...renown novelists. While Achebe hails from West Africa and Ngugi hails from East and Central Africa, the messages are quite similar. Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Ngugi's The River Between revolve around the multitude of social and political issues that consume modern-day Africa. The student will find that the importance of these stories is not limited to recreational reading. Indeed, this importance is linked to the importance of the history of Nigeria as a whole and the power of colonialism as a relentless force which has impacted the country over the last two hundred years. Central to the plot of each is the development of strong characters and the interweaving of public and private themes which arise at the hands of colonization.
Both Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Ngugi's The River Between have been based on the traditional societies of Africa (Africa News Service). Each of these tales is replete with tales of noteworthy Africans who devote tremendous efforts to liberalizing their people from the horrors of colonialism (Africa News Service). Consequently,...