Half a Century of Reading Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8865086 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Oyeniyi Okunoye (0000-0002-2542-0664, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2010 |
| Volume | 91 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 42-57 |
| Publication date | 2010-01-14 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | English Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0013-838X • E-ISSN: 1744-4217 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00138380903355189 |
| OpenAlex | W2031152387 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 11 |
This essay appraises the reception of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, the novel reputed to have inaugurated the modern African novelistic tradition, in the first fifty years of its publication. In surveying the major critical attitudes that the novel has attracted, it underscores the fact that the factors that sustain its reputation include the discourses in which it is implicated, the author's fictional agenda and the ascendancy of post-colonial criticism. It finds, however, the mapping of the geography of its reception problematic due to the complications that the global flow of knowledge creates for locating distinct reading communities. The paper concludes on the note that the influential location of the Western academy in generating dominant readings of the novel reflects its dominance in the production of critical knowledge about African writing. The author gratefully acknowledges the support of the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung for the award, and appreciates the assistance of Anna Linesky in sourcing relevant literature for the study. Notes 1Perhaps no other literary event in 2008 matched the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Things Fall Apart in scale, as events were organized in different parts of the world to commemorate it. Most of these were held in various parts of Nigeria, Europe and the US. Special issues of some literary journals were also devoted to reflecting on the work. 2This is his argument in "Literature as Restoration as Celebration" which negates the position that Simon Gikandi has consistently stated. See, for instance, Gikandi, "Chinua Achebe and the Invention of African Culture." 3The theme of the symposium organized by the Association of Nigerian Authors to commemorate the anniversary in May 2008 was Telling the African Story. 4Irele, African Imagination, 115. 5Winters, 159. 6Ogede. 8Peterson, 150. 7Chinua Achebe was just twenty-eight when he wrote the novel. 9Larson, 27–8. 10Emenyonu, "Introduction," xvii. 11Dan Izevbaye's argument is unique in the sense that it suggests that Achebe's effort is not just to expound the values of the Igbo, as most critics frequently imply, but that the Igbo emerge as exceptional colonial subjects in the novel. 12The two journals created a platform for debates on modern African writing as an emergent tradition. 13Obiechina; Awoonor; Irele, "Tragic Conflict." 14Irele, "Tragic Conflict," 10. 15Izevbaye, 145. 18Stock, 106. 16Killam, 15. 17Achebe, Okondwo oder das Alte stürzt. The novel in the conventional Euro-American understanding is primarily concerned with the individual. It should not be surprising, therefore, that Okonkwo is given prominence in this translation. This also reflects in many readings of the novel in the West as Okonkwo's actions rather than the predicament of his society are privileged. 20Larson, 165. 19Chinweizu and Madubuike. 21Ker, 125. 22Emenyonu, The Rise, 155. 23Caroll, 191. 24Wren. 25Ogbaa. 26Azodo; Amuta. 27See, for instance, Igboanusi; and Bamiro. 28Stratton, 25. 29Jeyifo, 847. 30Conrad. 31It is remarkable that all Achebe's major theoretical essays were either originally presented as lectures in Europe and America or published in journals located in Europe and America. For instance, "The Novelist as Teacher" was originally presented at the University of Leeds in 1964. 32Hassan, 299. 33Ezenwa-Ohaeto. 34JanMohamed, 153. 35Chinweizu and Madubuike. 36This label, meaning "get-down-so-we-can-fight," has been used to identify the authors, Jemie Onwuechekwa Chinweizu and Ihechukwu Madubuike, of Toward the Decolonization of African Literature, probably because of their combative posture. 37Gikandi, Reading, 2. 38Innes, 2. 39See Lindfors and Kothandaraman, "Checklist." 40Lindfors and Kothandaraman, eds., South Asian Responses. It is interesting that not many of the essays collected in this book focus on Achebe's first novel. The fact that it has been accorded due recognition, however, emerges from the checklist of studies of Achebe by Indian critics. The fact that the works of H. H. Gowda, R. K. Srinivasa Iyengar, C. D. Narasimhaiah and Viney Kirpal maintain this orientation confirms the dominance of the comparative perspective in their reading of the novel. 41Kim; Gagiano; Gera. 42These scholars are editors of the major collections of essays on Achebe's fiction. It is also important that many other collections of essays grew out of presentations at conferences or symposia marking major milestones in the life of the writer. 43I am not in any way suggesting that there is a centre-periphery dichotomy that corresponds to the conventional division between the West and the rest of the world in this case. The differentiation is more about the power that the Western academy wields due to its capacity to pull and retain the most distinguished of scholars from every region of the world. Additional informationNotes on contributorsOyeniyi Okunoye Oyeniyi Okunoye, a member of the Department of English at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, is currently an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow at Universität Bayreuth, Germany
Argument (complex analysis · Art · Colonialism · Criticism · Dominance (genetics · Literary criticism · Literature · Media studies · Political science · Reading (process · Sociology · Postcolonial and Cultural Literary Studies · History · Law
| Citations per year | 0.07 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2012 - 2012 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |