Encroaching Colonialism and Agony of African Leaders in Things Fall Apart and Les Blancs

Abstract

Encroaching Colonialism and Agony of African Leaders in Things Fall Apart and Les Blancs Jaehwan Han (Pusan National University) The purpose of this paper is to explore the process of encroaching colonialism and its ensuing disorientation of the native community by analyzing Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958) and Lorraine Hansberry’s Les Blancs (1972), paying particular attention to the agony of African leaders, Okonkwo and Tshembe. If Things Fall Apart is concerned with pre-colonial and colonial Nigeria, Les Blancs depicts the colonial and postcolonial Zatembe, one of the African countries in the middle of the 20th century. While Things Fall Apart shows the order-based Igbo community, the community in Les Blanc depicts the chaos and confusion with the rapid change of the African society. In many ways, Things Fall Apart and Les Blancs, two postcolonial texts, have much in common. First, the setting is Africa, where the indigenous people encounter the infiltration of European colonial forces. Secondly, the two protagonists, Okonkwo and Tshembe, commit tragic actions due to their anxiety as African leaders. While Okonkwo kills himself symbolically not to subordinate to colonialism, Tshembe kills his brother, transforming himself into a national leader. Third, both of the writers try to represent the authentic African culture, making a poignant critique of the distorted portrayal of Africans and Africa. While the protagonist in Things Fall Apart chooses suicide in resistant to colonial advance due to his helplessness, the protagonist in Les Blancs chooses homicide to be reborn as a national fighter. I argue that both Achebe and Hansberry launch a harsh critique of the problematics of colonialism, recuperating the African community and culture.