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historical for intro
TFA is written on the cusp of nigerian independence and it is a historical novel
Achebe uses it to explore the process and effects of colonisation on cultures
Educates the african reader on customs and european reader on impacts
Achebe grew up between the two cultures (Christian parents, igbo priest grandfather)
Okonkwo as the tragic hero
European archetype
Tension between African culture and European imposition
Shows the African character is nuanced (unlike portrayals in Western media like Heart of Darkness)
“Nwoye who was now called Isaac”
Achebe had a name change - Albert to Chinua - showing his reconciliation with his heritage
Nwoye does the opposite of this - he is the inverse of the prodigal son
Novel written in three parts
imitates gradual and insidious nature of colonisation and its impact
also a shift from digressing which is common in the Igbo oral culture to narrating things chronologically which shows the European influence
Nature of the colonisers
tension between percieved benevolence of colonialism (bringing medicine and education) and its destructive consequences
present themselves as benign but their arrival leads to the downfall of Igbo traditional society
context for conc
post colonial novel, asks the question of what to do with what has been left behind.
catharsis
‘purging of emotions’
the ending evokes fear as Okonkwo will be forgotten and the reader realises this could happen to anybody - all things we do in life are erased
it also evokes the sense of duty - okonkwo is helpless and there is nothing he can do to avoid this ending
anagorisis
when okonkwo realises the clan has become too womanly and they fail to act. he gives up leading him to kill himself
dramatic irony
the reader of the novel already knows what will happen to the culture and can recognise it before the characters in the novel can - highlights insidious nature of colonisation
Yeats’ poem
theme of chaos in the poem aligns with portrayals of colonialism in Africa
written in the aftermath of WWI which shows parallels between post war Europe and colonial conquest.