AFRICA

- Called as the Cradle of Life

- Anthropologists believe that the first modern humans (homo sapiens) began in Africa
- Large number of fossils was found in Africa and some of it are the oldest fossils
discovered

AFRICAN LITERATURE
- These refers to all the works of African in Afro-Asiatic, African, English, French and other
European Languages

Includes:
1. Orature or Oral Literature
- Griot is a learned storyteller, poet entertainer and historian who travels to maintain
the oral history in Africa
- Griots uses music with their story
- Short stories, drama, riddles, epic, proverbs, songs and myths are the well-known
orature in Africa
2. Proverbs
- Are short, traditional saying that expresses truth or familiar experience
3. Epics
- Are long narratives the deeds of a hero who embodies traits in the society

Common Themes:
a. Oppression of African people
b. European influences on the native African culture
c. Racial Discrimination
d. Pride in African past and resilience (ability to be strong or successful again after a
hardship)

Religious Beliefs
- There are hundreds of different religious systems
- Adhere to polytheism which means that they worship more than one God
- Personal God or Chi controls a person’s destiny
African Writers
1. Chinua Achebe
- Nigerian writer
- “Things Fall Apart” is considered as the best known African novel of the 20 th century
- It is about the native communities in Africa who came in contact with white
missionaries and its colonizers
- It was called as the first African Trilogy when it was followed by “No Longer at Ease”
and “Arrow of God”

2. Wole Soyinka
- Nigerian writer, playwright
- First black African to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986
- Wrote a satire (a story which uses humor to show and criticize the foolishness or
stupidity of someone or something) titled “A Dance of the Forest”
- It is about the traditions of the people in Nigeria (Yoruba)
- It was presented on stage during the Nigerian Independence Celebrations

3. Nadine Gordimer
- South African Writer
- Received Nobel Prize for Literature in 1991
- She was known for her works which are about the effects of Apartheid in her country
- Apartheid is a former system in which black people did not have the same rights as the
white people and were forced to live separately from white people

4. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

- Nigerian writer
- Known for “Purple Hibiscus”, “Half Yellow Sun”, “Americanah”
- “Purple Hibiscus” is told by a fifteen-year-old girl named Kambili which is about the
enduring of domestic violence of Kambili and her family from the hands of her
father
- The story of “Half of Yellow Sun” happened during the Nigerian Civil War or Biafran
War
- “Americanah” is about a a young Nigerian woman who came to US to study and
work
5. Nelson Mandala
- Served as a President of South Africa and he took down the Apartheid
- He retired as President on June 1999, but he continued to be an international figure
of great stature (level of respect that you have for a successful person)
- He was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993
Activity
- Make a poster slogan which is related to the story, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

(Summary)

The novel follows the life of a Nigerian man, Okonkwo. Okonkwo lives in a group of nine
villages. The villages are ruled by a council of elders. Okonkwo is one of the respected leaders of
his village. He is also a wrestling champion. Both his wrestling and his leadership role are driven
by his shame about his father, who left a lot of debts unpaid when he died, and who Okonkwo
viewed as too feminine.
When a man from a neighboring village kills one of the women from Okonkwo's village,
a peace settlement requires the son of the man who killed the woman to come live in
Okonkwo's village. Okonkwo himself takes the boy in and they develop a strong bond.
Unfortunately, a decision is made to kill the boy. One of the village elders, Ezeudu,
warns Okonkwo not to assist with killing the boy. Determined not to seem like a coward,
especially because of his father's legacy, Okonkwo kills the boy himself with a machete. The
boy's death is like a bad omen. After the boy dies, Okonkwo accidentally kills Ezeudu's son. For
his crime, the village determines he must spend seven years in exile to appease the gods.
During his exile, white missionaries arrive in the village. When Okonkwo finally returns,
the white men have thoroughly infiltrated his village. Okonkwo helps destroy a Christian
church, only to be arrested by the white government.
Some of the villagers, including Okonkwo, want to stage an uprising against the village.
He even kills one of the white men. After he does so, he realizes that the other villages have
changed too much. They will not fight the white men off. Unable to live with his revelation,
Okonkwo kills himself. This is a very important moment in the novel because, according to
Okonkwo's traditional beliefs, suicide is not allowed. Okonkwo's desperation about his changing
village is staggering if it can outweigh his strict adherence to the traditional ways.