Arrow of God - Paper
Afrika Focus, Vol. 5, Nr. 3-4, 1989, pp. 153-165
CONFLICT AND ITS MANIFESTATIONS IN ACHEBE'S "ARROW OF GOD"
Owen G. MORDAUNT English Department University of Nebraska at Omaha Omaga, Nebraska 68182-0175 USA
SUMMARY Mordaunt describes how the Nigerian author Chinua Achebe deals with the problem ofpersonal conflict in his novel "Arrow of God". The main character in this novel is Ezeulu, who is chiefpriest of the god Ulu, of the village of Umuaro. Ezeulu comes into conflict with himself in a quest to hold on to power despite his high age and the break-through of the British colonial administrators. Ezeulu wants to control both his people and the British administrators. Ezeulu believes the clan will silently follow him and the British will respect him. Hereto he sends his son to the white man's missionary school where the boy adopts the new religion and sacrileges his own. Ezeulu will not punish him despite the wishes of the clan. Achebe's novel shows that men cannot fight societies' will and that the latter can bring a man to insanity.
KEYWORDS: English literature, Literature, Nigeria, Psychology.
As a foremost African novelist, Achebe has been of interest to several African literary critics, thus the plethora of works of criticism on his four novels, Things Fall Apart. Arrow of God. No longer at Ease, and A Man of the People. Among the best known critics are Obiechina, Bemth Lindfors, Abiola Irele, David Carrol, David Cook, G.D. Killam, G-C. M. Mutiso, Peter Nazareth, 153
Emmanuel Ngara, Benedict Chiaka Njoku, Eustace Palmer, and Shatto Gakwandi. Critics have looked at setting, style, conflict and characterization in terms of cultural, political and religious considerations. The internal conflict of central characters, one of Achebe's achievements, lies in his skill at the externalizing the conflict of his characters. To measure the quality of Achebe's accomplishments, I will examine his second novel Arrow of God in some detail with reference to the central
CONFLICT AND ITS MANIFESTATIONS IN ACHEBE'S "ARROW OF GOD"
Owen G. MORDAUNT English Department University of Nebraska at Omaha Omaga, Nebraska 68182-0175 USA
SUMMARY Mordaunt describes how the Nigerian author Chinua Achebe deals with the problem ofpersonal conflict in his novel "Arrow of God". The main character in this novel is Ezeulu, who is chiefpriest of the god Ulu, of the village of Umuaro. Ezeulu comes into conflict with himself in a quest to hold on to power despite his high age and the break-through of the British colonial administrators. Ezeulu wants to control both his people and the British administrators. Ezeulu believes the clan will silently follow him and the British will respect him. Hereto he sends his son to the white man's missionary school where the boy adopts the new religion and sacrileges his own. Ezeulu will not punish him despite the wishes of the clan. Achebe's novel shows that men cannot fight societies' will and that the latter can bring a man to insanity.
KEYWORDS: English literature, Literature, Nigeria, Psychology.
As a foremost African novelist, Achebe has been of interest to several African literary critics, thus the plethora of works of criticism on his four novels, Things Fall Apart. Arrow of God. No longer at Ease, and A Man of the People. Among the best known critics are Obiechina, Bemth Lindfors, Abiola Irele, David Carrol, David Cook, G.D. Killam, G-C. M. Mutiso, Peter Nazareth, 153
Emmanuel Ngara, Benedict Chiaka Njoku, Eustace Palmer, and Shatto Gakwandi. Critics have looked at setting, style, conflict and characterization in terms of cultural, political and religious considerations. The internal conflict of central characters, one of Achebe's achievements, lies in his skill at the externalizing the conflict of his characters. To measure the quality of Achebe's accomplishments, I will examine his second novel Arrow of God in some detail with reference to the central
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