Echoes of ancestral drums; critique of mainstream modernity in chinua achebe's no longer at Ease

Abstract

This thesis examines the negative impact of mainstream modernity upon Nigerian society in Chinua Achebe’s novel No Longer at Ease, set on the eve of Nigeria’s independence from British colonial rule. Recounting the incidents in the life of the protagonist, Obi Okonkwo, the novel foregrounds the consequences of Western values instilled in him after studying in England. His attitudes and beliefs regarding Igbo tradition and communal values change, consequently, affecting the whole Igbo community. Obi’s father, Isaac, a convert to Christianity, immerses himself in Christian values over Igbo tradition, while his mother, Hannah, forbids him from marrying the outcast Clara Okeke, clinging to the discriminatory aspects of tradition that require reformation for a more robust Igbo tradition. It is a qualitative research that deploys the theoretical lens of Transmodern Studies. In my thesis, I have adopted Enrique Dussel’s concept of ‘transmodernity’, Ziauddin Sardar’s differentiation of ‘tradition and traditionalism’, Frantz Fanon’s approach to ‘decolonization’, and Paul Gilroy’s ‘transnational approach’. Transmodernity offers an alternative to Western Modernity in order to incorporate tradition and communal values in the context of a Nigerian society. Decolonization enlightens how Western values were used to support colonial projects in Nigeria and exposes their perceived superiority as an illusion. Meanwhile, transnational approach strategically unites Nigerians worldwide to continue their traditional values wherever they reside. This study concludes that non- Western societies including African societies should critically engage with and challenge Western modernity, promote their own valuable traditions, reform discriminatory aspects, and reject uncritical cultural assimilation. Keywords: tradition, traditionalism, modernity, post-modernity, trans-modernity, colonialism, decolonization, Igbo culture