Achebe, Adichie, and themes of colonialism and independence.
African Literature in English
Africa is a continent of 54 nations, hundreds of languages, and extraordinarily diverse cultures. Yet for much of the twentieth century, African stories were told primarily by outsiders -- European missionaries, colonial administrators, and Western journalists. When Africans began writing their own stories in English, they did not merely add new titles to the global bookshelf. They fundamentally challenged the way the world understood an entire continent.
African literature in English spans generations and encompasses an enormous range of styles, themes, and perspectives. From the pioneering works of Chinua Achebe in the 1950s to the contemporary global success of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, African writers in English have consistently produced some of the most important and innovative literature in the world.
This chapter traces the development of African literature in English, introduces its most influential authors, and examines the themes that connect this diverse body of work.
Historical context:
- English became a literary language in Africa as a direct result of British colonialism
- The first major works of African literature in English appeared in the 1950s
- Early writers faced the challenge of representing African cultures and experiences through a language imposed by the colonizer
- The tradition now spans multiple generations and has produced several Nobel Prize and Booker Prize winners
Major literary centers: Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone
Chinua Achebe and the Birth of Modern African Literature
Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart (1958) is widely regarded as the founding text of modern African literature in English. Set in a fictional Igbo village at the end of the nineteenth century, the novel tells the story of Okonkwo, a proud warrior whose world is shattered by the arrival of British missionaries and colonial administrators.
Why Things Fall Apart Matters
Before Achebe, the dominant Western literary representation of Africa was Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (1899), which depicted Africa as a place of savagery and darkness, a backdrop for European moral crises rather than a land of real people with real cultures. Achebe responded directly to this image. His novel presents pre-colonial Igbo society as complex, sophisticated, and governed by elaborate systems of law, religion, and social organization.
Key features of the novel:
- Proverbs: Achebe weaves Igbo proverbs throughout the English text, demonstrating the richness of oral tradition. As the narrator says, "Among the Igbo, the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten."
- Tragic structure: The novel follows a classical tragic arc, with Okonkwo as a flawed hero whose rigidity leads to his downfall
- Cultural detail: Detailed descriptions of ceremonies, farming practices, justice systems, and family life present Igbo culture as fully realized
- Colonial encounter: The arrival of the missionaries is shown from the African perspective, revealing the devastation that colonialism brought to established societies
Achebe's Legacy
Achebe went on to write four more novels, including No Longer at Ease (1960) and Arrow of God (1964). He also wrote influential literary criticism, most notably his essay "An Image of Africa" (1977), in which he argued that Conrad's Heart of Darkness is fundamentally racist and should not be celebrated as a great work of literature.
How does Achebe use Igbo proverbs in his English-language novel to create a distinctly African literary voice?
Achebe embeds Igbo proverbs throughout Things Fall Apart to demonstrate the sophistication of Igbo oral culture. Examples include:
- "When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for a walk." -- This expresses the idea that beauty and favorable conditions inspire even the most reluctant to act.
- "A toad does not run in the daytime for nothing." -- Something unusual must have happened; things do not happen without cause.
- "The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did." -- One must recognize one's own achievements.
Literary effect:
These proverbs serve multiple purposes:
1. They establish the cultural richness of Igbo society within the English text
2. They create a distinctive narrative voice that sounds African rather than British
3. They demonstrate that complex philosophical ideas exist within oral traditions
4. They challenge the colonial assumption that cultures without written literature are "primitive"
By making English carry these Igbo rhetorical patterns, Achebe transforms the colonizer's language into a vehicle for African self-expression.
Why is Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart considered a landmark in African literature?
Ngugi wa Thiong'o: Decolonizing the Mind
The Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong'o (born 1938) is one of the most influential African intellectuals of the twentieth century. His early novels, including Weep Not, Child (1964) and A Grain of Wheat (1967), were written in English and dealt with Kenya's struggle for independence from British colonial rule (the Mau Mau uprising).
The Turn to Gikuyu
In 1986, Ngugi published Decolonising the Mind, a collection of essays in which he argued that language is the most powerful instrument of cultural imperialism. He announced that he would no longer write fiction in English, choosing instead to write in Gikuyu, his mother tongue.
Ngugi's argument:
- Language carries culture; to adopt the colonizer's language is to adopt the colonizer's worldview
- Colonial education systems deliberately destroyed African children's connection to their own languages and stories
- Writing in African languages is an act of cultural resistance and decolonization
- As long as African literature is written in European languages, it primarily serves European and American readers rather than African communities
Impact and Controversy
Ngugi's position sparked intense debate. Critics argued that writing in African languages limited an author's readership and that English could be reshaped to serve African purposes (Achebe's position). Supporters argued that Ngugi was right to prioritize African audiences and that translation could make works accessible internationally without requiring the original to be in a European language.
Ngugi himself was imprisoned by the Kenyan government in 1977 for his politically engaged work. His prison memoir Detained: A Writer's Prison Diary (1981) documents this experience.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: A New Generation
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (born 1977) represents the contemporary generation of African writers who have achieved global literary stardom. Born in Enugu, Nigeria, and educated in both Nigeria and the United States, Adichie writes with equal authority about both African and American settings.
Major Works
Half of a Yellow Sun (2006)
Set during the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970), also known as the Biafran War, this novel tells the story of the conflict through the eyes of five characters whose lives intersect during one of Africa's most devastating conflicts. The novel brings attention to a historical event that many Western readers knew nothing about, demonstrating literature's power to recover suppressed histories.
Americanah (2013)
This novel follows Ifemelu, a young Nigerian woman who moves to the United States for university and discovers that she is "Black" for the first time -- in Nigeria, she was Igbo, she was middle-class, but race as Americans understand it was not a defining category. The novel brilliantly explores how race and identity shift depending on geography and cultural context.
"The Danger of a Single Story"
Adichie's 2009 TED Talk has become one of the most-watched in the platform's history. In it, she argues that when we hear only one story about a person or a country, we risk critical misunderstanding. She describes how, growing up reading British and American children's books, she initially wrote stories featuring white characters eating apples and playing in snow -- things entirely foreign to her Nigerian childhood. Only when she discovered African writers like Achebe did she realize that people like her could exist in literature.
The concept of the "single story" has become a widely used framework for discussing representation, stereotyping, and the politics of storytelling.
Key points:
- A single story is not necessarily untrue, but it is incomplete
- When we hear only one story about a people, we reduce them to that story
- Power determines which stories are told and which are suppressed: "How they are told, who tells them, when they are told, how many stories are told, are really dependent on power"
- The single story creates stereotypes, and "the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete"
- Literature that offers multiple perspectives is an antidote to the single story
Example: The single story of Africa as a place of poverty, war, and disease ignores the continent's vibrant cities, technological innovation, rich cultural traditions, and diverse experiences.
Compare Achebe's and Ngugi wa Thiong'o's positions on the use of English by African writers. Which position do you find more convincing, and why? Write 150-200 words.
What does Adichie mean by "the danger of a single story"?
Summary
African literature in English has developed from Achebe's pioneering work in the 1950s into one of the most vibrant and influential literary traditions in the world. Three key figures illustrate this development:
- Chinua Achebe established the tradition by proving that African stories could be told powerfully in English, using the language to carry African proverbs, values, and perspectives.
- Ngugi wa Thiong'o challenged the tradition by arguing that true decolonization requires African writers to write in African languages, sparking a debate that continues today.
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie represents the new generation, writing confidently about both African and Western settings and demonstrating that African literature speaks to universal human concerns.
Central themes include: the impact of colonialism on African societies, the struggle for independence and its aftermath, the politics of language, the immigrant experience, and the need for diverse representation in global storytelling.
Think of a "single story" that exists about Norway or Scandinavia in international media. What important aspects of Norwegian society does this single story leave out? Write 100-150 words connecting Adichie's concept to your own experience.
In Achebe's essay "An Image of Africa," what does he argue about Conrad's Heart of Darkness?
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