Analysis of A Man of the People Written by Chinua Achebe - Book Report/Review Example

Running head:  CONFLICT IN A MAN OF THE PEOPLE Student’s Name :( First, Middle, Last) Admission Number: Course/Subject Title: Institution: Instructor/Lecturer: Date of Submission: (Dd, mm, yyyy) Introduction In the novel written by Chinua Achebe, A man of the People, we are introduced with two contrasting groups of persons from the social and political aspects that are based in West Africa. The two groups represent both the new and the old generations of politics that both the characters represent them. Odili, who is the narrator, is seen to represent the new generation, while Chief Nanga who was a former teacher at Odili represents the older regime of bush politics. The conflict between the new and the old ways is thus portrayed through the two characters as they do not only quarrel but disagree over women and political views. Discussion The conflicts occur at a small village of West Africa. The plot shows how conflict between Chief Nanga cum Minister of Culture and Odili begins. The conflicts start at many levels – lifestyle, culture and politics which represents the divided generation of the young and the old. During the period, Chief Nanga invites Odili over to his house and this is the place where Odili learns how politicians like Chief Nanga enrich themselves in the society through means of corruption and, how they also engage themselves in immoral acts. Odili notices that her girlfriend Elsie slept with chief Nanga because she was excited of his immense wealth. On noticing, this Chief Nanga tries to appease Odili over the issue but, he refuses and plans to revenge by all means. The rivalry and conflicts start when Odili announces that he will be vying for the next general elections against Chief Nanga. The act angers Chief Nanga and he then start raising argument against Odili claiming that he is an intellectual who is filled with European style of civilization and thus is much further from the interests of the common man, centrally this is seen as hypocritical and very untrue since Chief Nanga himself is not for the common but to protect his common interest. An issue that makes Odili hate Nanga even further and develops conflict with him is when Nanga finds a way of taking women that Odili has developed feelings for away from him, this renders Odili to develop revenge as he becomes more enthusiastic to defeat Nanga in the upcoming elections and thus win back all the women that he desires (Chinua, 2003). On the other hand, Chief Nanga wants to prove to Odili that despite his age, his biased power, appealing good looks and wealth he also has ways and tactics of depressing the younger and less powerful intellectuals like Odili in the society. The narrator continues to portray how this two people gets into conflicts, whereby as Odili grows he began seeing the side of Chief Nanga as greedy and gluttonous which the people he is presenting do not see at all since they are blinded by the old style of ruling. Odili blames Chief Nanga of taking advantage of the people rather than educating them and giving them the best leadership rather than hiding the truth also having his way with women because of his political and powerful ambitions. On one episode, Odili discovers that his own father is very much adjacent to him for challenging the Honorable Chief Nanga not understanding that he represented the old style of leadership. This then creates a huge controversy between the two, where at one point Odili establishes himself as the voice of the people and Nanga comes by to bribe him to drop the competition but, he refuses and his father takes it because he is threatened by Nanga (Mercedes, 1997). More so, what hurts Odili so much is the fact that Nanga lives in a fabulous house, has rental houses and has thugs who are responsible for killing however, who comes by to challenge his leadership and the way of ruling. In an instance, to scare Odili to back down chief Nanga arrests his father and kills his close friend Max and wins out two of Odili’s political girls. Odili becomes upset and develops hatred with the situation and, how he watches his father mistreated in front of the crowd this brings hatred and conflict more when he watches Nanga’s stuff off the ballot boxes and the way he uses his power to attempt and suppress him. The author analyses the conflicts in terms of occurrence where he states that the conflict had to happen so that the society were to truly understand the side of Chief Nanga and his political and immoral ambitions. The conflict thus are categorized in major aspects for example there is the conflict or revenge where Odili is of the actions to overcome Chief Nanga’s harsh reign and bring u p a new generation where each people enjoy equal opportunities and have time to enjoy their lifestyle without being taken advantage off. The other revenge is the fact that there is major setback with politicians and their corrupt world. They take advantages of their electors by bribing them to support and win those votes and people. This actions angers Odili so much until he decides to revenge so as to bring a new and a better society free from immorality and corruption. The other thing that angers Odili is the fact that the politicians take advantage of the oppressed and the poor and sleeps with their women. These actions do not make Odili happy at all and for this he turns back and revenges upon his mentor. Odili on the other hand gives his insight over the situation when he narrates that, “We ignore man's basic nature if we say, as some critics do, that because a man like Nanga has risen overnight from poverty and insignificance to his present opulence he could be persuaded without much trouble to give it up again and return to his original state. A man who has just come in from the rain and dried his body and put on dry clothes is more reluctant to go out again than another who has been indoors the whole time. The trouble with our new nation as I saw it then lying on that bed was that none of us had been indoors long enough to be able to say, to hell with it. We had all been in the rain together until yesterday” (Malcolm 2004). This statement shows how Odili is enlightened and learn the scheme that Nanga uses to oppress the people. The conflicts further shows the anger which drives Odili to pursue his determinations in revenge for Nanga’s wife in waiting Edna because initially Nanga had slept with his wife Elsie before. This action continues until finally when Nanga wins back a second term in office beating up Odili politically through the tricks, this then lends Odili to be brutally beaten and most of his supporters killed together with his friend’s girlfriends taken off (Chinua, 2003). Conclusion The conflicts finally ends when there rises a military coup, this therefore masks the end of Nanga’s reign in his political career and Odili finally secures Ednas hand in marriage and unmasks the beginning of new style of leadership when the people listens to him and the father finally admits to listen to his son for enlightening the people. However, coup d’état was not the appropriate means of ending Nanga’s leadership since many people during the time lost their lives fighting for new and modern way of leadership and the struggles they undergone in search for the new way of dealing with particular people in the society. Initially, the conflict was of benefit and rather harmful although the narrator shows clearly that the conflict brought change to the society. However, many people lives were lost but to the end the product was change and with the introduction of new culture, leadership style and education helped the people to overcome the old regime that was full of corruption, hatred, anger and greed. It would have been best if the peple had listened and ganged together to fight Nanga’s regime before the coup d’état had started which claimed a number of lives that supported the old regime over the new regime. Nonetheless, the conflict between Odili and Nanga would have been beneficial if only Nanga would have not taken advantage over Odili’s poor lifestyle and the women that he came across thus there would have been no revenge at all and such instances would have not occurred at all. To conclude, the narrator explains the aspects that would have been taken in order to minimize the likely hood of such aspects re-occurring one again in life. The author significantly stresses that the conflict will not again be witnessed since it was ended by coup d’état and that the people have had already coped with the new way of style and that there have been introduced new ways through the European education of curbing up corruption, revenge and with the introduction of civic education to the people there will never occur such actions due to the fear of loss of lives and the tendency of people ignoring new and symbolic actions that will bring change and unity in the society (Ezenwa-Ohaeto, 1997). References Ezenwa-Ohaeto (1997). Chinua Achebe: A Biography. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp. 109 Malcolm Wells. (2004). "A Jigsaw Puzzle," Whole Earth Review, 62: 22-25. Mercedes Mackay (1997). Review: A Man of the People by Chinua Achebe. African Affairs 66 (262): 81. Chinua Achebe. (2003). Hopes and Impediments: Selected Essays 1965–1987. Heinemann, London. Read More