Citation

Hodges H. Ariel 2012; 43(4): 49-68.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, University of Calgary Press)

DOI

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PMID

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Abstract

This article argues that the beast whose spectre W.B. Yeats raises in "The Second Coming" has been a constant presence in Nigerian writing. It discusses two early manifestations of this beast, as they appear in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Peter Nwana's Omenuko, and focuses on the problem of abominations, particularly suicides, in traditional Igbo culture. In so doing, it contests Adélékè Adéèkó's assertion that Nigerian writers continually return to the conclusion of Things Fall Apart because of "dissatisfaction with Okonkwo's failure to negotiate historical transition" ("Okonkwo" 84). This article argues that, while Adéèkó is right that Nigerian writers frequently return to Things Fall Apart, they do so because Okonkwo's body is both literally and metaphorically an abomination that cannot be buried. As such, it anticipates what the historical transition brings: mere anarchy. Copyright © 2013.

Language: en