“A man of the people” (1966) Theme/Political Satire

“A man of the people” (1966)

Theme/Political Satire

v  Introduction:-  

Chinua Achebe is well known modern African novelist writing in English. His novels are refreshing, entertaining, didactic and informative. He exposes the unique potentialities of man of Africa in his major novels Things Fall A Part, No Longer At Ease, Arrow of God, and A Man of the People. No socially conscious writer writes in a vacuum. He has his own vision of order design and   pattern. Every novelist has a reason for writing novels: Richardsonto inculcate result, Fielding to reform, Dickens to expose social evils and Trollope to earn money by entertaining readers. Fielding Thackeray and Meredith speak in their own person interpreting character and action of their novels. The same way, Achebe is also an interpreter of man, society, polities and literature like

 Wordsworth and Arnold. He plays the role of a teacher to re-educate and regenerate his society to restore Africa’s former pride, dignity and confidence lost during the colonial period. He reaches that his society should regain belief in itself and put away the complexes of the years of defamation and self-defamation.

v  Evils of Modern Nigerian society:-

            Achebe is a dedicated artist he says,

“The writer’s duty is not to beat this mornings

headlines it is to explore the depth of the human

condition.”

            His novels help the rehabilitation of the damaged African psyche. They are a legacy of the colonial rule where the heroes are involved in a world of violence, violation and uncertainty. As a moralist Achebe indulges his heroes on the basis of their moral response to the basic cultural crisis of a society exposed the west. As an objective observer Achebe describes the setbacks of traditional culture responsible for the social and modern Nigerian society with a touch of money and satire he focuses his attention on the hero and others at a moment of Crikis    

v  A satire on dualism between character and society:-

            There is a kind of dualism between character and society, between the individual growth of the hero and the established in additional life in his novels from the heights of glory to the depths of degradation. For example, Konkevo, one of the greatest men of Emuofia is buried like a dog. The tradition head of Umuaro Ezeulu becomes a laughing stock in his own village. Obi, secretary to the scholarship board is charged with corruption, convicted and sentenced to prison. Odili who is lacking  in conviction and ideals suffers in the whirl of political turmoil. But there is moral dignity in the suicide of Okonkow and the suffering of Ezeulu.

v  Personal Rivalry between the corrupt Politicians:-

            A Man of the People depicts the uneasy relationship and personal rivalry between the corrupt politicians, chief Nanga and the intellectual turned politician Odili Samaly. In 1964, there were three main political parties in Nigeria: People’s Organization Party, Progressive Alliance Party and a new party of Max Alias. Novel falls into two parts. The first part exposes the dirty political behavior of Nanga to remain in power by corrupting his electorate and Odilis contempt for Nanga’s stealing his girlfriend, else from him Odili is encouraged by his political idealism to join a new rival party founded  by max when a barrister friend and his political mentor. This is the beginning of the second part of the novel. Odili vainly contests the seat help by Nanga and he is beaten by Nangas hence man Odili fails to enforce his ideals in the society which is rippled by dishonesty and corrupt at every level. In the end the military coup provides no political redemption. The people simply change their loyalties overnight from the old to the new military rule.

v  Colonialism :-

The novel does not directly concern itself with colonialism but, with the Whiteman’s legacy. Here Achebe exposes Nigeria’s prevalent political corruption. Both Odili who represents the young educated Nigerians, and the chief Nanga who represents a type in Nigerian polities, are drawn to alien culture and are corrupted by the new forces power and wealth there Achebe focuses his attention on the evils inflicted on the African societies, not by an alien race but the Africans themselves.

v  A Satire on political leaders:-

In the afro-Anglican fiction in the sixties political satire became very popular. The satire was not against imperialists but against African themselves. Politicians were treated as villains of society rather than idealistic national leaders. For example, Nigeria become a cesspool of satirizes a world in which dignity is a same symbolized by the times of chief the honourable M.A. Nanga M.P., the minister of culture. Moreover, self-respect and principles do not exist in the society. Even Max an ambitious politician radical fields to corruption and dishonesty. A minor character, who is a simple ‘Bush’ woman, dismisses both Odili and Nanga in the following words:

“They are both white man’s people.” Mrs. Nanga sends her children to her village regularly she says,  “Don’t you see they hardly speak our language.”

v  A Satire on village’s passivity:-

Here, Achebe satirizes the attitude of the villages also. They have punished Josiah, counter part of Nanga for a similar crime. Nanga has stolen traditional ethic and turned it into the ethic of the

national men with it. They said about their corrupt and dishonest political leaders.

“Let them eat, after all when white men used

to do all the eating, did we commit suicide?

Of course not.”         

            Further, the novel is about triggers bribery, self seeking politicians and earnest educated young men anxiously awaiting their slice of the national cake.

v  An attract on bribery and Dishonesty:-

            Even then the novelist does not lose hope of a happy state through the deaths of Ikem and Chris and relief from Nangas dictatorship Achebe suggests that real salvation cannot be from harm and death but can be from corrupt on social evil and loss of humanity possible through some ‘clean souls’ that lead the people towards perfection.  Thus, A Man of the People is a brilliant satirical force which exposes follies of the Nigerian  society and the cynical attitude of political opportunist to exploit the people for personal ends. This is  not a contemplative novel and an instant outburst against the result both in anger and despair. It is a serious attack on bribery and dishonesty among the political leader of the post independence African