Chinua Achebe
One of the most highly known African authors today is the Nigerian born Chinua Achebe. Chinua Achebe's main focus in his writings was to tell about the African experience, but in a completely different way previous authors wrote. The works of Achebe painted a picture of how life changed for Africans due to the impact of European culture on African society, and described the struggles of his people to free themselves from European influences. Many critics saw Chinua Achebe as a visionary, while others saw him as a voice for the Nigerian culture, giving him the reputation as the "father of the African novel in English." When England sent colonizers and missionaries to Africa, it had great affect on African tribal life, and on Chinua Achebe. Achebe became slightly interested in British culture, and began reading English writings; only to be disgusted with the message British authors were trying to get across. Achebe learned that English authors saw Africans as "inhumane savages" that needed to be saved (Carroll 68.) Angry with the English writings, Achebe decided to answer back by writing his first novel, Things Fall Apart, in 1958, to counteract the distortions of English literature about Africa. In Things Fall Apart, Ache
Odili is beaten, both physically and politically, his appeal to the people heard but ignored (Abraham 48. Achebe felt strong about the corruption going on his country and used No Longer at Ease to get his message across. He also dictates the point that bad politics and abuse of political power leads to a troubled society which takes place in Anthills of the Savannah, and took place in Nigeria. By using a character such as Okonkwo, he showed how even the strong willed people of the Ibo society, were unable to overcome the British influences. ) Despite his victory, Nanga, along with the rest of the government, is ousted by a military coup. Overall the works of Chinua Achebe played an enormous role not only in the lives of Africans, but the lives of human beings worldwide. In the novel, A Man of the People, Achebe casts a critical eye on African politics. Songs such as "Get up, Stand up," and "Redemption Song" were a few of his songs that portrayed the changing Jamaican society due to outside British influences. At first, Odili is charmed by Nanga, but he eventually recognizes the extent of Nanga's abuses and decides to oppose the minister in an election when Nanga seduces Odili's girlfriend. ) In Things Fall Apart, Achebe recreated the tragic consequences that took place due to the clash between the Ibo society and the "white" man. Lured by western education and well paying jobs, the youth of the country did not hesitate to stoop to the levels of immortality and dangerous permissiveness (Amuta19. One person who benefited greatly from Chinua Achebe's messages was reggae musician Bob Marley. From then on, until the defeat of Biafra in January 1970, a bloody civil war was waged with high civilian casualties and widespread starvation. As British influence on Nigeria grew, Achebe noticed the persistence of political corruption.
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