Chinua Achebe: European-African Frictions

Trabajo , 2005 , 20 Páginas , Calificación: 1,0

Filología inglesa - Literatura

[...] Although there is quite a number of reasonable arguments for not welcoming Turkey
to the European “family”, such as financial as well as political and ethical, the majority of
Turkish people consider prejudices against Turks as the actual reason for their rejection: they
are (culturally) too different and more than the half of the European citizens are against a
Turkish membership in the EU. Instead, a “privileged partnership” is being proposed by
some conservative European governments (or opposing parties such as the German Christian
Democratic party), instead of a full membership. I think “full” needs to be emphasised here
because it means a real and well-meant friendship, a step closer to becoming a family member
one day rather than a mere political (or strategical) ally. Well, family implies that there are
less differences, that one is almost alike. There are many European tenets as well as
traditional views which hinder an honest dialogue since Europe has yet to rid itself of some
of its dangerous ideas (“maleficent” fictions) which set the world ablaze in the 20th century.
Neither Nigeria is honestly acknowledged, nor is (in the minds of many a European critic)
Achebe’s writing universal5, nor is Turkey’s fourty-year old endeavour to become a full
European member acceptable. There is, intellectually, a problem on the part of Europe to
accept the idea of equality which Achebe has been persistently trying to point out both in his
novels and in his essays (which is the same reason, I think, why Turkey is so hard done by):
feeling of superiority. That is why Achebe’s books lack the quality of universal European (or
Western) books and is only applicable to Nigeria and likewise the reason for Turkey being a
second-rate country. Both of these concepts reveal classical European ideas that will – in all
probability – prove to be false during the course of the twenty-first century. In order to
support my thesis, which I admit sounds far-fetched at first glance, I will refer to Chinua
Achebe’s accounts on colonial criticism and, wherever possible, compare them to the recent
issue in European dealings with the Other, i.e. the Turk. I will later on focus on the novels
“Arrow of God” and “A Man of the People”, particularly on the aspect of religion in “Arrow
of God” and the post-colonial phenomena of Nigeria in “A Man of the People”.

CONTENTS

I. Introduction

II. European-African Relationships

III. Achebe on Literature

IV. Achebe – The Novels

V. Religion in Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God

VI. Post-Colonial Phenomena in A Man of the People

• Universidad: University of Duisburg-Essen
• Calificación: 1,0
• Autor: StR Sener Saltürk (Autor)
• Año de publicación: 2005
• Páginas: 20
• No. de catálogo: V204004
• ISBN (Ebook): 9783656303008
• ISBN (Libro): 9783656304401
• Idioma: Inglés
• Etiqueta: chinua, achebe, european-african, frictions