Unit 11

English 203: Literature of the NonWestern World

Review:

Achebe's intent was to vicariously immerse you in precolonial Nigerian life.  You saw a better form of government than that of the aristocratic British.  You saw sensitive & therapeutic religious rituals (psycho-dramas).  You saw young people dating or courting in the moonlight, marriage negotiations, the marriage ceremony, divorce, & funeral ceremonies.  You saw how the economy worked with credit, share-cropping, the lazy & improvident, & the rich & successful.  Achebe tried to illustrate that indigenous Nigerian tribal life was as fully developed & satisfying as anything the British possessed.  Therefore, the supposed reason for colonization -- in order to bring civilization to primitives -- was a lie or at least was grounded in total ignorance.

Okonkwo's aggression offers a personal fault so that readers do not too quickly reject Achebe's vision of tribal society as overly idealized & without fault.  Of course it also drives the plot to its climax.

Notice the continuity with Son-Jara especially evident in all the female characters, the children & domestic concerns.

You learned how the Greek/Western reductionism (for definitively settling matters at any cost) can lead to tragedy.

The novel is composed of 2 parts.  The 1st part describes Nigerian society before any contact with Europeans.  The 2nd half describes the process of colonization.  Next week we will examine the 2nd half of the novel.  See you next week.