Biographies

Chinua Achebe (/ˈtʃɪnwɑː əˈtʃɛbeɪ/ ⓘ ; born Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe ;16 November 1930 – 21
March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as a central figure of modern
African literature. His first novel and magnum opus, Things Fall Apart (1958), occupies a pivotal place
in African literature and remains the most widely studied, translated, and read African novel. Along
with Things Fall Apart, his No Longer at Ease (1960) and Arrow of God (1964) complete the « African
Trilogy ». Later novels include A Man of the People (1966) and Anthills of the Savannah (1987). In the
West, Achebe is often referred to as the « father of African literature », although he vigorously
rejected the characterization.

Quick Facts Born, Died …

Born in Ogidi, Colonial Nigeria, Achebe’s childhood was influenced by both Igbo traditional culture
and postcolonial Christianity. He excelled in school and attended what is now the University of
Ibadan, where he became fiercely critical of how Western literature depicted Africa. Moving to Lagos
after graduation, he worked for the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS) and garnered international
attention for his 1958 novel Things Fall Apart. In less than 10 years he would publish four further
novels through the publisher Heinemann, with whom he began the Heinemann African Writers Series
and galvanized the careers of African writers, such as Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and Flora Nwapa. Achebe
sought to escape the colonial perspective that framed African literature at the time, and drew from
the traditions of the Igbo people, Christian influences, and the clash of Western and African values to
create a uniquely African voice. He wrote in and defended the use of English, describing it as a means
to reach a broad audience, particularly readers of colonial nations. In 1975 he gave a controversial
lecture, « An Image of Africa : Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness », which was a landmark in
postcolonial discourse. Published in The Massachusetts Review, it featured criticism of Albert
Schweitzer and Joseph Conrad, whom Achebe described as « a thoroughgoing racist. » When the
region of Biafra broke away from Nigeria in 1967, Achebe supported Biafran independence and acted
as ambassador for the people of the movement. The subsequent Nigerian Civil War ravaged the
populace, and he appealed to the people of Europe and the Americas for aid. When the Nigerian
government retook the region in 1970, he involved himself in political parties but soon became
disillusioned by his frustration over the continuous corruption and elitism he witnessed. He lived in
the United States for several years in the 1970s, and returned to the US in 1990 after a car crash left
him partially paralyzed. He stayed in the US in a nineteen-year tenure at Bard College as a professor
of languages and literature.

Winning the 2007 Man Booker International Prize, from 2009 until his death he was Professor of
African Studies at Brown University. Achebe’s work has been extensively analyzed and a vast body of
scholarly work discussing it has arisen. In addition to his seminal novels, Achebe’s œuvre includes
numerous short stories, poetry, essays and children’s books. His style relies heavily on the Igbo oral
tradition, and combines straightforward narration with representations of folk stories, proverbs, and
oratory. Among the many themes his works cover are culture and colonialism, masculinity and
femininity, politics, and history. His legacy is celebrated annually at the Chinua Achebe Literary
Festival.

Life and career

Map of Nigeria’s linguistic groups. Achebe’s homeland, the Igbo region (archaically spelt Ibo), lies in
the central south.
Chinua Achebe was born on 16 November 1930 and baptised Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe. His
father, Isaiah Okafo Achebe, was a teacher and evangelist, and his mother, Janet Anaenechi
Iloegbunam, was the daughter of a blacksmith from Awka, a leader among church women, and a
vegetable farmer. His birthplace was Saint Simon’s Church, Nneobi, which was near the Igbo village of
Ogidi ; the area was part of the British colony of Nigeria at the time. Isaiah was the nephew of Udoh
Osinyi, a leader in Ogidi with a « reputation for tolerance » ; orphaned as a young man, Isaiah was an
early Ogidi convert to Christianity. Both Isaiah and Janet stood at a crossroads of traditional culture
and Christian influence, which made a significant impact on the children, especially Chinua. His
parents were converts to the Protestant Church Mission Society (CMS) in Nigeria. As such, Isaiah
stopped practising Odinani, the religious practices of his ancestors, but continued to respect its
traditions. The Achebe family had five other surviving children, named in a fusion of traditional words
relating to their new religion : Frank Okwuofu, John Chukwuemeka Ifeanyichukwu, Zinobia Uzoma,
Augustine Ndubisi, and Grace Nwanneka. After the youngest daughter was born, the family moved to
Isaiah Achebe’s ancestral town of Ogidi, in what is now the state of Anambra.

Storytelling was a mainstay of the Igbo tradition and an integral part of the community. Achebe’s
mother and his sister Zinobia told him many stories as a child, which he repeatedly requested. His
education was furthered by the collages his father hung on the walls of their home, as well as
almanacs and numerous books—including a prose adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s
Dream (c. 1590) and an Igbo version of Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678). Achebe eagerly
anticipated traditional village events, like the frequent masquerade ceremonies, which he would later
recreate in his novels and stories. In 1936, Achebe entered St Philips’ Central School in the
Akpakaogwe region of Ogidi for his primary education. Despite his protests, he spent a week in the
religious class for young children, but was quickly moved to a higher class when the school’s chaplain
took note of his intelligence. One teacher described him as the student with the best handwriting and
the best reading skills in his class. Achebe had his secondary education at the prestigious Government
College Umuahia, in Nigeria’s present-day Abia State. He attended Sunday school every week and the
special services held monthly, often carrying his father’s bag. A controversy erupted at one such
session, when apostates from the new church challenged the catechist about the tenets of
Christianity. Achebe enrolled in Nekede Central School, outside of Owerri, in 1942 ; he was
particularly studious and passed the entrance examinations for two colleges.

Back in Nigeria, Achebe set to work revising and editing his novel ; he titled it Things Fall Apart, after a
line in the poem « The Second Coming » by W. B. Yeats. He cut away the second and third sections of
the book, leaving only the story of a yam farmer named Okonkwo who lives during the colonization of
Nigeria and struggles with his father’s debtor legacy. He added sections, improved various chapters,
and restructured the prose.

In 1957 he sent his only copy of his handwritten manuscript (along with the £22 fee) to a London
manuscript typing service he had seen an advertisement for in The Spectator. He did not receive a
reply from the typing service, so he asked his boss at the NBS, Angela Beattie, to visit the company
during her travels to London. She did, and angrily demanded to know why the manuscript was lying
ignored in the corner of the office. The company quickly sent a typed copy to Achebe. Beattie’s
intervention was crucial for his ability to continue as a writer. Had the novel been lost, he later said,
« I would have been so discouraged that I would probably have given up altogether. » The next year
Achebe sent his novel to the agent recommended by Gilbert Phelps in London. It was sent to several
publishing houses ; some rejected it immediately, claiming that fiction from African writers had no
market potential. The executives at Heinemann read the manuscript and hesitated in their decision to
publish the book. An educational adviser, Donald MacRae, read the book and reported to the
company that : « This is the best novel I have read since the war. » Heinemann published 2,000
hardcover copies of Things Fall Apart on 17 June 1958. According to Alan Hill, employed by the
publisher at the time, the company did not « touch a word of it » in preparation for release.

The book was received well by the British press, and received positive reviews from critic Walter Allen
and novelist Angus Wilson. Three days after publication, The Times Literary Supplement wrote that
the book « genuinely succeeds in presenting tribal life from the inside ». The Observer called it « an
excellent novel », and the literary magazine Time and Tide said that « Mr. Achebe’s style is a model
for aspirants ». Initial reception in Nigeria was mixed. When Hill tried to promote the book in West
Africa, he was met with scepticism and ridicule. The faculty at the University of Ibadan was amused at
the thought of a worthwhile novel being written by an alumnus. Others were more supportive ; one
review in the magazine Black Orpheus said : « The book as a whole creates for the reader such a vivid
picture of Igbo life that the plot and characters are little more than symbols representing a way of life
lost irrevocably within living memory. » When Things Fall Apart was published in 1958, Achebe was
promoted at the NBS and put in charge of the network’s Eastern region coverage. That same year
Achebe began dating Christiana Chinwe (Christie) Okoli, a woman who had grown up in the area and
joined the NBS staff when he arrived. The couple moved to Enugu and began to work on his
administrative duties.

« A Man of the People » is a satirical novel written by Chinua Achebe, published in 1966. It tells the
story of Odili, a young teacher in a small African country who becomes involved in politics and is
swept into a corrupt world of greed and power.

Summary

The first chapter begins with the narrator observing the preparations to receive Minister Nanga. He
is due to give a speech at Anata Grammar School, and the villagers have come to flood the school to
hear him speak. Additionally, dancers and singers perform in his honor, including one whom the
narrator calls « Grammar-phone », who is known for his singing skills. She uses her song to praise
Nanga’s good looks. The Hunters Guild also arrived with all their regalia. They carry loaded guns and
the narrator observes mothers fleeing from them with their children.

The narrator explains that since the government took power four years ago, inflation has soared. He
feels bitter towards people because he thinks they are stupid and cynical. He criticizes their opinion
of Nanga : « Tell them that this man had used his position to enrich himself and they would ask you –
like my father – if you thought any sane man would spit out the juicy morsel of good fortune placed in
his mouth” (2). The narrator thinks that Nanga should spit out this juicy morsel because it was not
obtained by honest means.

The narrator reflects on how he was once Minister Nanga’s student, when he was in grammar school,
and that he was once fond of politics, but became disillusioned after the Prime Minister’s attempt to
clear his cabinet of anyone he viewed as highly educated.

, by Chinua Achebe, is a novel that chronicles political unrest in an

African nation that only recently gained its independence from Britain.
The novel opens with the narrator, Odili Samalu, awaiting the arrival of
Minister Nanga, also known as Chief Nanga, at Anata Grammar School,
where Odili teaches. The villagers are excited to see Nanga, but Odili is
not, for he thinks little of Nanga and his political methods, which Odili
considers unethical. However, Odili’s cynicism surrounding Nanga
begins to fade after Nanga gives a speech.
In Chapter Two, Odili explains why he chose to become a teacher,
believing the post offers him more autonomy than working as a civil
servant. He mentions to Nanga wanting to return to school, and Nanga
invites Odili to stay with him in the capital, Bori, so that he might talk
with the Minister of Overseas Training about his scholarship. Later,
Odili’s friend, Andrew, visits him, and they talk about girls, particularly
Edna, a young girl who was with Nanga, whom he intends to make his
second wife.
Odili travels to Bori in Chapter Three to stay with Nanga, who offers
Odili a warm welcome and his own room in his house. They go to visit
Chief Koko, the Minister of Overseas Training. However, before they can
begin to discuss Odili’s scholarship, Koko drinks some coffee and
becomes convinced that he has been poisoned. As it turns out, the coffee
isn’t poisoned—it’s just a different type of coffee, because his cook ran
out of his favorite brand. Odili and Nanga return to Nanga’s home, where
Odili speaks with Nanga’s wife, who is referred to as Mrs. Nanga. He
talks with her about Edna and admires Nanga’s home, deciding that if he
should ever become minister, he would like to stay in the role
indefinitely.
In Chapter Four, Odili learns that Mrs. Nanga and the children will leave
Bori and return to Anata, Nanga’s home village. He’s glad for this, as he
thinks it would be indecorous to entertain women—particularly a friend
named Elsie with whom he hopes to be intimate—while Mrs. Nanga is in
the house. Nanga returns for lunch and has a phone meeting with the
Minister of Public Construction, T.C. Kobino. Odili overhears part of the
conversation and learns that Nanga prefers to work with Europeans
instead of local experts, and that there’s something he’s keeping out of the
press. The chapter ends with a visit from a pair of Americans named John
and Jean. Jean flirts with Nanga, and John speaks with Odili about
America and colonization.

Character
Odili is both the protagonist and narrator of A Man of the People.
Initially, his goals are to pursue higher education to become a better and
more successful teacher. However, he is drawn in by Chief Nanga’s
charm, and his view of the world is toppled when he witnesses the
corruption in national politics and government. For Nanga’s perceived
wrongs against him, Odili decides to embark on a path of political and
personal revenge.
Odili, like all people, is flawed. Throughout most of the story he is naïve,
and it leads to problems for him, such as reconciling with Max’s
acceptance of dirty money during their political campaign. His view of
women and his assumptions about his father also cause problems in his
personal relationships. His strengths include his intelligence, although
that becomes a barrier when he wants to connect with the public to gain
their favor, and his ethical compass. Despite the fact that he strays from
what he knows is right, Odili is able to realign himself at the end of the
book.