African Literature

1. “The greatest threat to freedom is
the absence of criticism.”
-Wole Soyinka

2. Wole Soyinka
Activist, Playwright (1934–)
A Nigerian playwright, poet, author,
teacher and political activist who
received the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1986.

3. Wole Soyinka
Activist, Playwright (1934–)
Wole Soyinka was born on July 13, 1934, in Nigeria
and educated in England. In 1986, the playwright and
political activist became the first African to receive the Nobel
Prize for Literature. He dedicated his Nobel acceptance
speech to Nelson Mandela. Soyinka has published hundreds
of works, including drama, novels, essays and poetry, and
colleges all over the world seek him out as a visiting
professor.

4. Wole Soyinka
Activist, Playwright (1934–)
Early Life
Wole Soyinka was born Akinwande Oluwole
"Wole" Babatunde Soyinka on July 13, 1934, in Abeokuta,
near Ibadan in western Nigeria. His father, Samuel Ayodele
Soyinka, was a prominent Anglican minister and headmaster.
His mother, Grace Eniola Soyinka, who was called "Wild
Christian," was a shopkeeper and local activist. As a child, he
lived in an Anglican mission compound, learning the
Christian teachings of his parents, as well as the Yoruba
spiritualism and tribal customs of his grandfather. A
precocious and inquisitive child, Wole prompted the adults in
his life to warn one another: “He will kill you with his
questions.”

5. Wole Soyinka
Activist, Playwright (1934–)
After finishing preparatory university studies in 1954
at Government College in Ibadan, Soyinka moved to England
and continued his education at the University of Leeds,
where he served as the editor of the school's magazine, The
Eagle. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in English
literature in 1958. (In 1972 the university awarded him an
honorary doctorate).

6. Wole Soyinka
Activist, Playwright (1934–)
Plays & Political Activism
In the late 1950s Soyinka wrote his first important
play, A Dance of the Forests, which satirized the Nigerian
political elite. From 1958 to 1959, Soyinka was a
dramaturgist at the Royal Court Theatre in London. In 1960,
he was awarded a Rockefeller fellowship and returned to
Nigeria to study African drama.
In 1960, he founded the theater group, The 1960
Masks, and in 1964, the Orisun Theatre Company, in which
he produced his own plays and performed as an actor. He
has periodically been a visiting professor at the universities of
Cambridge, Sheffield, and Yale.

7. Wole Soyinka
Activist, Playwright (1934–)
Soyinka is also a political activist, and during the civil
war in Nigeria he appealed in an article for a cease-fire. He
was arrested for this in 1967, and held as a political prisoner
for 22 months until 1969.

8. Wole Soyinka
Activist, Playwright (1934–)
Nobel Prize and Later Career
In 1986, upon awarding Soyinka with the Nobel
Prize for Literature, the committee said the playwright "in a
wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions
the drama of existence." Soyinka sometimes writes of
modern West Africa in a satirical style, but his serious intent
and his belief in the evils inherent in the exercise of power
are usually present in his work. To date, Soyinka has
published hundreds of works.

9. Wole Soyinka
Activist, Playwright (1934–)
Nobel Prize and Later Career
In addition to drama and poetry, he has written two
novels, The Interpreters (1965) and Season of Anomy
(1973), as well as autobiographical works including The Man
Died: Prison Notes (1972), a gripping account of his prison
experience, and Aké ( 1981), a memoir about his childhood.
Myth, Literature and the African World (1975) is a
collection of Soyinka’s literary essays.

10. Wole Soyinka
Activist, Playwright (1934–)
Now considered Nigeria’s foremost man of letters,
Soyinka is still politically active and spent the 2015 election
day in Africa’s biggest democracy working the phones to
monitor reports of voting irregularities, technical issues and
violence, according to The Guardian. After the election on
March 28, 2015, he said that Nigerians must show a Nelson
Mandela–like ability to forgive president-elect Muhammadu
Buhari’s past as an iron-fisted military ruler, according to
Bloomberg.com.

11. Wole Soyinka
Activist, Playwright (1934–)
Soyinka has been married three times. He married
British writer Barbara Dixon in 1958; Olaide Idowu, a
Nigerian librarian, in 1963; and Folake Doherty, his current
wife, in 1989. In 2014, Soyinka revealed he was diagnosed
with prostate cancer and cured 10 months after treatment.

12. Wole Soyinka
Activist, Playwright (1934–)
Wole Soyinka's Works
•1958 The Swamp Dwellers, drama
•1959 The Lion and the Jewel, drama
•1960 The Trials of Brother Jero, drama
•1965 The Interpreters, fiction (discussion)
•1965 Before the Blackout, drama
•1965 Kongi's Harvest, drama
•1965 The Detainee, (BBC Radio Play)
•1967 The Writer in a Modern African State
•1967 Idanre and Other Poems
•1969 Poems from Prison
•1969 The Road, drama
•1970 Madmen and Specialists,
•1972 The Man Died, (notes from prison)

13. Wole Soyinka
Activist, Playwright (1934–)
•1972 A Shuttle in the Crypt Discussions of individual poems
•1972 Ogun Abibiman, poems
•1976 Death and the King's Horseman
•1979 Season of Anomy, fiction
•1981 Aké: The Years of Childhood, autobiography
•1981 The Critic and Society: Barthes, Leftocracy, and Other
Mythologies
•1981 Opera Wonyosi, an adaptation of Brecht's Three
Penny Opera
•1982 Cross Currents: The 'New African' after Cultural
Encounters
•1983 Shakespeare and the Living Dramatist
•1985 Climates of Art

14. Wole Soyinka
Activist, Playwright (1934–)
•1986 The External Encounter: Ambivalence in African Arts
and Literature
•1987 Six Plays
•1989 Isara: A Voyage around Essay, autobiography
•1989 Mandela's Earth and Other Poems
•1992 From Zia With Love
•1995 The Beatification of Area Boy
•1996 The Open Sore of a Continent: A Personal Narrative of
the Nigerian Crisis

15. Wole Soyinka
Activist, Playwright (1934–)
References
•Wole Soyinka. In Wikipedia. Retrieved from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka
•Wole Soyinka Biography. In Bio. Retrieved from:
http://www.biography.com/people/wole-soyinka-
9489566#synopsis
Photos:
•Wole Soyinka Photos. In Grimot Nane Zine. Retrieved from:
http://grimotnanezine.com/category/ecocide-2/

16. “People create stories create people; or rather stories create
people create stories.”
Chinua Achebe
1958-2013

17. Chinua Achebe1958-2013
• Chinua Achebe (Albert Chinualumogu Achebe) was born November
15, 1930 into an Ibo family in Eastern Nigeria in a town called Ogidi.
• His father, Isaiah Okafor Achebe was a teacher in a missionary
school.
• His mother, Janet Ileogbunam and his father raised him with values
from his traditional Ibo culture as well as being devout evangelical
Protestants.
• He graduated from the University College at Ibadan in 1954 and
also attended a government college in Umuahia.

18. Chinua Achebe1958-2013
• While in college, he studied English, History, and Theology.
• In 1954 he worked at a school as a teacher in Oba.
• He also worked for the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) in
which time he wrote his first book in 1959, Things Fall Apart.
• His first novel showed his readers a new way of looking at Nigerian
Literature with his new way of writing.
• He married Christie Chinwe Okoli in 1961and they had four children.

19. Chinua Achebe1958-2013
• After writing Things Fall Apart 1959, he wrote another novel titled, No
Longer At Ease in 1960. This novel was more about the colonial
regime.
• His literature Arrow of God, written in 1964 was also about the past in
Africa adding in tribal traditions.
• From 1967-1970, Achebe worked for the governor and also confounded
a publishing company.
• Achebe died after a short illness on 21 March 2013 in Boston, United
States. An unidentified source close to the family said that he was ill for
a while and had been hospitalized in the city.

20. Chinua Achebe’s Works1958-2013
• Things Fall Apart, 1958
• No Longer at Ease, 1960
• The Sacrificial Egg, and Other Stories, 1962
• Arrow of God, 1964
• A Man of the People, 1966
• Chike and the River, 1966 (with drawings by Prue Theobalds)
• Beware, Soul Brother, 1971 (US title: Christmas in Biafra and
Other Poems, 1973)
• The Insider: Stories Of War and Peace from Nigeria, 1971
(editor)

21. 1958-2013
• Girls at War, 1972
• How the Leopard Got His Claws, 1973 (with John Iroaganachi)
• Morning Yet on Creation Day, 1975
• The Drum: A Children's Story, 1977 (ill. by John Roper; also
illustrated by Anne Nwoloye)
• The Flute, 1977 (ill. by Tayo Adenaike)
• Don't Let Him Die, 1978 (ed. with Dubem Okafor)
• Literature and Society, 1980
Chinua Achebe’s Works

22. 1958-2013
• Aka Weta, 1982 (ed. with Obiora Udechukwu)
• The Trouble With Nigeria, 1983
• African Short Stories, 1985 (ed. with C.L. Innes)
• The World of Ogbanje, 1986
• Anthills of the Savannah, 1987 (short listed for the Booker Prize)
• The University and the Leadership Factor in Nigerian Politics,
1988
• Hopes and Impediments: Selected Essays, 1965-1987, 1989
• Nigerian Topics, 1989
Chinua Achebe’s Works

23. 1958-2013
• Beyond Hunger in Africa: Conventional Wisdom and an African
Vision, 1990 (editor)
• The Heinemann Book of Contemporary African Short Stories,
1992 (ed. with C.L. Innes)
• Another Africa, 1997 (with photographs by Robert Lyons)
• Home and Exile, 2000
• Collected Poems, 2004
• The Education of a British-Protected Child, 2009
Chinua Achebe’s Works

24. Reference
•Chinua Achebe. In Wikipedia. Retrieved from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinua_Achebe#Later_in_his_life_as_
a_publisher
•Chinua Achebe and Finding The Language For My Experience. In
JLV. Retrieved from: http://thejosevilson.com/chinua-achebe-and-
finding-the-language-for-my-experience/

25. No Longer at Ease
By: Chinua Achebe

26. In 1960, while they were still dating, Achebe dedicated to
Christie Okoli (wife) his second novel, No Longer at Ease, about a
civil servant who is embroiled in the corruption of Lagos. The
protagonist is Obi, grandson of Things Fall Apart's main character,
Okonkwo.
No Longer at Ease
By: Chinua Achebe

27. No Longer at Ease
Summary
The novel begins with Obi Okonkwo being tried for taking
bribe during a time when Obi Okonkwo worked for the Scholarship
Board which offered scholarships for deserving students to travel
overseas to study. Once Obi Okonkwo has taken over job at the
Scholarship board, there is an attempt by a man who tries to offer
bribe to Obi Okonkwo so as to obtain a scholarship for his little
sister. Obi Okonkwo survives this attempt but he is later visited with
a second. The second: Obi Okonkwo is visited by the girl herself
and the girl attempts to bribe Obi with sexual favors in return for the
scholarship. Again, Obi Okonkwo does not succumb to it.

28. No Longer at Ease
Summary
Before Obi Okonkwo could travel for his four year British
education, the members of the Umuofia Progressive Union (UPU)
gather money for Obi’s travel. Obi Okonkwo was to study law as it
was the hope of the UPU but we see Obi switch his major to
English and so he arrives back in his village with an English
certificate in his brief case.

29. No Longer at Ease
Summary
As the novel advances, Obi Okonkwo develop a romantic
relationship with Clara Okeke. Clara Okeke is an osu or an outcast
by her descendants. Obi Okonkwo wanted to marry Clara yet his
parents does not agree. Marrying an osu meant going contrary to
the traditional set up of the Igbo people. Whiles Obi’s Christian
father opposes Obi’s intent; his mother threatens to kill herself
should Obi marry an osu. Clara relays to Obi that she is pregnant
when Obi had told her of the disagreements by his parent for the
two to marry. Obi arranges for an abortion for Clara but Clara gets
complications and would not see Obi afterwards.

30. No Longer at Ease
Summary
By the end of the novel, Obi is taking a bribe and he
assures himself that that will be last one he would take. He is
arrested and then tried as was the case of the opening chapter.

31. No Longer at Ease
Conclusion
Bribery and corruption
Love
Family
Identity

32. No Longer at Ease
Bribery and corruption
According to the novel,
corruption is an integral part of the
Nigerian civil and business system. In
order to get a job or a scholarship,
bribery seems to be a necessary step.
Obi, a young man educated in Great
Britain, believes strongly that education
is the key to ending corruption.
Ultimately, though, he too succumbs to
temptation when he discovers that his
salary is insufficient to meet all his
financial obligations.
Although Obi falls victim to
corruption and bribery, it is not because
he is inherently corruptible; rather, he is
vulnerable because he spent so much
time lying to the people he loves.
Even though Obi is correct
that education may be a corrective force
for corruption, he fails to account for
how pride and self-righteousness can
lead to one's downfall.

33. No Longer at Ease
Identity
Obi's identity is shaped by
two dual forces: Western culture and
values and Igbo culture and values.
Though Obi embraces Western values
as evidenced through his education and
his nominal adherence to Christianity,
we can see how this decision alienates
him from his traditional Igbo culture.
For Obi to identify with Western culture
means that he rejects a number of
cultural traditions.
Obi sees himself as a pioneer.
He wants to change the corrupt system
of bribery and nepotism, and he wants
to marry a girl that traditionally is taboo.
Obi identifies himself as an
educated Igbo, believing that he is as
fully Igbo as he is educated; but in
reality, his education has isolated and
alienated him from his indigenous
culture.

34. No Longer at Ease
Family
In Igbo culture, family has a
broad definition. Not only are Obi's
parents and siblings his family, but all
the men and women who come from
his region are also considered his
kinsmen. While on the one hand this
means that Obi has a strong social
network and support system, it also
means that his web of obligations is
broad. Obi ultimately finds his duties as
a member of the Umuofia and as a
member of his own family to be
burdensome.
Although Obi is willing to flout
custom when it offends only his friends
in Lagos, he is unwilling to choose Clara
over his family, especially when he
realizes how isolated he will be if he
does so.

35. No Longer at Ease
Love
Although Obi does love Clara,
he has allowed his infatuation with her
to blind him to the reality of their
situation. Ultimately, No Longer At Ease
appears to suggest that love is not a
weapon that can defend two
individuals against disapproval, social
stigma, or cultural customs. Love fails
to be stronger than cultural and familial
expectations.
Although Obi loves Clara, his
love for her fails to be stronger than the
familial and cultural obstacles they
encounter.
Obi thinks he loves Clara, but
he just loves the idea of her; when faced
with the reality of what it would mean
to forsake his friends and family for her,
he is unable to remain committed. Clara,
alternatively, remains faithful even
when she sees Obi unraveling
financially.

36. No Longer at Ease
Reference
•Chinua Achebe. In Wikipedia. Retrieved from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinua_Achebe#Later_in_his_life_as_a_
publisher
•No Longer at Ease. In Wikipedia. Retrieved from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Longer_at_Ease

37. Arrow of God
By: Chinua Achebe

38. Arrow of God
Arrow of God is Achebe's third book. Published in 1964.
Like its predecessors, it explores the intersections of Igbo
tradition and European Christianity. Set in the village of Umuaro
at the start of the twentieth century, the novel tells the story of
Ezeulu, a Chief Priest of Ulu.
The phrase "Arrow of God" is drawn from an Igbo
proverb in which a person, or sometimes an event, is said to
represent the will of God. Arrow of God won the first ever Jock
Campbell/New Statesman Prize for African writing.
By: Chinua Achebe

39. Arrow of God
Summary
The novel is set amongst the villages of the Igbo people
in British Nigeria during the 1920s. Ezeulu is the chief priest of
the god Ulu, worshipped by the six villages of Umuaro. The book
begins with Ezeulu and Umuaro fighting against a nearby village,
Okperi. The conflict is abruptly resolved when T.K. Winterbottom,
the British colonial overseer, intervenes.
After the conflict, a Christian missionary, John
Goodcountry, arrives in Umuaro. Goodcountry begins to tell the
villages tales of Nigerians in the Niger Delta who abandoned
(and battled) their traditional "bad customs" in favor of
Christianity.

40. Arrow of God
Summary
Ezeulu is called away from his village by Winterbottom
and is invited to become a part of the colonial administration, a
policy known as indirect rule. Ezeulu refuses to be a "white
man's chief" and is thrown in prison. In Umuaro, the people
cannot harvest the yams until Ezeulu has called the New Yam
Feast to give thanks to Ulu. When Ezeulu returns from prison, he
refuses to call the feast despite being implored by other
important men in the village to compromise.

41. Arrow of God
Summary
Ezeulu reasons to the people and to himself that it is not
his will but Ulu's; Ezeulu believes himself to be half spirit and
half man. The yams begin to rot in the field, and a famine
ensues for which the village blames Ezeulu. Seeing this as an
opportunity, John Goodcountry proposes that the village offer
thanks to the Christian God instead so that they may harvest
what remains of their crops with "immunity".

42. Arrow of God
Summary
Many of the villagers have already lost their faith in
Ezeulu. One of Ezeulu's sons dies during a traditional ceremony,
and the village interprets this as a sign that Ulu has abandoned
their priest. Rather than face another famine, the village converts
to Christianity.

43. Arrow of God
Conclusion
Competition Power Religion

44. Arrow of God
Competition
Arrow of God revolves
around competition. We see
competition between Ezeulu's wives for
his attention; between Ezeulu, the chief
priest of Ulu, and Ezidemili, the chief
priest of the lesser deity Idemili;
between the communities of Umuaro
and Okperi; and between Ezeulu's
village and Ezidemili's village. But the
most important competition is between
the god Ulu and the Christian god.
Even though the people of
Umuaro dislike the imposition of white
rule and religion, they allow it to have
control because of the lack of harmony
that rules their lives.

45. Arrow of God
Power
A lust for power motivates
many of the characters in the novel. As
the British administration's power rises,
the men in Umuaro discover that their
power is diminishing. The power
struggle between Ezeulu and the
people of Umuaro gives the Christian
catechist, Mr. Goodcountry, the
opportunity to win converts. The novel
concludes with Ezeulu's power receding
as Christianity takes precedence.
Though the colonial
administration apparently has enormous
power, they are limited in using it when
people like Ezeulu refuse to cooperate
with them. This suggests that we can
only exercise our power when we're
allowed to do so.

46. Arrow of God
Religion
The novel explores how Igbo
spirituality and religious life dies an
ignominious death when confronted by
Christianity. When the people of
Umuaro are faced with famine because
the chief priest of Ulu refuses to break
tradition, the catechist at the church
offers protection so the people can
harvest their yams. When Ezeulu's son
Obika dies, the people interpret that as
a sign that Ulu was punishing his priest.
With Ezeulu's power broken, Umuaro
turns to the Christian god for help.
Although the people of
Umuaro turn away from Ulu towards
Christianity, they are turning their backs
only out of desperation.
Although Mr. Goodcountry
says he's offering the people of Umuaro
protection against Ulu's wrath, he is
taking advantage of the opportunity to
enrich his church through the people's
suffering.

47. Arrow of God
Reference
•Chinua Achebe. In Wikipedia. Retrieved from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinua_Achebe#Later_in_his_life_as
_a_publisher
•Arrow of God. In Wikipedia. Retrieved from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrow_of_God

48. A Man
Of The People
By: Chinua Achebe

49. A Man
Of The People
By: Chinua Achebe
A Man of the People was written by Nigerian author
Chinua Achebe in 1966. The book is narrated by Odili, a young
teacher in an unnamed African country run by greedy and
corrupt politicians. His own former teacher, referred to as both
“Mr. Nanga” and “Chief Nanga,” is now an elected official and
the Minister of Culture of the country.

50. A Man
Of The People
Summary
When Chief Nanga comes to visit his home village, he
and Odili meet again, and Chief Nanga invites Odili to stay at
his home in the capital city while the Chief makes
arrangements to help Odili study abroad. Despite his dislike for
Chief Nanga’s politics and his way of doing business, Odili is
somewhat charmed by the man. He is also attracted to a young
woman, Edna, who travels with Chief Nanga and is supposed
to become the Chief’s second wife.

51. A Man
Of The People
Summary
Odili accepts Chief Nanga’s invitation, and spends time
with him in the capital city. Odili learns that Chief Nanga lives in
luxury as a result of his corrupt practices and knows very little
about culture, despite his position. Odili has had an affair with a
young woman, Elsie, whom he brings to Chief Nanga’s home
with the intention of spending the night with her. However, she
sleeps with Chief Nanga instead. Chief Nanga doesn’t
understand why this makes Odili angry. Odili decides he will
take revenge on Chief Nanga by seducing Edna, the young
woman the official plans to marry.

52. A Man
Of The People
Summary
Odili becomes involved in a new political party that
seeks to replace the current ruling party. As he becomes more
and more opposed to Chief Nanga, Odili decides to run for
office in an attempt to take Chief Nanga’s position. The
members of the new party believe they will provide more
effective, more honest government. However, Odili learns the
people of his country are quite cynical. They expect politicians
will take bribes and make themselves rich. In fact, many of the
people Odili meets are primarily interested in getting a share of
the money gathered by corrupt officials.

53. A Man
Of The People
Summary
Odili struggles with a number of moral decisions as he
wages his campaign, for example having to decide whether to
take money as a payment for withdrawing from the election. He
tries to show the people the present government is lying and
stealing, but no one seems to care. In fact, Odili is threatened
and bullied as he tries to run his campaign, and his father and
his village are punished for his actions.
Odili realizes he is genuinely in love with Edna, and
his desire for her is no longer just a result of his wish to get
revenge on Chief Nanga. Edna, however, feels obligated to
marry the Chief because he has given her family money and
her father is pressuring her.

54. A Man
Of The People
Summary
Odili decides to attend the event that launches Chief
Nanga’s campaign, where Odili is recognized and beaten
nearly to death. During the weeks of his recovery in the
hospital, things change in Odili’s personal life and for the entire
country. Although Chief Nanga’s party wins the election, the
aftermath is unrest and chaos, and ultimately the military
overthrows the government. Then the people of the country
come forward and talk about how terrible the former
government was, despite their support for the same elected
officials when they were in power.

55. A Man
Of The People
Summary
Edna stands by Odili through his recovery, and
eventually his family makes arrangements for Odili to marry
her. Odili is sad to learn of the death of his friend Max, who was
killed by a former government official, but reflects an honorable
death is about the best one can hope for in so corrupt a
country.

56. A Man
Of The People
Conclusion
Money is a prerequisite to power and Nanga was
used as the symbol of corruption. He was a man of the
people because he had money so even though the people
completely knew him as a fraudulent man, they continued to
worship him. In the story, money holds women, people and
choices this is exposed from the story to the world and it is
in fact a still living reality.

57. A Man
Of The People
Summary
•Chinua Achebe. In Wikipedia. Retrieved from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinua_Achebe#Later_in_his_life_a
s_a_publisher
•A Man of the People. In Wikipedia. Retrieved from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Man_of_the_People
•A Critical Analysis of THE Novel A MAN of THE PEOPLE. In
Easy Article Miner (EAM). Retrieved from:
http://eamdemo.blogspot.com/2010/05/a-critical-analysis-of-
novel-man-of.html

58. Thank you!
Prepared by:
Ardiente, Bernard
Correa, Jake
Malabanan, Joyce
Ramos, Ronald
Sumaylo, Chloe
301B