I would like to regress from the idea that it was wrong for Achebe to write toward an Afro-European audience, more so for the Western audience. Opposite Ngugi’s criticism, I feel that it was necessary for him to write the story in English. One objective is to demonstrate that Umuofian society (or Nigerian people), like that of British society, is capable of demonstrating many great works of art, a culture of great arts that existed even before colonization. Culture was always known in Africa. The most apparent of this culture existing is an example of a proverb: “A man that makes trouble for others also makes trouble for himself…” This is very similar to what we recognize as the Golden Rule – a proverb that was passed on to their people even before we could be reminiscent of that very idea. This provides evidence of a civilized, moral, and celebrated society even without the British. Achebe's aim is that the Western audience (as civilized, moral, and celebrated as we also are) has the emotional sense to follow the beauty of this Umuofian culture.
Achebe introduces, to audiences, a culture in which they have never been exposed to. The glossary in the back, with the translations of Ibo words to English, solidifies the idea that Achebe’s choice to write his novel in English is for the outsider to witness the impact of losing an indigenous culture through the interventions made by Christian missionaries and British government. A prominent method of writing his novel in English, while using African language to emphasize such culture, allows Achebe to expose the “enemy’s” (colonizers) ignorance while encouraging readers to look outside of their limitations – thus, encouraging readers to embrace the African culture for what it offers, for what it offers culturally and artistically to the rest of the world, rather than what it is “capable” of becoming.
Ngugi's point is that if you write in English you continue the deterioration of indigenous/vernacular culture. So if the point is to demonstrate that Umuofia can produce culture, isn't the best way to do that continuing to write in Igbo? Otherwise, aren't you really proving the capacity of English to absorb (dare I say colonize) other languages and their cultural traditions.
ReplyDeleteTo demonstrate that a society is fully capable of culture, it must be communicated universally. Without this book, wouldn't many assume such societies, like Umuofian, as rudimentary souls with a lack of cultural traditions? Besides, If Ngugi supports such notion then he's completely contradicted himself by returning to English writing.
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