In “Purple Hibiscus,” Adichie continues the liberation struggle of Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart” but for the next stage of Nigeria’s history.
Tag Archives: Chinua Achebe
Combat Lit Awakens Future Warriors
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged African literature, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Edward Said, Enid Blyton, Frantz Fanon, Literature of combat, Little Black Doll, Nigeria, Purple Hibiscus, Things Fall Apart Comments closed
On Fathers & Sons & Things Fall Apart
In a recent talk with my oldest son, I suddenly realized I was replicating my father’s relationship with me. I also found myself identifying with characters in Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart.”
Achebe vs. Trump’s Heart of Darkness
50 years ago, black protesters would have been seen as Conrad sees Africans in “Heart of Darkness,” an undifferentiated mass. Achebe helped change that.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Colonialism, George Floyd, Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, Minneapolis riots, racism, riots, Things Fall Apart Comments closed
My “Last Lecture”
I share here my “last lecture” from my retirement ceremony. (But rest assured: I will not be retiring from this blog.)
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Aristotle, Bertolt Brecht, Divine Comedy, Goethe, Heart of Darkness, Horace, Huckleberry Finn, integration, Jane Austen, Joseph Conrad, Mark Twain, Martha Nussbaum Wayne Booth, Matthew Arnold, Percy Shelley, Plato, Rachel Blau DuPlessis, Samuel Johnson, segregation, Sir Philip Sydney, Terry Eagleton, W. E. B. Du Bois, Wayne Booth Comments closed
Literature Has Paul Ryan’s Number
Lewis Carroll, Charles Dickens, Chinua Achebe, John Milton, and Thomas Hardy see through men like departing Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "How Doth the Little Crocodile", Alice in Wonderland, Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, Charles Dickens, Hard Times, John Milton, Lewis Carroll, Oliver Twist, Paradise Lost, Paul Ryan politics, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Things Fall Apart, Thomas Hardy Comments closed
Theories about Lit’s Impact
A transcript of a talk given at the University of Ljubljana on “how literature changes lives.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Aristotle, Bertolt Brecht, Frederick Engel, Horace, Karl Marx, Martha Nussbaum, Matthew Arnold, Percy Shelley, Plato, Rachel Blau du Plessis, Samuel Johnson, Sir Philip Sidney, Wayne Booth Comments closed
Speaker Paul Ryan in Literature
I’ve written a lot about Paul Ryan and his aspiration to be a John Galt figure. Now that he is Speaker of the House, I review other literary parallels I’ve drawn over the years.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Alice in Wonderland, Ayn Rand, GOP, Hard Times, Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, Lewis Carroll, Oliver Twist, Paul Ryan, politics, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Things Fall Apart, Thomas Hardy Comments closed
Things Fall Apart in Bishops vs. Nuns
Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart” contrasts rigid and tolerant Christianity in ways that will benefit our own society.
