The Novelist As A Teacher
Chinua Achebe is the most influential novelist of Nigeria and one of the most authentic voice of the present African consciousness. His writings truly reflect the dreams and aspirations of his fellow Africans. Achebe's critical and sociological essay, "The Novelist as a Teacher" shows his passionable attachment to the customs and traditions of his country.
"The Novelist as a Teacher" is a talk delivered at the first Common Wealth Writers Conference at leeds in 1964. Since then it is considered as the literary manifesto of Achebe. He defines the sociology of the writer, the nature of his writings and their relevance to the society with special reference to his literary practice.
Achebe belives in the theory that literature is to entertain as well as to instruct. These two functions are co-existent in terms of the literary conception of Achebe. The creative writer not only sees the society as it is but brings out never and more meaningful forms of living.
The Essay comprises two parts. In the first part, Achebe talks about the existence of a work of art in relation to its interaction with the readers. In the second part, he talks about the function of a writer in a social environment. Both the sections are linked by the personal and literary experiences of Achebe.
The African writers generally think that the kind of relationship that exists between the writer and the audience in their country is the same as that in Europe. It is wrong. the western audience thinks that a writer is in revoll against the society and the society looks upon him with suspicion. Achebe is concerned about the social responsibilities and obligations of the writer.
The writer, according to Achebe is an organic part of the society. The African writers do not have a foreign auidence in mind. Achebe does not write for the European readers. Many African readers look to him as a kind of a teacher, a guide. His novels are always taken as an advice to the young. It may not be possible for a Self-respecting author to take dictation from his readers. He should nurse his individuality. At the same time, he must have a sense to the relative merits of the cause, he choose, one need not take a rigid view of the aspiration and requirements of the society.
Many wrongly consider the Africans as inferior. A sense of submissiveness and servitude to the alien has wrought an imparable damage to the psychic life of the African, who have not been able to shake off their coloniel submissiveness. when Achebe's wife, as a teacher, asked a student why he wrote 'winter' for 'harmattan', the boy replied that he would become a laughing atock if he did. The boy thought that there was something disgraceful about the African weather. This type of the inferiority complex must be purged. The native artist can contribute to restoring the self-confidence of the Africans. This is the educative role of the African writers.
Achebe requests the African writers to commit themselves to the task of rediscover themselves as a people, refashioning their literary and cultural institutions and helps them to assert their pride and dignity and human worth. He has to recreate the world of African past and present, its dignity and integrity and create a new sense of awareness through his novels.
Thus, Achebe art is essential instructive and propagandist. He stresses the socological and the utilitarian function of literature. The African writer should also aim at using English in a way that brings out the message without altering the language. He should aim at fashioning and an English which is at once universal and able to carry his peculiar experience.
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