Postcolonial literature in Africa: When Africans began to tell ... - JPCS

Journal of Postcolonial Cultures and SocietiesISSN (USA): 1948-1845 (Print), 1948-1853 (Electronic)Since the collapse of colonialism all over the Continent, African authors have taken itupon themselves to tell their own stories in a more realistic and constructive manner. For fivedecades now, varieties of African novels have been published which show what Africans are,their identities, their socio-economic challenges and their political resolves to pragmaticallyhandle all their problems. Two of these ground-breaking African novels Arrow of God (1964)and A Grain of Wheat (1967) are comprehensively discussed in this paper as representatives ofwhat Africans stand for, and what they are not.In Arrow of God, Chinua Achebe shows how gregarious Africans are as they formedlarge and protective communities comprising of their extended relations: “Then Edogo livedthere alone until he married two years ago and built a small compound of his own beside hisfather‟s” (Achebe 10). This reveals the level of communal composition among Africans as theyshare spaces with their loved ones. They are not unruly pack of hooligans or crude beasts thatother non-African literature may have wanted the entire world to believe. Africans pay seriousattention to organization, communal unity and integrity. They derive psychological emboldeningby living next-door to their parents and siblings. They even offer some measure of security andprotection for one another by doing so.Chinua Achebe shows further in Arrow of God that Africans are religious, and they oftencommit their destiny into the hands of their God (s):Things were so bad for six villages that their leaders came togetherto save themselves. They hired a strong team of medicine-men to install acommon deity for them. This deity which the fathers of the six villagesmade was called Ulu. (Achebe 15).Some measure of comportment and personal ability to address one’s domestic problem isrevealed in the quotation above. In other words, African literature debunks the caricature ofAfricans as daft and incapable of making strategic decisions about their own safety and future.Achebe also exposed the fact that Africans are not inured from being corrupt and crafty as in thequotation below about a colonial official and an African:Chief Ikedi was of course a very clever man and when CaptainWinterbottom began to investigate this second scandal it was quiteimpossible to incriminate him; he had covered up his tracks sowell…there was no doubt in the mind of Captain Winterbottom that chiefIkedi was still corrupt and high-handed only cleverer this time. (Achebe58)As the popular saying goes, to err is human to forgive divine. Africans are not perfectbeings that cannot commit similar mistakes that every other human being can intentionally orunintentionally commit. This is the essence of humanity, and that there are ample opportunitiesfor them to transform themselves into better and law-abiding citizens of any place they may havefound themselves.“Postcolonial literature in Africa: When Africans began to tell their own stories,” Jerry Tunde OlasakinjuJPCS, Vol. 2, No 3, July 2011. http://www.jpcs.in15

Journal of Postcolonial Cultures and SocietiesISSN (USA): 1948-1845 (Print), 1948-1853 (Electronic)Ngugi wa Thiongo’s novel A Grain of Wheat also sheds more light on the character ofAfricans, touching some areas that are essential for the continuation of African identity. Hewrites:God helps those who help themselves, it is said, with fingerspointing at self-made man who has attained wealth and position,forgetting that thousands of others labour and starve, day in, day out,without ever improving their lot. This moral so readily administered,seemed true for Gikonyo. People in Thabai said: Detention camps havetaught him to rule himself (Ngugi wa Thiongo 57).The quotation above describes a scenario where an African has amassed stupendouswealth while others wallowed in abject poverty daily to find sustenance for themselves and theirfamilies. Here, we see the picture of unequal wealth distribution as prevalent in othercommunities of the world. Gikonyo, a man who had seen many incarcerations, is said to haveattained a certain level of self-determination owing to his many trials and tribulations. Butinstead of being disconcerted by his sad experiences, Gikonyo utilized the unique opportunity totransform himself. All the descriptions given in the foregoing confirm that Africans are a bunchof creative, humanistic and realistic people—they go through the ups and downs that mostpeople in other cultures go through. They work hard to motivate their people to act withimpunity and contribute their best in developing their ever-expanding societies.Both Arrow of God and A Grain of Wheat were selected as texts for this paper simplybecause they represented the feelings, activities, and behaviors of people who had lived duringthe colonial era. They show the sides of Africans that were neglected or subverted by plethora ofnon-African literature. They revealed the real Africans the way they were in those days withoutany embellishments or subtraction.It must be stated that modern-day readers of these two novels may feel the need to justifythe observations that Africans during the colonial era were simple, non-technologicallydeveloped and depend mainly on community unity to keep going. This is true to some extent;however, this paper only attempts to show that simple African conclaves have strong communitysense that produces the much-required unity. Africans pay serious attention to leadership asshown in the quoted passages above, and they designed their own modalities for handlingdomestic and inter-tribal problems. This observation in itself supports the fact that Africancommunities are complex, not simple; and they are intricately designed that every member of acommunity understand his or her responsibility in making the entire inhabitants of thatcommunities to live in peace together.As a matter of fact, this paper attempts to invite readers to see Africans that were notproperly represented in non-African literature then. It serves to create awareness that Africa, likeevery other continent, passes through phases of civilizations and developments. The modern-dayAfricans may have adopted new and various different lifestyles unlike their forebears, but itstands to prove that Africans are a people with rich history, culture and language. Africans arenot savages or dullards, but possess human souls that are capable of self-regeneration through theapplication of the appropriate knowledge, information and education. To see a group the waythey are should be regarded as the beauty of literature.“Postcolonial literature in Africa: When Africans began to tell their own stories,” Jerry Tunde OlasakinjuJPCS, Vol. 2, No 3, July 2011. http://www.jpcs.in16

Journal of Postcolonial Cultures and SocietiesISSN (USA): 1948-1845 (Print), 1948-1853 (Electronic)__________BiographyJerry Tunde Olasakinju is an experienced ESL/English Instructor certified by AnaheimUniversity, Anaheim, CA (USA). He has taught English extensively in Africa and Asia. Hecurrently lives in Japan where he works as an ESL Instructor. And he is also studying for hisMFA (in Creative Writing) at National University, La Jolla, CA (USA).Work citedAchebe, Chinua. Arrow of God. London: Heinemann, 1986 (1964).Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer. New York: New American Library, 1950.Hergé. Tintin in the Congo. New York: French and European Publications, 1987 (Petit Vingtième: 1930-1931; Casterman: 1937 & 1942; Colour print: 1946).Allaby, Michael. Dictionary of Plant Sciences. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.Ngugi wa Thiong’o. A Grain of Wheat. London: Heinneman, 1986 (1967).“Postcolonial literature in Africa: When Africans began to tell their own stories,” Jerry Tunde OlasakinjuJPCS, Vol. 2, No 3, July 2011. http://www.jpcs.in17