A Critical Discourse Analysis of Ideology and Meaning in Selected Novels of Chinua Achebe
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Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart Is Probably the Most Authentic Narrative Ever Written About Life in Nigeria at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
Grade 11 Literature Holy Cross High School Coverage: • Overview of the Author • Background to the Novel • About Things Fall Apart • Summary of the Novel • Character List • Character map • Themes of the Novel • Structure of Part I the Novel • Chapters 1 to 13 Summary; Analysis and Questions • Structure of Part II of the Novel • Chapters 14 to 19 Summary; Analysis and Questions • Structure of Part III of the Novel • Chapters 20 to 25 Summary; Analysis and Questions • Viewpoints of the Novel from different characters • Acknowledgements The Author Chinua Achebe Background Background (1) • Poet and novelist Chinua Achebe was one of the most important African writers. • He was also considered by many to be one of the most original literary artists writing in English during his lifetime. • He is best known for his novel Things Fall Apart (1958). • Born Albert Chinualumogo Achebe, Chinua Achebe was raised by Christian evangelical parents in the large village Ogidi, in Igboland, Eastern Nigeria. • He received an early education in English, but grew up surrounded by a complex fusion of Igbo traditions and colonial legacy. • He studied literature and medicine at the University of Ibadan; after graduating, he went to work for the Nigerian Broadcasting Company in Lagos and later studied at the British Broadcasting Corporation staff school in London. • During this time, Achebe was developing work as a writer. • Starting in the 1950s, he was central to a new Nigerian literary movement that drew on the oral traditions of Nigeria's indigenous tribes. Background (2) • Although Achebe wrote in English, he attempted to incorporate Igbo vocabulary and narratives. -
Post-Colonial Literature: Chinua Achebe
Aula 4 POST-COLONIAL Literature: CHINUA ACHEBE META Introduce students to Chinua Achebe’s life and work OBJETIVO Ao final desta aula, você deverá ser capaz de: Outline a short biography of Chinua Achebe, placing some emphasis on his contribution to what could be loosely called ‘African literature’. Make a concise presentation of Achebe’s novels and a list of his short stories and poems. PRERREQUISITO Notions about the historicity of the concept of literature; Notions of the process of formation and institutionalization of Literary History and literary theory as disciplines that have in Literature its object of study. Notions of the relationship between Literary History and literature teaching. Luiz Eduardo Oliveira José Augusto Batista dos Santos Literatura de Língua Inglesa VI INTRODUÇÃO In this lesson, we will be studying Chinua Achebe, a very important author in African literature. He was born in Nigeria on November 16th 1930 in the Igbo village of Ogidi. His real name was Albert Chinualumogu Achebe. Although his parents had been converted into Christianity by missionaries from the Protestant Church Mission Society (CMS), Achebe’s father seemed to respect his ancestor’s traditions, of which fact the name Chinualumogu is a reminder, since it is a prayer for divine protection and stability that could be translated as “May God fight on my behalf ”. Having to live between two worlds, namely, that of Christianity and that of tradi- tional beliefs has no doubt played a significant role in Achebe’s education and, later, in his work. He was born Albert Chinualumogụ Achebe, 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013. -
Chinua Achebe's Girls at War and Other Stories
International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature E-ISSN: 2200-3452 & P-ISSN: 2200-3592 www.ijalel.aiac.org.au Chinua Achebe’s Girls at War and other Stories: A Relevance-Theoretical Interpretation Adaoma Igwedibia1*, Christian Anieke2, Ezeaku Kelechi Virginia1 1Department of English and Literary Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria 2Department of English and Literary Studies, Godfrey Okoye University, Nigeria Corresponding Author: Adaoma Igwedibia, E-mail: [email protected] ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history Relevance Theory (RT), which is a theory that takes the Gricean approach to communication as Received: January 26, 2019 a starting point of linguistic or literary analysis, is an influential theory in Pragmatics that was Accepted: March 09, 2019 developed by D. Sperber and D. Wilson (1986, 1995). As a cognitive theory of meaning (which Published: May 31, 2019 claims that semantic meaning is the result of linguistic decoding processes, whereas pragmatic Volume: 8 Issue: 3 meaning is the result of inferential processes constrained by one single principle, Principle of Advance access: April 2019 Relevance), its main assumption is that human beings are endowed with a biologically rooted ability to maximize the relevance of incoming stimuli. RT unifies the Gricean cooperative principle and his maxims into a single principle of relevance that motivates the hearer’s Conflicts of interest: None inferential strategy. Based on the classic code model of communication and Grice’s inferential Funding: None model, RT holds that ‘every act of ostensive communication communicates a presumption of its own optimal relevance’. Literary texts which present us with a useful depth of written data that serve as repositions of language in use can be analyzed linguistically. -
A Textual Materialist Study of the 1950
“SHALL THESE BONES LIVE?” A TEXTUAL MATERIALIST STUDY OF THE 1950-1975 CHINUA ACHEBE CORPUS by PAIGE REECE MCCORMICK A DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2009 Copyright Paige Reece McCormick 2009 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT This project fills several substantial lacunae in Achebe letters. First, it provides a chronological bibliography of the 1950-1975 Achebe corpus. This establishes for the first time a comprehensive and accurate illustration of the relationships among all published Achebe texts from 1950 to 1975 and among those texts and related manuscripts, particularly noting text revisions over the life of each text. Second, it creates color-coded variorum text documents for each publication. These text documents, for the first time incorporate all textual evidence for a specific publication, tracking all text mutations, both compositional and publication variations. The formatting of the variorum texts is guided by social text theory that gives equal attention to all composition and publication mutation in order to demonstrate the synchronic and diachronic movement of each text. As such it presumes in advance no link between multiple versions and a progression of authorial intent or authorial teleology in order that the stages of completion might be appraised in relation to all others. Taken together, the chronological bibliography and the variorum text documents provide extensive evidence that text mutation is present across all genres of Achebe letters, including critical essays, poems, short stories, and novels. A survey of past textualist approaches to Achebe’s works reveals only minimal attention to text mutations in Achebe fiction and exposes the dearth of textual approaches to Achebe’s non-fiction, poetry, and manuscripts. -
Nigerian Writers
Society of Young Nigerian Writers Chris Abani From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Chris Abani The poem "Ode to Joy" on a wall in the Dutch city of Leiden Christopher Abani (or Chris Abani) (born 27 December 1966) is a Nigerian author. He is part of a new generation of Nigerian writers working to convey to an English-speaking audience the experience of those born and raised in "sthat troubled African nation". Contents 1 Biography 2 Education and career 3 Published works 4 Honors and awards 5 References 6 External links Biography Chris Abani was born in Afikpo, Nigeria. His father was Igbo, while his mother was English- born.[1] He published his first novel, Masters of the Board (1985) at the age of sixteen. The plot was a political thriller and it was an allegory for a coup that was carried out in Nigeria just before it was written. He was imprisoned for 6 months on suspicion of an attempt to overthrow the government. He continued to write after his release from jail, but was imprisoned for one year after the publication of his novel, Sirocco. (1987). After he was released from jail this time, he composed several anti-government plays that were performed on the street near government offices for two years. He was imprisoned a third time and was placed on death row. Luckily, his friends had bribed government officials for his release in 1991, and immediately Abani moved to the United Kingdom, living there until 1999. He then moved to the United States, where he now lives.[2] Material parts of his biography as it relates to his alleged political activism, imprisonments and death sentence in Nigeria have been disputed as fiction by some Nigerian literary activists of the period in question. -
15-Nigerian-Novelists.Pdf
1 Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole "Wole" Soyinka (Yoruba: Oluwo̩ lé S̩ óyinká, pronounced "Shoyinka") (born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian writer, notable especially as a playwright and poet; he was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first person in Africa to be so honoured. 2 Soyinka was born into a Yoruba family in Abeokuta. After study in Nigeria and the UK, he worked with the Royal Court Theatre in London. He went on to write plays that were produced in both countries, in theatres and on radio. He took an active role in Nigeria's political history and its struggle for independence from Great Britain. In 1965, he seized the Western Nigeria Broadcasting Service studio and broadcast a demand for the cancellation of the Western Nigeria Regional Elections. In 1967 during the Nigerian Civil War, he was arrested by the federal government of General Yakubu Gowon and put in solitary confinement for two years.[2] Soyinka has strongly criticised many Nigerian military dictators, especially late General Sanni Abacha, as well as other political tyrannies, including the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe. Much of his writing has been concerned with "the oppressive boot and the irrelevance of the colour of the foot that wears it".During the regime of General Sani Abacha (1993–98), Soyinka escaped from Nigeria via the "Nadeco Route" on a motorcycle. Living abroad, mainly in the United States, he was a professor 3 first at Cornell University and then at Emory University in Atlanta, where in 1996 he was appointed Robert W. Woodruff Professor of the Arts. -
Reading the Politics of Belonging in Nigeria-Biafra Civil War Literature
Biafra as Third Space: Reading the Politics of Belonging in Nigeria-Biafra Civil War Literature Stephen Temitope David Dissertation presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch University Supervisor: Prof. Shaun Viljoen Co-supervisor: Dr. Wamuwi Mbao Department of English December 2019 Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Declaration By submitting this thesis electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own original work, that I am the sole author thereof (save to the extent explicitly otherwise stated); that reproduction and publication thereof by Stellenbosch University will not infringe any third party rights and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification. Signature…………………….. Date: December 2019……………….. Copyright © 2019 Stellenbosch University All rights reserved i Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Dedication Iba ibeji, Iba ejika tio j’asọ o bọ, Iba Taiwo ati Kehinde Inexhaustible fountains of strength From whence I suckle with a mouth full of teeth. To Ọlamide, Atinukẹ, and Modupẹ David: Hear the rumble of rain, Can you hear it? ii Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Abstract The image of Biafra as a space of belonging has assumed currency in contemporary secessionist discourse. Wartime Biafran society is framed as a utopia where everyone belonged and felt safe. Consequently, this framing has birthed a robust following among Igbo youths who desperately seek an alternative to the ‘unfriendly’ Nigerian space. This deployment of memory/remembrance stirs up a need to question how people belonged within Biafra as well as the dimensions of violence that being ‘an outsider within’ might have created during the war. -
A Psychological Analysis of Novels and Short Stories Written by Chinua Achebe
© 2018 JETIRJuly2018, Volume 5, Issue 7www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) A psychological analysis of Novels and Short Stories written by Chinua Achebe Dr. Rajive Kumar Ranjan Assistant Teacher Gov. of Bihar Abstract: Chinua Achebe is known for his novels but he has also written some short stories. He has influenced many young authors of Africa and like his novels his short stories are also a mirror of society. Stories like Dead men’s path asserts the questions related with individuality and traditional beliefs. The cultural insights of Africa can be seen in most of his short stories. He writes about traditional beliefs of people and we can also see that in most of his writings there is some kind of optimism. Such optimism reflects a general theme that the colonizers have successfully changed the thought process of the natives. In Civil Peace we can see the results of the Nigerian Civil War. Jonathan Iwegbu is one of the most important character in this story. There are some historical references in the short stories written by Achebe. Vengeful Creditor is the kind of short story which is very interesting. It talks about free education and its effects. Here a wealthy woman finds herself in problem because of free education. Her servants leave her because they want to be educated. It also talks about the social gap which is widespread in Nigeria. We can see that most of the times Achebe writes about African tradition. Themes of colonialism, racial segregation are common in his novels but even in his short stories we can find traces of such themes. -
Chinua Achebe: a Novelist of Religious Conflict and Social Crisis
Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL) A Peer Reviewed (Refereed) International Journal Vol.8.Issue 3. 2020 Impact Factor 6.8992 (ICI) http://www.rjelal.com; (July-Sept) Email:[email protected] ISSN:2395-2636 (P); 2321-3108(O) RESEARCH ARTICLE CHINUA ACHEBE: A NOVELIST OF RELIGIOUS CONFLICT AND SOCIAL CRISIS Dr. RATNESH BARANWAL Assistant Professor in English, K.N.I.P.S.S. Sultanpur (U.P.) Email:[email protected] Abstract This paper is an attempt to search out the fundamental themes of religious conflict and the social crisis in the novels of Chinua Achebe. His famous novel Arrow of God (1964) unveils the picture of the religious conflict between African tribal religion and Christianity as an outcome of the colonial encounter between the native Africans and the Britishers. While dealing with the religious conflict, he happens to highlight the various aspects of religion like the sociology, psychology, philosophy, semiotics and Dr. RATNESH BARANWAL ritualism of religion. Anthropology teaches us the lesson that whenever the two cultures mingle with each other, the dominant one affects the other one in various Article Received:13/06/2020 ways. The minor one is likely to undergo a process of acculturation by being drawn to Article Accepted: 20/07/2020 the dominant one (foreign). In his famous novel – ‘Arrow of God’, religious conflict is Published online:25/07/2020 deeply-rooted against the backdrop of political and cultural conflict. His another DOI: 10.33329/rjelal.8.3.60 famous novels – ‘Things Fall Apart’, ‘No Longer at Ease’ and ‘A Man of the People’ etc, point out the radical social changes in the Eastern Nigeria. -
Chinua Achebe and the Politics of Narration, African Histories and Modernities, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-51331-7 172 INDEX
INDEX A hearing how his characters sound, Achebe, Chidi, 13 107 portrayals of Africans, 10, Achebe, Chinua, 1–20 33, 38, 98, 115 Achebe, Christiana Chinwe Okoli portrayals of British (white) (Christie), 13 characters, 111–123 Achebe, Isaiah Okafor, 12 rejections of high Nigerian Achebe, Janet Anaenechi award, 18 Iloegbunam, 12 Ahiara Declaration, 13, 19 “Africa and Her Writers” (Achebe Ahiara (site of massacre by British), 36, essay), 5, 158, 159 112, 156 “African Literature as Restoration Aidoo, Ama Ata, 13 of Celebration,” (Achebe Altman, Rick, 8 essay), 163 “An Image of Africa: Racism in African storytelling (oral art and Conrad’s Heart of Darkness” orature), 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 32, 41, 42, (Achebe essay), 25, 26, 44, 67, 85, 145, 146, 149, 154, 28, 31, 32, 33, 38, 162, 167, 169 46, 49, 92, 99, 119, “The African Writer and the English 120, 128, 156, 157 Language” (Achebe essay), 38, Anthills of the Savannah (Achebe 77, 78, 80, 81, 83, 89, novel), 4, 5, 14, 16, 42, 91, 93, 97, 108 43, 45, 62, 64, 65, 67, 68, African Writer Series General 69, 71, 105, 106, 108, 111, Editor, 13 122, 123, 133, 159 car accident and paralysis, 17–18 Appiah, Anthony, 52, 158, 161 family, education, and life, 13 Aristotle, 6, 154 © The Author(s) 2017 171 T.J. Lynn, Chinua Achebe and the Politics of Narration, African Histories and Modernities, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-51331-7 172 INDEX Arrow of God (Achebe novel), 4, 5, 15, Chi and dualism, 30, 31, 38, 39, 147 30, 51, 57, 66, 77, 85, 101, 113, “Chi in Igbo Cosmology” (Achebe 114, 116, 117, 118, 123, 133, essay), 147 152, 168 Chike and the River (Achebe young Ashcroft, Bill, 90, 98, 100 person’s novella), 107 Auden, W. -
African Writers Series and New Windmill
Heinemann Education Books HEB The University of Reading holds the Heinemann Education Books archive which was transferred in 1987 and then subsequent deposits were accepted. The William Heinemann archive is held by Random House. There are two series of catalogued Heinemann archives at the University of Reading, Special Collections: The African Writers Series and New Windmill. The Collection covers the years 1949-1999. The physical extent of the collection is 859 files. Introduction Heinemann was founded in 1890 as William Heinemann Ltd. On Heinemann's death in 1920, one half of the company was purchased by the U.S. publisher, Heinemann during the Wall Street crash in 1929. Windmill Press, Kingswood, Surrey was the headquarters of distribution, accounting and promotion activities of the Heinemann Group of Companies. Heinemann was purchased by the Octopus Publishing Group in 1985. Octopus was purchased by Reed International (now Reed Elsevier) in 1987. Random House bought Heinemann's trade publishing (now named William Heinemann) in 1997. Heinemann's educational unit grew into an independent company in 1961. It became part of Harcourt Education when Reed Elsevier purchased the company in 2001. Pearson purchased the UK, South African, Australian and New Zealand arms of Harcourt Education in May 2007. The American operations were purchased by Houghton Mifflin. HEB African Writers Series 1961-1988 The African Writers Series began with the publication of Chinua Things Fall Apart in paperback in 1962. Heinemann published African fiction, poetry and drama. 270 titles were published by 1985. The editorial and correspondence files mainly relate to the African Writers series with some miscellaneous files, which have been catalogued relating to the Asian and Caribbean Writers series. -
Achebe's Manipulation of the English Language: a Stylistic Study of Girls a T War and Other Stories
ACHEBE'S MANIPULATION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE: A STYLISTIC STUDY OF GIRLS A T WAR AND OTHER STORIES By SATIA, E. C. Submitted in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of Master of Arts of the University of Nairobi September, 2000 i DECLARATION This dissertation is my original work and has not been presented for a degree in any other University. EMMANUEL C. SATIA This dissertation has been submitted for examination with our approval as University supervisors. DR. G.N. MARETE ~ DR. M. MBATIA iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing any scholarly work is always an arduous task. So whenever a helping hand is extended, it is always greatly appreciated. It is precisely for this reason that I wish to thank all the following people for their invaluable contribution. First, I wish to thank my supervisors, Dr. G.N. Marete and Dr. M. Mbatia for their constructive criticism and advice in the course of the research. Their resourcefulness was admirable. Secondly, I also wish to extend my gratitude to Amb. Prof. C. Chesaina, Prof. H. Indangasi and Dr. H. Mwanzi, all of the department of Literature, for showing a great deal of interest in my work and for their encouragement. Prof. Chesaina availed to me some rare reference material while Dr. Mwanzi's constant probing to know how far I had gone in my work gave me the impetus to continue even when the going was tough. Prof. Indangasi's encouraging remarks gave me the confidence that saw me through the work. 1 also wish to thank Prof. Nyombe for nominating me for the University of Nairobi Scholarship and the University administration for granting me the same.