Attached.

Chinua Achebe, a Literal Giant
The correction made on this paper were many, due to the poor use of adjectives pronounce and
repetitions. The mistakes were identified all over the paper and depicted the difficulty in creating
a narrative that involves retelling the life of a person and analysis. These corrections were
genuine, and when corrected, there is an understanding that gives the corrected importance and
actuality. Also, along with the work, there were some tense highlights that showed the use of
different tense in work. However, a change in the tense of such identified mistakes makes the
sentence to lose its importance and meaning. This is because this is a narrative and it captures
both modern and past use of grammar.
The final score of the paper was 96% which were as a result of the passive voice that is appears
repeatedly in the paper.


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Chinua Achebe, a Literal Giant
Chinua Achebe was an artist, a novelist, a professor, a critic, but most important a nationalist
who believed in the power of written word. Born on 16th November 1930 as Albert
Chinualumogu Achebe, Chinua rose to fame in Africa and middle-income countries as a result of
his book “things fall apart.” He was considered to have been the best novelist of modern African
literature due to his manner of writing, the topics he covered, the way he entertained, and by his
ability to imbue importance in matters that were difficult to address during those difficult times.
The later part of his life was spent discussing existing racial stereotypes and critiquing poor
leadership and liberal leadership. This nationalistic feeling was not sudden but had been evident
in his works ‘a man of the people’ (1966), ‘civil war’ (1977) and ‘girls at war and other stories’
(1953) among others. He was bent on fighting the regimes that castigated his people to a poor
lifestyle and his country Nigeria to civil war and poverty. This nationalistic attitude and his
works endeared him to the many individuals who read his works and put him on a collision
course with the authorities. Nevertheless, he was considered to be one of the most famous
characters in influencing change in Nigeria and the African continent at all due to his enormous
literal contribution to the educating and empowering of the Africans. This paper will address the
importance of Chinua Achebe in playing a critical role in a generation that he was alive and up to
his death in 2013.

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To understand Achebe, his contribution, and his role in the nationalistic fight against
ignorance, colonialism, and social inequality, it is important to review his works and his different
roles he played during his lifetime. Achebe was born in southeastern rural Nigeria where he grew
up and excelled in his studies. Despite getting a scholarship to study medicine, Achebe saw more
importance in English literature. It is said that Achebe was very much fascinated by African
culture and world religions that he couldn’t help himself but immerse himself into the literal
word of writing. He wanted to understand the forces that drove people to adhere to a particular
thought and choose to hold faithful to such belief despite the obvious disadvantages. After his
graduation, he worked for NBS (Nigeria broadcasting service), but found his footing in his first
novel “things fall apart.” Despite the criticism he received for writing in English, a language of
the colonizers” Achebe was not deterred from his goal. Instead, he engaged Joseph Conrad in his
1975 lecture, stating why he thought Conrad was racist. Throughout his life, Achebe continued
to be a voice to reckon with concerning matters of national interest, African culture, and minority
empowerment. His intention was to enlighten and educate, through stories and his other form of
works, the current situation and create a consciousness that instigated an understanding that
ignited people’s nationalistic feelings.
Achebe was more pronounced in his works because his works used local, African
situation and understanding to address different social values. His use of common case was to
create a symphony with the African people and explain in a manner that only Africans could
understand. He understands that culture was a commonality that only Africans could make sense
of and find relevance. He chooses his Igbo society to address those issues and attack the
colonialist. He showed the clash of Western and African culture and their effects on his
characters in the book. More importantly, Achebe was not afraid to use his native language to

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create authenticity and importance in such a book. As the political situation changed with the
attainment of independence, Achebe found a new calling in addressing the vices that marred the
growth and development of his people. He did not understand how the colonial rule had not
taught the African leaders the importance of togetherness, transparency, and accountability. In
his work “a man of the people,” Achebe was visibly angry at the leadership and the stupidity that
drove each leader to selfishly accumulate wealth for themselves with little care of the ordinary
citizen. Achebe was determined to prove colonialist power wrong, but in the leadership that took
over from the colonialist, he experienced wanton greed and corruption. Even after taking post at
Bard College, Achebe did not mince his words against political inadequacies and the literal
shortcomings that characterized the literal world.
Another very critical role of Achebe was the way he addressed gender roles and their
importance in creating a ‘whole’ society. Achebe was criticized as being a sexist author due to
his incorporation of sexist themes. Achebe used the Igbo community to address this important
subject. The importance of such an issue lied in the way every African culture is patriarchal in
nature and holds women as unimportant beings in the society. When asked about this feminist
perception, Achebe explained that his use of false gender binaries created the same platform
upon which the international community could find recognizance in the reading. Achebe was
keen on presenting women as instrumental in creating harmony in a patriarchal society that
refused to honor them as important members of the community. This showed the importance of
women in the social and the need to appreciate them as crucial members in creating rhythm,
harmony, and purpose. Achebe was keen in highlighting the role of women in creating balance
within the society. In his work “the Anthills of Savannah” Achebe helped empower women as
important players in the community and the need to empower women. The character of Beatrice

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nwanyibuife depicted the power of a woman in challenging the held attitudes toward women as
being the weaker sex. Achebe was keen on gender as it was an important theme in African and
western society. He played his role in demolishing the existing gender walls that refused to
uphold women as prominent members of the community.
In his role as a professor in Bard College, Achebe was instrumental in teaching about
African culture and demolishing the held perspectives and stereotypes that allowed the
misunderstanding of Africans. This helped in breaking down the held stereotypes in America
against Africa-Americans. The rise of the black consciousness was brought about by the
stereotypes that lacked the understanding and know-how concerning old held stereotypes. In
teaching about African culture and nationalism, Achebe played a significant role of enlightening
those who lacked the unde...