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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Article
Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Achebe’s Duplicity in Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God
Author(s)
Njeng Eric Sipyinyu
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DOI:10.17265/2161-6248/2017.11.004
Affiliation(s)
University of Burundi, Bujumbura, Burundi
ABSTRACT
Achebe represents images of
Africa in Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God that duplicates Conrad’s portrait
in Heart of Darkness. Conrad’s Africa
as an enigmatic dark spot is replicated in the works of Achebe, thereby, debunking
popular critical polarizations of the texts. However, while Conrad’s narrative engages
a double indictment of representations of darkness in the consciousness of both
Europe and Africa, Achebe simply surrenders to a one-sided condemnation of African
traditions and acquiesces to western narratives. Ultimately, while Conrad’s narrative
leaves an echo of double reverberation in the heart of the reader, Achebe’s provide
closure in his evident installation of western ideologies and their institutions.
Conrad’s influence on Achebe is manifestly evident in Things Fall Apart (1958) and Arrow
of God (1964). The fact that Achebe disavows this is an issue in this paper.
KEYWORDS
Conrad, Heart of Darkness, Achebe, Things Fall Apart, Arrow of God, duplicity
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