IDEOLOGY AND ART IN CHINUA ACHEBE’S A MAN OF THE PEOPLE AND ANTHILLS OF THE SAVANNAH

IDEOLOGY AND ART IN CHINUA ACHEBE’S A MAN OF THE PEOPLE AND ANTHILLS OF THE SAVANNAH

Chapter one

INTRODUCTION

      1.1  Background to the study

Literature is said to be an imaginative piece of work. Thus, unlike historical records, parliamentary documents and other forms of ordinary language use, literature is a fictional representation of the world of consciousness. Yet literary texts are produced under certain historical, social, cultural and political circumstances and they tend to reflect these circumstances. The source of themes, characters, and even the events we find in literary works is society. Creative writers often represent both their individual experiences and the collective experiences of their societies in their writings. A literary work can thus provide an in-depth depiction of the cultural, social, religious, the economic and political outlook of a people more than history textbooks and anthropological records always do (Diamond, 1989).

 Although the extent to which literary works approximate social and cultural reality may vary across historical epochs and literary genres, African literature in essence and origin is tied with historical, cultural and societal issues. The African novel, for instance, emerged as a kind of reaction to the negative views about the history of Africa and Africans, which were developed in Europe in order to justify the Transatlantic Slave Trade and colonialism (Reddy, 1994). In the years immediately before and a few years after the independence of many African states, the novel was meant to reconstruct and assert the true cultural identity of the African people and assure them “that their past—with all its imperfections—was not one long night of savagery from which the Europeans acting on God’s behalf delivered them” (Achebe, 1965, p.30). This is exemplified in the works of writers such as Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Elechi Amadi, and Camara Laye.

The post-colonial African novel has been critical of the continually degenerating African society, occasioned by poor governance and the reckless lifestyle that has become so prevalent in modern urban centres. Ayi Kwei Armah and Amu Djoleto, for instance, have criticised the political and social corruption of the Ghanaian society in several novels. In the post-colonial period, women writers such as Flora Nwapa, Ama Ata Aidoo, Buchi Emecheta and Mariama Bâ have also become critical of the patriarchal structures in African societies and thus question the source of the traditional privileges men enjoy over women. It is this essential connection of African fiction with a society that has motivated scholars (e.g. Okpewho, 1992; Reddy, 1994) to assert that it has a functional value.

But the functional value of African fiction goes beyond a passive reflection of society. The works of African writers, like those of other cultures, are ideological responses to the dominant political, social, historical and cultural world-views of the society in which they are produced. Writers may want to criticise or affirm these dominant ideologies. They may also want to effect a social or political action among members of the society for which they write (Syal, 1994). What we come to encounter in the literary text is thus a product of the mediation of social phenomena, a reorganization of society by the writer in his/her own consciousness to achieve the desired effect (ibid). Literature, in other words, is a discourse which does not reflect reality in a neutral manner but helps to interpret, organize and classify this reality (Fowler, 1986).

African fiction has increasingly garnered much interest in literary research within the last three decades, among both African and non-African scholars alike. Many studies have explored the themes and critical issues in the African novel from, inter alia, sociological (e.g. Yankson, 2000; Ennin, 2005; Adjei, 2010), psychological (Cook & Okenimpke, 1983), political (e.g. Udumukwu, 1996), and philosophical (e.g. Yankson, 1994; Okolo, 2007) perspectives. These studies have emphasised “the tremendous potentialities of the African experience” as it is actualised through literature (Reddy, 1994, p.7). Others have also examined the integration of oral literary forms into the African novel (e.g. Asempasah, 2006; Opoku-Agyemang & Asempasah, 2006) as well as the structure and form of this novel (e.g. Innes, 1990).

Banfial says that corruption is endemic in all government and that it is not peculiar to any continent, religion and ethnic group. It cuts across faiths, religious, denominations, bureaucracy, private organizations, and political systems and affects young and old, man and woman alike. corruption is found in democratic and dictatorial politics, feudal, capitalist and socialist economics Christians, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist cultures are equally bedeviled by corruption. Lipset Seymour and Lenz, Gabriel further say that the magnitude of corruption is not equal in every society, some countries are more corrupt than others!

                        As George or well notes in his widely read book, Animal Farm: “All animals are more equal than other” Dike Victor. Due to an incident of corruption, exploitation becomes the order of the day. The employers exploit their employees to get richer while their labourers remain poorer to serve them forever. Corruption makes leaders in a position of authority who are supposed to look after the wellbeing of the downtrodden to suppress, oppress affect and cheat the followers. It is indeed very difficult to determine the nature of the educational program being carried out all levels of education due to corruption and other social vices. More so, the court of law which serves as the last hope of the common man has been highly corrupt to pervert the course of justice against the poor. The leaders in a position of authority who pretend to bear

         the burdens of the masses or labourers only end up exposing them to their corrupt activities. They also abandon them in their abject poverty and penury. The use their corrupt money and power to frustrate and to oppress those who oppose them. The economic sector has virtually nothing to write home about as leaders with financial and political powers use their stolen public money to encourage prostitution. The frame false accusations, subdue the right of the less privileged and sponsor kidnapping of their opponents. Due to corruption in the economic sector, people die and suffer ill-health. These vices in the society motivate the literary writers to take it as a big challenge to expose all these happenings using the only peaceful and effective tool, called literature.

 Chinua Achebe who analyzed the political the situation of Nigeria in his Anthills of the Savannah. Here, his Excellency as people nicknamed him; Sam has taken the power following a military coup. And Achebe as a social transformer describes Nigeria’s political situation by giving at the same time its notion and ideology about politics through the experiences of three friends namely Chris Oriko the minister of information, Beatrice Okoh who works in the ministry of finances, and Ikem Osodi a poet, political thinker and editor of the national newspaper, all of them under the direction of Sam a no experimented leader and even in the manof the people. Both texts portray Achebe’s ideology and perception of African leadership pattern.

1.2  Statement Of The Problem

In every literary work, before the writer, be it a playwright or poet picks up his or her pen to write down a piece there must be something in the environment which gives the writer the motivation to write any work of art, it can be the physical environment, religion, tradition, governmental policies or education which form the base of his or her writing.

In African society, the coming of the white men to our society and their influence has created a very serious base which writers have portrayed in their various works of art .the two play  Achebe portrays the level of corruption of our leaders  which has become the national cry. Achebe as a social transformer describes Nigeria’s political situation by giving at the same time its notion and ideology about politics through the experiences of three friends namely Chris Oriko the minister of information, Beatrice Okoh who works in the ministry of finances, and Ikem Osodi a poet, political thinker and editor of the national newspaper, all of them under the direction of Sam a no experimented leader.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to examine the ideology and art in Chinua Achebe's a man of the people and anthills of the savannah and liberate the culture of the Africans so as to prevent the imposition of Western culture on the Africans. The study will therefore seek to;

1.      State clearly, the ideology behind Chinua Achebe’s two selected plays

2.      To also, examine the art in Achebe’s two selected play

3.       State clearly the effect of the imposition of the European culture on African

4.      Satirize the negative behavoiurs of our leaders in African society 

1.4   Significance of the study

The Significance of the study is to enable African and the entire world to comprehend why African Literature revolves around protest and conflict. It is to help keep future Africa writers to focus on the pursuit for total Liberty of the African society from colonialism to neo-colonialism which is portrayed by Achebe in the two selected play. The study also will be of immense benefit to educators, societies and other researchers in the following ways;

I.             Helps the reader to protest their culture and tradition not to condemn it in totality

II.           The study will also highlight the place of African culture in the society and its significance to its people.

III.         It will also help other researchers and Literature students to solve some of the problems which emanated after independence such as; political crises, Religious crises, cultural crises among others.

1.5   Research Methodology

The Study will be mainly library-based research. The two texts chosen as a case study will be used as a primary source while other information from the internet, published and unpublished articles, journals, copies of the earlier project from the library and other related resources will be used and examined as the secondary.

1.6 Scope and Limitation of the Study

This work is focused on the Ideology and art as prevalent in our socio-political and economic culture as expressed in the texts. a man of the people and anthills of the savannah