Chinua Achebe
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Chinua Achebe was born in the village of Ogidi in eastern Nigeria in 1930, and at the time of his birth, Nigeria was a British Colony (English). He was educated at the local Church Missionary Society primary school (Contemporary). He studied medicine and literature at the University of Ibadan and later went to work for the Nigerian broadcasting company in Lagos, where he became talks producer (Contemporary; English). He remained there until the massacre of Igbos in Western and Northern Nigeria, and after the Nigeria-Biafra war, served in the diplomatic service (Contemporary). Achebe is one of the most highly regarded African writers in English, having written four novels which, in sequence, recreate the African journey from tradition to modernity as traditional Nigeria comes face-to-face with European culture, and goes through independence from Britain (English). He founded Okike: Journal of New African Writing, and held teaching posts in the U.S. and Nigeria (Contemporary). The theme of Western colonization's impact on Africa underlies much of his work. His novels counter racist constructions of the African in Western literature as he seeks to counteract misconceptions of African people, and are critical of the chaos caused by neo-colonial powers. A Man of the People breaks new ground, and describes an unnamed post-colonial African country, and deals with the problems of political representation in a corrupt nation (English). It deals as well with the problem
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plicit and pornographic (ChickenBones; Mbure and Njuguna). The lobby argued that the novels should be taken off school reading lists lest they corrupt the morals of the youth. The three novels had been selected as the set textbooks for the Literature in English and Kiswahili courses for Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education, and had been taught in schools for two years when the ban was proposed. There action came only a few months before the final exams, which would be based on these novels, so their timing was particularly disturbing, particularly since this was the first time anyone had objected to the novels.
In Nairobi and Kiambu, lobbyists were frantically collecting signatures on a protest note entitled Help Kick Pornography Out of the Classroom (ChickenBones). An appeal for signatures was made during Mass at the Holy Family Basilica in Nairobi in the presence of President Mwai Kibaki and Education minister George Saitoti. Both men are Catholics. The book was first published in 1966 and there has never been any objection to it before the sudden opposition in 2003.
Despite the cry for a ban on the books, literary critics were quick to point out that two of the books have been taught in secondary school before, a
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Chief Nanga, English Odili, African Western, Mbure Njuguna, Achebe's People, English Ibo-speakers, Contemporary Achebe, Saitoti Catholics, Chinua Achebe, Fall Apart, chinua achebe, 19 2005, mbure njuguna, undated 19, undated 19 2005, chickenbones mbure njuguna, chickenbones mbure, economically stratified nation, economically stratified, diverse economically, ethnically diverse, writer century, ethnically diverse economically, stratified nation, political representation corrupt,
Approximate Word count = 1276
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)
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