TITLE:
Shifting the Canon: An Analysis of Achebe’s Women in Things Fall Apart and Anthills of the Savannah
AUTHORS:
Maina Ouarodima
KEYWORDS:
Achebe, Female Empowerment, Gender Equality
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Literary Study,
Vol.6 No.3,
July
6,
2018
ABSTRACT: This paper analyses the image of women in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Anthills of the Savannah to bring into
focus on the shifting of the canon through Achebe’s depiction of female
characters in the two novels. The
study focuses on some of the evil practices against the freedom of women, in
the Igbo society, as reflected in Things
Fall Apart and then contrasts with
the positive image of women as reflected in Anthills
of the Savannah. While the citizens, in general, and women, in particular, are ignorant in Things Fall Apart, written in the
colonial period; they are, both, educated in Anthills of the Savannah, written in the postcolonial period. As
findings, this study foregrounds the dynamism of the Igbo society, which allows
Achebe, as a writer, to overcome prejudice and make obvious his quest for a
once lost female identity. For instance, In Anthills of the Savannah and through
Beatrice, Achebe presents the rise of new Nigerian women who are truly as
active as men. Thus, for any meaningful development in our societies, the relevance of
women must be taken into consideration. Otherwise, we will all end up like the
Okonkwo of Things Fall Apart.
Finally, in analyzing the position of women in both Things Fall Apart and Anthills
of the Savannah, the researcher draws on postcolonial criticism to
enable the readers to uncover its contribution to create a society without
discrimination.