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THE DISTORTION OF CULTURAL IDENTITY IN CHINUA ACHEBE’S THINGS FALL APART

Year 2019, Volume: 9 Issue: 18, 86 - 99, 25.07.2019
https://doi.org/10.33207/trkede.597888

Abstract

Twenty-first century Africa is currently a continent of culturally diverse groups of people, many opposing governments, and fragmented identities due to its long history of colonization and the drastical changes following its independence. Accordingly, the study of post-colonial African literature cannot be complete without the study of Africa’s colonial past and the ideology behind a text. Chinua Achebe is one of the significant writers of African culture who in his novels aims to provide an erudite exegesis of the texts and introduce readers to important contextualizing historical and cultural perspectives it defines. His novels not only represent the history and culture of Africa, but also serve as a direct response to a whole canon of Eurocentric writings presenting Africans as inhuman savages. Particularly, in his Things Fall Apart Achebe paints a grim picture of the colonization of Nigeria by the British and the political turbulence following its colonization. The primary purpose of this paper is to shed light on Achebe’s various ways of representing the self-sufficiency of African nations with a strong sense of cultural identity, and the catastrophic changes in an African society brought along by colonialism, resulting in the distortion of its cultural identity.

References

  • Achebe, Chinua, Things fall apart, New York: Anchor Books, 1994.
  • Achebe, Chinua, interviewed by Jerome Brooks, “The Art of Fiction No. 139”, 1994, Retrieved 01, April 2019 from https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/1720/chinua-achebe-the-art-offiction- no-139-chinua-achebe.
  • Achebe, Chinua, “English and the African Writer”, Transition, (75/76), 1997, pp. 342-349.
  • Achebe, Chinua, interviewed by Katie Bacon, “An African Voice”, Atlantic Monthly 2 Aug. 2000. Atlantic Online, Atlantic Group, 2000. 1 Jan. 2003, Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2000/08/an-africanvoice/306020/.
  • Achebe, Chinua, The Education of a British-Protected Child: essay, Knoph., 2009.
  • Ashcroft, Bill, Griffiths, G., & Tiffin, H. Post-colonial studies: The key concepts, London: Routledge, 2000.
  • Povey, John, Contremporary West African Writing in English, Books Abroad Vol: 40 Issue: 3, 1966, pp. 253-261.
  • Rhoads, Diana A, “Culture in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart.” African Studies Review, 36(2), 1997, pp. 61-72.
  • Whittaker, David & Msiska, Mpalive. Chinua Achebe's things fall apart: A Routledge study guide, 2007, pp. xi-xii.

CHINUA ACHEBE’NİN PARÇALANMA (THINGS FALL APART) ADLI ESERİNDE KÜLTÜREL KİMLİĞİN BOZULMASI

Year 2019, Volume: 9 Issue: 18, 86 - 99, 25.07.2019
https://doi.org/10.33207/trkede.597888

Abstract

Yirmi birinci yüzyıl Afrika’sı uzun süren sömürgecilik tarihi ve akabindeki köklü
değişiklikler nedeniyle çeşitli kültürden insan gruplarının ve bir çok muhalif hükümetin kıtası
olmuştur. Bu nedenle, sömürge sonrası Afrika edebiyatı hakkındaki çalışmalar, Afrika’nın
sömürge geçmişini ve bir metnin arkasında yatan ideolojiyi incelenmeden tamamlanmış
sayılmaz. Chinua Achebe, romanlarında metinlerin doğru bir şekilde tefsir edilmesini sağlayan
ve okurları tarihsel ve kültürel bakış açılarıyla kavramsallaştırılmış önemli konularla tanıştıran,
Afrika kültürünün en önemli yazarlarından birisidir. Onun romanları sadece Afrika tarihini ve
kültürünü yansıtmakla kalmayıp aynı zamanda Afrikalıları insan olmayan vahşi yaratık olarak
resmeden Avrupa merkezli yazınlardan oluşan edebi kanona doğrudan bir cevap
niteliğindedir. Özellikle Things Fall Apart adlı eserinde, Achebe Nijerya’nın İngilizler tarafından
sömürgeleştirilmesinin ve bu sömürünün beraberinde getirdiği siyasi çalkantının resmini çizer.
Bu makalenin öncelikli amacı, Achebe’nin birçok şekilde Afrika’yı güçlü bir kültürel kimliğe
sahip, kendi kendine yeten bir millet olarak temsil etmesi ve Afrika’nın belli bir toplumunda
sömürgeciliğin yol açtığı kültürel kimliğin bozulmasıyla sonuçlanan yıkıcı değişiklere ışık
tutmaktır.

References

  • Achebe, Chinua, Things fall apart, New York: Anchor Books, 1994.
  • Achebe, Chinua, interviewed by Jerome Brooks, “The Art of Fiction No. 139”, 1994, Retrieved 01, April 2019 from https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/1720/chinua-achebe-the-art-offiction- no-139-chinua-achebe.
  • Achebe, Chinua, “English and the African Writer”, Transition, (75/76), 1997, pp. 342-349.
  • Achebe, Chinua, interviewed by Katie Bacon, “An African Voice”, Atlantic Monthly 2 Aug. 2000. Atlantic Online, Atlantic Group, 2000. 1 Jan. 2003, Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2000/08/an-africanvoice/306020/.
  • Achebe, Chinua, The Education of a British-Protected Child: essay, Knoph., 2009.
  • Ashcroft, Bill, Griffiths, G., & Tiffin, H. Post-colonial studies: The key concepts, London: Routledge, 2000.
  • Povey, John, Contremporary West African Writing in English, Books Abroad Vol: 40 Issue: 3, 1966, pp. 253-261.
  • Rhoads, Diana A, “Culture in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart.” African Studies Review, 36(2), 1997, pp. 61-72.
  • Whittaker, David & Msiska, Mpalive. Chinua Achebe's things fall apart: A Routledge study guide, 2007, pp. xi-xii.
There are 9 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Makaleler
Authors

Şule Okuroğlu Özün 0000-0001-5471-8075

Nagihan Başkale This is me 0000-0003-0059-9589

Publication Date July 25, 2019
Submission Date April 3, 2019
Published in Issue Year 2019 Volume: 9 Issue: 18

Cite

APA Okuroğlu Özün, Ş., & Başkale, N. (2019). THE DISTORTION OF CULTURAL IDENTITY IN CHINUA ACHEBE’S THINGS FALL APART. Trakya Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, 9(18), 86-99. https://doi.org/10.33207/trkede.597888