CULTURAL HEGEMONY IN CHINUA ACHEBE'S THINGS FALL APART: A POSTCOLONIAL ANALYSIS

The current research paper considers theory of cultural hegemony as reflected in the Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe's 1958 novel Things Fall Apart. The study aims to examine Achebe's novel as a profound example of cultural hegemony during the colonial era. The novelist exhibits his mother land Nigeria as a culturally hegemonized territory by the English colonizer at that time. The study also presents Antonio Gramsci's theory of cultural hegemony as the main subject in the development of both fields Cultural Studies and Postcolonialism. The research paper is divided into three main sections and a conclusion. The first section shows the development of cultural hegemony as a new theory at the hand of the Italian theorist Antonio Gramsci, who is known for his own perspective of hegemony as a cultural component. Based on Gramsci's theory, the second section examines the significance of cultural hegemony in the fields of Cultural Studies and Postcolonialism. As for the third section, it tackles the theory of cultural hegemony through a selective analysis of Achebe's novel. As far as Things Fall Apart is concerned, the analysis traces the novelist's attempt to expose colonialism as a hegemonic power through an overt portrayal of the cultural struggle between the colonizer and the colonized in Nigeria. Finally, the study ends with a conclusion that sums up the ultimate findings of the research..

On Wale Ogunyemi’s Translation of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart into Yoruba, Ìgbésí Ayé Okonkwo: A ‘within-to-within’ Approach of its Challenges

This essay examines the proverbs, and other wise-sayings as used in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart vis-à-vis the Ogunyemi’s Yoruba translations of the novel, Ìgbésí Ayé Okonkwo. The within-to-within approach is the lens through which the text and its Yoruba translation are explored. The approach establishes some level of similarities in the cultures and nuances of both languages (Igbo and Yoruba) due to their mutual intelligibility. The work encourages more translation of African novels written originally in English, French, or Portuguese into African languages. Doing so preserves the languages and cultures, the sustainability which Akinwumi Isola (2010) refers to as Literary Ecosystem. That is a way of giving back to the society from which the author got inspired. Further, there exists the idea of language retrieval, a process of translation which Isola viewed goes into translation when the novels involved are lexico-semantical and culturally close to each other.

Le problème de l’identité culturelle dans les romans Tout s’effondre de Chinua Achebe et Un nom pour un autre de Jhumpa Lahiri

The novels Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri approach an acute and sensitive problem of the effects of colonization and of the self-exiled emigrant man. Each of the protagonists of these two novels expresses an upheaval, an inner cultural conflict. It turns out that their destiny is in a close connection with their images and emotional valences, strongly fed by a collective imaginary, by the deep reality of collective life. Thus, adherence and communication with the archetypal resources of the native community, with the essential that precedes the human condition, proves to be a vital necessity, of overwhelming importance for our protagonists.

Things Fall Apart: The Disintegration of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood

The Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood has been accepted by the Hashemite monarchy throughout most of its seventy-five-year history. Today, however, it is illegal and a new, more pro-regime version exists, as well as several other groups that have their roots in the organization. Based on a close reading of the Arabic writings by Salim al-Falahat, a former leader and current critic of the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as Jordanian media reports, this article seeks to explain how this falling apart of the organization happened. Many studies focus on fissures within the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood. I argue that while these are important to explain the underlying divisions underpinning this breakdown, it was actually the reformist ZamZam initiative launched in 2012 and the organization’s handling of its aftermath that caused the Muslim Brotherhood to fall apart in the ensuing years.

OKONKWO TO ODILI: READING CHINUA ACHEBE’S HEROES POSTCOLONIALLY

The paper examines the situations and actions of Chinua Achebe’s four heroes, who stand as the epitomes of struggle in their society: Okonkwo, Ezeulu, Obi, and Odili from the first four novels of the author— Things Fall Apart (1958), Arrow of God (1964), No Longer at Ease (1960), and A Man of the People (1966). These heroes foreground the struggles of their clan people that are brought by the colonizer and the Nigerian ‘corrupt’ rulers in postcolonial time. This paper aims at applying six postcolonial theoretical approaches: Otherness, Ambivalence, Mimicry, Hybridity, Decolonization and Neocolonialism to analyse the time and tasks of the four heroes comparatively. Through the lens of ‘Otherness’, this study throws light on Okonkwo, who becomes an ‘Other’ in his clan because of colonial interventions. The paper examines Ezeulu’s role as an ambivalent protagonist along with his tragic ending. This study analyses critically the Mimicry and Hybridity exhibited by the third hero, Obi. Moreover, this paper shows the action of Odili as a decolonized intellectual who struggles against corruption in postcolonial African society. This study endeavours to explore how Achebe represents the perspectives of colonized people as well as the people of the neocolonial age by portraying the story of the four heroes.

UNEARTHING PARENTHOOD IN THE NIGERIAN CULTURE THROUGH THE EXAMPLES OF THE PARENTAL FIGURES IN THE NOVEL THINGS FALL APART BY CHINUA ACHEBE

This essay aims to unearth parenthood in the Nigerian culture through the examples of parental figures in the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. This paper will be citing various studies about Nigerian family structure, bonds and relationship it will also be analysing various incidents throughout the course of the novel. The paper will also be discussing the short term and long term effects of parenting on a child. The paper will take a deeper look into the familial relationships in the Igbo society and the parenting style that they usually followed. It will outline the failure of parental figures in certain incidents with reference to the attachment theory. The paper will be analysing the relationship between Unoka and Okonkwo and its long term effect on Okonkwo, the relationship between Ikemefuna and Okonkwo and the relationship between Nwoye and Okonkwo. The paper will be discussing major events in these relationships and will compare it with the ideal style of parenting. To conclude, the paper would finally unearth parenthood in the Nigerian culture through the examples of parental figures.

A Pragma-Stylistic Approach to Analysing Proverbs: A Review of Some Selected Proverbs in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God

African artworks, to be specific, literature has for quite a long time now demonstrated African tradition and culture. One major African literary tool that has maintained its efficacy in the African cultural heritage is the use of proverbs. Proverbs have been diversely used to perform several functions in the African traditional setting. Among such functions are: confirming opinions, warning, showing regrets, doubts, justifications and many more. This paper seeks to examine some selected proverbs from Chinua Achebe’s novels – Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God. Significantly, one can conclude that the style of a writer can go a long way in determining the reception and authenticity of his works. Chinua Achebe has extensively employed proverbs in his works as a tool for setting out or revealing his characters, themes and many others. This study is a pragma-stylistic approach to the analysis of proverbs used by Achebe in the selected novels. The researchers focus primarily on the style, meaning and function of the proverbs used in the selected texts. A critical content analysis method is employed for this study to determine the functions of the proverbs within the context of the novel. This study brings to the fore the very nature of African proverbs, specifically the Igbo of Nigeria and reveals the various functions ascribed to these proverbs. This will provide readers with the necessary knowledge on the very reasons why some proverbs are used and will ignite the research impetus of some researchers to further investigate other approaches to proverbs. This study has contributed immensely to the existing literature on pragma-stylistic studies and the understanding of a pragma-stylistic approach as a theoretical concept with a unique focus on analysing African proverbs. Keywords: Achebe, Proverbs, Pragmatics, Pragma-stylistics, Stylistics