TRAGIC VISION IN ELECHI AMADI, CHINUA ACHEBE AND JOHN MUNONYE
TRAGIC VISION IN ELECHI AMADI, CHINUA ACHEBE AND JOHN MUNONYE
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Date
1985-05
Authors
IDIGBE, BERNICE NIERO AVEBO
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Abstract
In this thesis an attempt is made to appraise
the tragic vision in Elechi Amadi's The Concubine,
The Great Ponds and The slave; Chinua Achebe's
Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God and John Munonye's
The Only Son and obi. The study pools in one single
analysis the tragic world view of these writers,
showing the nature of the influence of the gods on
mankind's fate and the impact of traditional religious
beliefs and Christianity on the lives of the Ibo
speaking people of Nigeria.. Despite the differences
in the methods of approach to these subjects, Amadi
and AChebe are agreed on the issue that mankind is
predominantly responsible for the tragedies in his
life. Munonye shows that the African's psyche gets
battered, the consequence of which is a warped image
of himself, when he deliberately abandons his
traditional religious beliefs for Christianity.
Chapter one reviews existing literature on Amadi,
Achebe and Munonye. It also puts the study within
a social context. An examination of aspects of igbo
culture relevant to the study is undertaken showing the
history and entrenchment of Christianity in Igbo land.
Chapter two is centred on Elechi Amadi. In
the concubine, The Great Ponds and The Slave, he
paints a picture of a society gripped by a paralysing
fear of the gods. Despite the people's trepidation,
they try to struggle against the gods and become broken
in the attempt. They thus become authors of their
ruin.
Chapter three examines Chinua Achebe's contribution
to the riddle of mankind's tragedy. In Things Fall Apart
and Arrow of God, he portrays a universe where mankind
is in firm control of his fate and the gods puny fixtures
created by the people.
Chapter four shows how John Munonye in The Only
Son and obi dramatizes the collective spiritual crisis
created in the Africans converted to Christianity as
their traditional ideals wrestle for dominance with
their new faith. It also shows that, even though
Christianity gains an upper hand, the converts still
cling to their old traditional religious practices.
Chapter five summarizes the contribution of these
writers to the search for meaning in life and to
literature.
Description
A Thesis
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement
for the award of the Degree of Master in Arts in
African Literature.
Department of English
Ahmadu Bello University
Zaria, Nigeria
Keywords
TRAGIC VISION,, ELECHI AMADI,, CHINUA ACHEBE,, JOHN MUNONYE.