The Novelist as Teacher (Chinua Achebe)

 

The Novelist as Teacher

-        Chinua Achebe

About the Author:

Chinua Achebe  (16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as a central figure of modern African literature. His first novel and magnum opus, Things Fall Apart, (1958), occupies a pivotal place in African literature and remains the most widely studied, translated, and read African novel. Along with Things Fall Apart, his No Longer at Ease (1960) and Arrow of God (1964) complete the "African Trilogy". Later novels include A Man of the People (1966) and Anthills of the Savanah (1987). In the West, Achebe is often referred as the "father of African literature".

Introduction:

"The Novelist as Teacher" is an essay by Chinua Achebe that explores the role of a writer and the responsibility of a novelist to his society. According to Achebe every novelist should help his society regain its self-respect. “The Novelist as Teacher” reveals that the artists must have been given full freedom in writing through their conscience. Achebe's writings influence the readers. He wants the readers, especially in a country like Nigeria to understand how the British and the European people are considered superior to them.

Discussion:

Chinua Achebe argues that writers, just as historians explore history or politicians deal with politics, have to fulfill their assigned duty: To educate and regenerate their people about their country’s view of themselves, their history, and the world. He openly and impregnably expresses his firm conviction about how Europe influenced Africa’s self-image, Assertively, he makes it clear that Africans would suffer from the belief that racial inferiority is acceptable. He wants to change this view and calls African writers to be responsible for - and dedicate themselves to - their society. Throughout the essay, he uses several tangible occasions as supportive examples for his claim.
By explaining that the Africans have been educated by the Europeans in terms of the common relationship between writer and society, he shows that the European’s view has been injected into the African mind: According to the Europeans, an artist - in particular a writer - would be in “revolt against society.” Achebe, however, hints that his people should not “reproduce” the Europeans . He is eager to explore what society expects of his writers instead of what writers expect of society.

 In the next segment, Achebe indicates that most of his readers are young, which implies that they still have a lot of capacity to get educated. Thus, hope on a better self-image of Africa arises. Achebe claims that many of his readers regard him as a teacher, a statement which is almost pretentious. In this part, he also includes a letter from a Northern Nigerian fan in order to show what a reader like him expects from the author,

Through an encounter with a young woman teacher who complained about the progress of the course of events in Achebe’s No Longer at Ease, the author realized that he needs to make his novels afford an “opportunity for education.” He  does not think the woman’s opinion is right. In this part it becomes clear again that Achebe is very self-assured. However, he cleverly depicts himself as merciful because he comprehends that his European-influenced society needs to be efficiently educated.

Achebe sardonically illustrates one of the differences between Europeans and Africans by the example of “turning hygiene into a god, ” a peculiar blasphemy in Achebe’s eyes.
He further describes the “traumatic effects of [Africa’s] first confrontation with Europe.  Achebe tells about a student who wrote ‘winter’ instead of the African trade wind ‘harmattan’ which occurs during wintertime or the students performing the dance programme during Christmas celebration instead of any such festival of Africa.  It seems like Achebe tries to rectify the sentiment that has been inflicted to his African people through post-colonialism.

Achebe’s theme becomes most clear when he requests his society to confront racism and rediscover themselves as people. In order to achieve these goals, he obliges writers to educate society with their works.   The essay concludes with Achebe quoting a Hausa folk tale in order to show that art and education do not need to be mutually exclusive. This expressive conclusion can make the reader feel like he would be uneducated and prejudiced.
Conclusion:

Achebe’s urge to make African society stand up for autonomy and to make them find self-confidence.  He wants the writers of his nation to take up the role of teachers, educating the people for their self-confidence. Achebe announce that he proudly embraces the task that he himself has given to him.  If one reads the essay today, he can understand that the author desperately tries to force the righteous image of Africa onto the public.