Arrow of God
Encyclopedia
Arrow of God is a 1964 novel by Chinua Achebe
. It is Achebe's third novel following Things Fall Apart
and No Longer at Ease
. These three books are sometimes called The African Trilogy. The novel centers around Ezeulu, the chief priest of several Nigerian villages, who confronts colonial powers and Christian missionaries in the 1920s.
in Nigeria
. Ezeulu is the chief priest of the god Ulu, worshipped by the six villages of Umuaro. The book begins with Ezeulu and Umuaro getting in a battle with a nearby village, Okperi. The conflict is abruptly resolved when T.K. Winterbottom, the British colonial overseer, intervenes.
After the conflict, a Christian missionary, John Goodcountry, arrives in Umuaro. Goodcountry began to tell the villages tales of Nigerians in the Niger Delta
who abandoned (and battled) their traditional "bad customs," in favor of Christianity
, stirring resentment from his traditional community.
Ezeulu is called away from his village by Winterbottom, and he is invited to become a part of the colonial administration, a policy known as indirect rule
. Ezeulu refuses to be a "white man's chief" and
is thrown in prison. In Umuaro, the people cannot harvest the yam
s until Ezeulu has called the New Yam Feast to give thanks to Ulu. When Ezeulu returns from prison, he refuses to call the feast despite being implored by other important men in the village to make a compromise. Ezeulu reasons to the people and to himself that it is not his will but Ulu's; Ezeulu believes himself to be half spirit and half man. The yams begin to rot in the field, and a famine ensues for which the village blames Ezeulu. Seeing this as an opportunity, John Goodcountry proposes that the village offer thanks to the Christian god instead so that they may harvest what remains of their crops with "immunity".
Many of the villagers have already lost their faith in Ezeulu. One of Ezeulu's sons dies during a traditional ceremony, and the village interprets this as a sign that Ulu has abandoned their priest. Rather than face another famine, the village converts to Christianity.
The title "Arrow of God" refers to Ezeulu's image of himself as an arrow in the bow of his god.
was tested as a governing strategy, and many of the Igbo people
abandoned their traditional beliefs for Christianity. The novel is considered a work of African literary realism
.
Achebe's first novel Things Fall Apart
tells the tale of Okonkwo, a leader in his community until colonialism enters. Arrow of God similarly describes the downfall of a traditional leader at the hands of colonialism. The central conflicts of the novel revolve around the struggle between continuity and change, such as Ezeulu refusing to serve Winterbottom, or between the traditional villagers and Ezeulu's son who studies Christianity.
/New Statesman
Prize for African writing.
Chinua Achebe
Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe popularly known as Chinua Achebe is a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic...
. It is Achebe's third novel following Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apartis a 1958 English language novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. It is a staple book in schools throughout Africa and widely read and studied in English-speaking countries around the world. It is seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English, and one of the first African...
and No Longer at Ease
No Longer at Ease
No Longer at Ease is a 1960 novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. It is the story of an Igbo man, Obi Okonkwo, who leaves his village for a British education and a job in the Nigerian colonial civil service, but who struggles to adapt to a Western lifestyle and ends up taking a bribe...
. These three books are sometimes called The African Trilogy. The novel centers around Ezeulu, the chief priest of several Nigerian villages, who confronts colonial powers and Christian missionaries in the 1920s.
Plot introduction
The novel is set amongst the villages of the Igbo peopleIgbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...
in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. Ezeulu is the chief priest of the god Ulu, worshipped by the six villages of Umuaro. The book begins with Ezeulu and Umuaro getting in a battle with a nearby village, Okperi. The conflict is abruptly resolved when T.K. Winterbottom, the British colonial overseer, intervenes.
After the conflict, a Christian missionary, John Goodcountry, arrives in Umuaro. Goodcountry began to tell the villages tales of Nigerians in the Niger Delta
Niger Delta
The Niger Delta, the delta of the Niger River in Nigeria, is a densely populated region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil...
who abandoned (and battled) their traditional "bad customs," in favor of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, stirring resentment from his traditional community.
Ezeulu is called away from his village by Winterbottom, and he is invited to become a part of the colonial administration, a policy known as indirect rule
Indirect rule
Indirect rule was a system of government that was developed in certain British colonial dependencies...
. Ezeulu refuses to be a "white man's chief" and
is thrown in prison. In Umuaro, the people cannot harvest the yam
Yam (vegetable)
Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...
s until Ezeulu has called the New Yam Feast to give thanks to Ulu. When Ezeulu returns from prison, he refuses to call the feast despite being implored by other important men in the village to make a compromise. Ezeulu reasons to the people and to himself that it is not his will but Ulu's; Ezeulu believes himself to be half spirit and half man. The yams begin to rot in the field, and a famine ensues for which the village blames Ezeulu. Seeing this as an opportunity, John Goodcountry proposes that the village offer thanks to the Christian god instead so that they may harvest what remains of their crops with "immunity".
Many of the villagers have already lost their faith in Ezeulu. One of Ezeulu's sons dies during a traditional ceremony, and the village interprets this as a sign that Ulu has abandoned their priest. Rather than face another famine, the village converts to Christianity.
The title "Arrow of God" refers to Ezeulu's image of himself as an arrow in the bow of his god.
Themes
Ulu, the villages of Umuaro and Okperi, and the colonial officials are all fictional. But Nigeria in the 1920s was controlled by British Colonial authorities, indirect ruleIndirect rule
Indirect rule was a system of government that was developed in certain British colonial dependencies...
was tested as a governing strategy, and many of the Igbo people
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...
abandoned their traditional beliefs for Christianity. The novel is considered a work of African literary realism
Literary realism
Literary realism most often refers to the trend, beginning with certain works of nineteenth-century French literature and extending to late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century authors in various countries, towards depictions of contemporary life and society "as they were." In the spirit of...
.
Achebe's first novel Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apartis a 1958 English language novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. It is a staple book in schools throughout Africa and widely read and studied in English-speaking countries around the world. It is seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English, and one of the first African...
tells the tale of Okonkwo, a leader in his community until colonialism enters. Arrow of God similarly describes the downfall of a traditional leader at the hands of colonialism. The central conflicts of the novel revolve around the struggle between continuity and change, such as Ezeulu refusing to serve Winterbottom, or between the traditional villagers and Ezeulu's son who studies Christianity.
Symbolism
The phrase "Arrow of God" is drawn from an Igbo proverb in which a person, or sometimes an event, is said to represent the will of God. Arrow of God also concerns itself basically with the Acquiescence of Traditional African forms to Western Influence.Recognition
Arrow of God won the first ever Jock CampbellJock Campbell, Baron Campbell of Eskan
John "Jock" Middleton Campbell, Baron Campbell of Eskan was the Chairman of Booker Brothers, McConnell and Co in British Guiana between 1952 and 1967. He was knighted in 1957 and was created a life peer on the 14 January 1966, taking the title Baron Campbell of Eskan, of Camis Eskan in the...
/New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
Prize for African writing.
External links
- Arrow of God study guide, themes, quotes, character analysis, teacher resources
- Time Magazine Book Review