the people's bein the dist ofa and soeieny— Abe very heart of Aeon Terature, past and present, he argued, is the ‘xpresion of commient fo te commniy. Of couse, a Achebe Imus have realised inthe Blain crisis, inwhichhe was forced shit ‘Megane fromthe Nigerian fo Baia aio and back, "emmunty fr nation remained always elusive and usable, the tive one being ‘sen the mos rll. Ax constcted inthe ar postcolonial nove, ‘his tve mation f ported not on an iat bat rather on 8 ‘iteence withthe eationais project. In his politcal essays Achebe ‘laa hs anton n terme ofthe allt Betwesn the writer ‘he atonal politi: arguing that whereas he Iter dcouse ‘ud deterleste into ought deceit and chicane Inert ility to ansform society remained reliable He ened hs elie nthe { \ { { | Meh: Ney Cre loan 1 piv vision of tion ina convocation eee on “Ta ll icon" be dsivered atthe Usvesiy of Wein T9782. rs Theft wish apne Hes offs act nln; Asari, therfore, Achebe bs participated inthe development. of Affian Tera by helping to define te parameters of its Jadgements wl tbe same Ue mapping is possible aues His ‘major concern ha alway ben the conitation af a positive Afian rary vision apd sethais, which exclude a western universalist and nhroolopet approach tothe sad of Aish erate, an approach ‘Gat dined ar from society. Today Aca erature fas gained ‘loa prominence ani taught inmost wetem univers, Achebe role inthis global ise and acceptance of Ain Herat cant be sndereninsted. Notes ‘ete, China, Marin Yet om Cation ey, Ldn Hine 2 any eter, Mepiting Theory An imrodetion Literary and Ctra Theory Manchester Mnchstr Univers Pre 195,192. 4 ete, Chinas Morsiog Iu 3. or more on this se Qunyan At, “Rem, Cem, and he Digest Bah A Reaing of Chinas Achebe Thingy Fal’ dpart ‘sh a Eralaton ofthe Crim Relates oI" In Remoch te “cen trata 2541-6 CO) iva Jan Mica! Ryan, “Engi Wit Sadows, Let om ‘Met Sel” in Leroy Thay thls (ee) Riad stu! Rn Ont Bl Pbisig La 198, 851-455, 8 Aebede,Chinun Hopes and Ingedicns, Selected Bsa. Ox Hefei Inert, 198, 2iii ‘Exenwa-Ohaete, Chima Achebe: A Biography, Oxford: James Curry, Me eo Cn: ore epee res rng SEE aon iment sete teem nee Sc Tg a a ‘On his Achebe writes that Okigo “ranged with es trough Rome m Sepa eee coos scrainat ra SEES sw ts ot ttt Po it ‘Ma th es ae ee cee ete acer operand Impesinets 10. 15 Separating the Man from the Artist: A Review of Phanuel Egejuru’s Chinua Achebe: Pure and Simple — An Oral Biography: Ike Anya 1 ew opin the smal, serene university town of Nuk fn Easter [Nigeria and inthe year hat turned si we had new nelghbouss move ino the house next to outs on the lon, ttethaded Marpac ‘Carcwight Aveaue whore we ved. My erst memories ofthese new eehbour are of teen silver Ameren cay, larger an ageing we were eed, which came to reside inthe garages next dor Tale remember a Muy of gadenag sev, wich ransomed the once. Wi grounds next doo into a veritable bize of Iving claw. With time, made fends withthe children, particularly the youngest auger, Nwando, who was my’ age and inthe sane ele ate University School Later twat tend birthday parte at er hose ‘snd all hve memories of that livingroom tsealy decorated Shades of cram with tel and glss faite a the best seven oatemporry se. On oecaion, | would watch Nwando's shen uit, Kindly genleran who seemed to speak very Title, and who Seemod to rate a certinbenig ai ar stode ound the eros, hands clasped behind bis back. Nwango's father was the wie Chinus Achebe Even before they moved in we aleve the younge ‘ts, eof his fame and yet, hen they cae 1 Hive wet doo he ‘seemed to orsinary 0 spl tot ow image ofa foes write 1 atiolary found i dif bllve tats was the nth of Things Fol dpart, which ha by the, precocious reds sine I hsd ander, more Mamboyaet gure, We ved ext dort the