“It is the storyteller who makes us what we are, who creates history. The storyteller creates the memory that the survivors must have - otherwise their surviving would have no meaning.” - Chinua Achebe, in an interview with Bill Moyers in 2013
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| Photo from The Paris Review |
Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe or Chinua Achebe is a Nigerian writer and critic who is frequently referred to as the "Father of African Literature" for his contributions to not just African Literature but also World Literature. Chinua hails from the Igbo tribe, one of the biggest ethnic groups in Nigeria. His parents gave him the English name of “Albert” but his full name in Igbo, “Chinualumogu,” means “may God fight on my behalf.”
Achebe was raised in an environment where he was exposed to both traditional Igbo culture and Post-Colonial Christianity. This evidently influenced his works, especially in his criticism of European Literature and its portrayal of Africa. Influenced by Achebe’s upbringing, his writing features conflicting views that are able to have a sort of engagement and reconcile with one another.
His most important work or his magnum opus, if you will, is a novel titled Things Fall Apart. This novel was published in 1958 and follows the story of a man named Okonkwo. The novel depicts the different Igbo cultures and traditions as well as colonizers and missionaries. The novel explores the anger and fear that lingers in Okonkwo’s life.
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| Photo from Penguin UK |
The aforementioned criticism of European Literature and its depiction of Africa came in the form of Achebe’s 1975 essay, “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness.” His controversial lecture called out the racism of writer Joseph Conrad's portrayal of Africa as somewhat of an “otherworldly” territory that served as a negative contrast to Europe. Conrad's work, according to Achebe, was xenophobic and full of negative preconceptions of black people.
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| Photo from Goodreads |
Chinua Achebe's writings on postcolonial critique are topical and will always remain relevant. His writings have paved the way for conversations about the disparaging and demeaning interpretations of black people in Western literature. A lot may be learned – and unlearned – from Chinua Achebe's writings, which people of all ages must acknowledge.
