Manchester University Press
5 Anthills of the Savannah
Abstract
This chapter reads Anthills of the Savannah against Achebe's pamphlet The Trouble With Nigeria, drawing out the notably hesitant and fragmentary texture of the novel. Examining Achebe's portrait of dictatorship, it traces elements from Nigeria's recent history, as well as the various military leaders of which Achebe had experience including the Biafran leader Emeka Ojukwu. Exploring Achebe's changed gender consciousness in Anthills, it concludes by considering the novel's prescription for a redemptive new order, questioning its adequacy as a response to Nigeria's entrenched problems and divisions.
Abstract
This chapter reads Anthills of the Savannah against Achebe's pamphlet The Trouble With Nigeria, drawing out the notably hesitant and fragmentary texture of the novel. Examining Achebe's portrait of dictatorship, it traces elements from Nigeria's recent history, as well as the various military leaders of which Achebe had experience including the Biafran leader Emeka Ojukwu. Exploring Achebe's changed gender consciousness in Anthills, it concludes by considering the novel's prescription for a redemptive new order, questioning its adequacy as a response to Nigeria's entrenched problems and divisions.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- Acknowledgements viii
- Series editor’s foreword ix
- Abbreviations x
- Chronology xi
- 1 Speaking from the middle ground 1
- 2 Things Fall Apart and No Longer at Ease 55
- 3 Arrow of God 93
- 4 A Man of the People and the Biafran writings 135
- 5 Anthills of the Savannah 183
- 6 The balance of stories 224
- Notes 239
- Select bibliography 258
- Index 272
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- Acknowledgements viii
- Series editor’s foreword ix
- Abbreviations x
- Chronology xi
- 1 Speaking from the middle ground 1
- 2 Things Fall Apart and No Longer at Ease 55
- 3 Arrow of God 93
- 4 A Man of the People and the Biafran writings 135
- 5 Anthills of the Savannah 183
- 6 The balance of stories 224
- Notes 239
- Select bibliography 258
- Index 272
