Introduction


Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe remains the most read African author in the world. His enormously successful first novel, Things Fall Apart, first published in 1958, has sold millions of copies and has been translated into numerous languages. Like many African writers, Achebe’s primary focus has been African identity. In particular, he has been highly critical of the way that Western literature has portrayed native Africans. His work also explores the many detrimental effects of centuries of colonialism on the African continent. In his fiction, essays, criticism, poetry, and even children’s literature, Achebe has questioned not only how the West views Africa but also how Africa views itself. Achebe’s potent social commentary has earned him worldwide acclaim.

Essential Facts

  1. Achebe’s parents converted to Christianity, and all of their children’s names have spiritual connotations. Chinualumogu (Chinua’s full first name) means “May God fight on my behalf.”
  2. In his essay “An Image of Africa,” Achebe heavily criticized Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness as one of many novels that depicts Africa as a place of ignorant savagery.
  3. Oral traditions and storytelling are important influences on Achebe’s work. He loved to hear the Igbo stories that his mother and sister told when he was a small boy.
  4. As a youth, Achebe read many Western novels but was often disdainful of the African characters...until, that is, he realized the racist biases of the authors.
  5. In 1990, Achebe was in a serious car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down.
 

Recommended Resources

  1. Chinua Achebe - Critical Survey of Short Fiction
  2. Chinua Achebe - Dictionary of World Biography: The 20th Century
  3. Things Fall Apart - Masterplots II: British and Commonwealth Fiction Series
  4. Things Fall Apart Lesson Plans
  5. Things Fall Apart Study Guide (eNotes)

All Resources

Display as: Categories, List
  1. A Man of the People Study Guide (quickNotes)
  2. Anthills of the Savannah
  3. Anthills of the Savannah Study Guide (eNotes)
  4. Arrow of God - Literary Characters
  5. Arrow of God - Masterplots II: British and Commonwealth Fiction Series
  6. Arrow of God Study Guide (quickNotes)
  7. Chinua Achebe - Contemporary Literary Criticism (Vol. 1)
  8. Chinua Achebe - Contemporary Literary Criticism (Vol. 11)
  9. Chinua Achebe - Contemporary Literary Criticism (Vol. 127)
  10. Chinua Achebe - Contemporary Literary Criticism (Vol. 26)
  11. Chinua Achebe - Contemporary Literary Criticism (Vol. 3)
  12. Chinua Achebe - Contemporary Literary Criticism (Vol. 5)
  13. Chinua Achebe - Contemporary Literary Criticism (Vol. 7)
  14. Chinua Achebe - Critical Survey of Short Fiction
  15. Chinua Achebe - Dictionary of World Biography: The 20th Century
  16. Civil Peace Study Guide (eNotes)
  17. Cyclopedia of World Authors
  18. Home and Exile
  19. No Longer at Ease - Literary Characters
  20. The Oxford Companion to English Literature Article on Chinua Achebe
  21. Things Fall Apart - Literary Characters
  22. Things Fall Apart - Literary Places
  23. Things Fall Apart - Masterplots
  24. Things Fall Apart - Masterplots II: British and Commonwealth Fiction Series
  25. Things Fall Apart Criticism
  26. Things Fall Apart Lesson Plans
  27. Things Fall Apart Study Guide (eNotes)
  28. Vengeful Creditor Study Guide (eNotes)