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The usage of language the novel was so explicit. The language used is well simple and friendly to the comprehension of the readers. Achebe used pidgin in some incidences to make distinction to characters in the aspect of education level. This is also because the pidgin language is a widely spoken language among Nigerians and mostly used by the uneducated. Within the novel, Characters with lower level of education are using pidgin which is ungrammatical English and this expression attest to the fact
"·why I go kill my master? (pg.
34). Whereas Standard English is used by educated people
Again, the wide range of figures of speech were used to arouse the feelings and senses of the readers. There were some instances of rich poem used as line by some of the character. This is an excerpt from the novel
"It is the time to spread the news abroad
The use of language was therefore and important artistic device for the effective communication used by Achebe's to express his feelings and opinions on hunting for political power in the novel by the novelist as the story unfolds.
5 (893)
“ Thank you so much for accepting my assignment the night before it was due. I look forward to working with you moving forward ”
Flashbacks are usually used by writers to break the chronological flow of the story. In this novel Achebe makes effective use of the story to reemphasis issues and also flavour his narrative.
Even though flashback was not so rampant in the novel, there are a few of them which played significant role and subsequently offering us a lot of knowledge of things we did not know from the story.
For instance, When Odile takes us back to the time he first met Elsie, it was through flashback that that aspect of the narrative was made known to us readers.
Again we see from the novel an effective use of this flashback when we are informed of how chief Nanaga managed to secure a position as a cabinet minister. The manifestation of flashback helps to portray politics in A Man Of The People as it exposes us to a political position chief Nanga goes in for. Also, it is through flashback that we came to learn of the occupation and the life history of Odili's father, Hezekiah Samalu during the colonial days.
The use of irony as a style to portray the case of politics is predominant in the novel.it was used to demonstrate happenings in the novel which were rather not the case.
As the novel unfolds Odili ruminates on the endless surprises and contrasts between his country's elite and the poor. As he enjoys exquisite chef-prepared meals in Chief Nanga's palace when he had the oppourtunity to stay there for a while. It is brought to his notice that the nation is facing a significant excrement problem. This is an ironic reminder of how far the politicians are removed from the people they aim to represent. Chief Nanga's luxurious life is entirely predicated on the suffering and abuse of the common or ordinary citizen's problems that are masked by his claim to be a man of the people. In fact this is how irony employed in the novel seeks to help us understand the case politics in many African society as far as politics is concern.
Another ironical situation that tells the fact that there is no common man fighting for the wellbeing of the ordinary man in the street is the formation of the party common people's convention.
Odili finds it ironic that the mobilizing figures of the Common People's Convention are intellectuals who themselves are quite far from "common people." Not even one member of the organizing affiliation is a worker. All are lawyers, doctors, or activists. However, the committee defends their identities. They reference Karl Marx and explain that all revolutions must begin with the intellectual elite. This attest to the fact that they were all in for their selfish gain and not to fighting for the ordinary because they the fighters were not common people to fight for the common man.
Again, we see chief Nanga as a total African who opposes western influence but to our surprise as a minister of culture who is seemingly believe to be a preserver of African culture his own personal library harboured only works of the westerners or the Europeans indicating he does not practice what he preaches off.
This sections critically examines some selected characters their role and nature and how they have helped to move the story forward to reflect the Idea of politics. Characterization, in a nut shell may be considered as the role and nature of a character taken into consideration what they say about themselves , what others say about that character and what he or she say about others.
Characterization is the means by which writers present and reveal a character, a fictional individual to whom roles are assigned in a literary text (Heywood, 2013). Achebe reveals his characters in A Man of the People through their speeches, dress, manner and actions. This is done by the first person singular narrator who is the sole presenter of characters and events that make the story in the text. The narrator appears to have a fixation on Mr Nanga who happens to be the main character of the story. The narrator, an apparently idealistic young university graduate, is to some extent, a foil of the main character, a pragmatic and opportunistic politician. Indeed, the title of the narrative is a designation for the main character. This is revealed to the reader in the very first paragraph of the narrative. He states:
No one can deny that Chief Honourable M.A. Nanga, MP, was the most approachable politician in the country. Whether you asked in the city or in his home village, Anata, they would tell you he was a man of the people. (Achebe, 2001)
The accumulation of nominal titles 'Chief Honourable M.A. · MP' for Mr Nanga brings out the narrator's aversion for the character as a self-conceited dictatorial. The name 'Nanga' is ironically magnified through the nominal phrases used as descriptive modifiers. This is to condemn Mr Nanga as a selfish, greedy and unscrupulous public figure and politician. The narrator's hidden ironical intents get unveiled as he decries the most elaborate preparations, pomp and pageantry put in place by the people of Anata to feast Chief Nanga "due to address the staff and students of Anata Grammar School (Achebe, 2001).
Progressively, Chief the Honourable M.A. Nanga, MP's infamous popularity gets revealed to the reader people who manipulate them to satisfy their socio-economic needs while pretending to love and revere them in public. Chief the Honourable M.A. Nanga, MP's insatiable taste for popularity and fame is further rebuffed in the narrative when the narrator makes him to proudly announce his trip to the USA to be awarded a doctorate degree in the following words: "They are going to give me doctorate degree· Doctor of Laws, LL D" (Achebe,2001).
Ironically, Chief the Honourable M.A. Nanga, MP has throughout his political life demonstrated an incurable aversion for intellectuals and university-trained and professional men, whose degrees and titles he holds in abject contempt. Yet, here is Chief the Honourable M. A. Nanga, MP, elated to be given a university degree title which obviously will boost his egocentric character a step further. The narrator in Achebe's A Man of the People is endowed with a strong descriptive prowess through which he forcefully cartoons characters and situations in a lasting pictorial manner.
He blends the description with denunciative overstatement, a kind of deliberate exaggeration through which his heightened aversion for the sociopolitical ills and actors in the text is affirmed. Extravagant criticism is indeed a driving force in the narrative, considering the level of the narrator's disappointment and anger, as he appears rather as a socio-political misfit in a bastardized society in the wake of political independence, as a result of his incorruptible stands. His idealistic persuasions are in conflict with the pragmatic survival orientations of Chief the Honourable M. A. Nanga, MP and most of the other characters in the narrative. This conflict contributes immensely to the dynamism of the plot and propels the narrative.
Odili Samalu is the novel's protagonist and narrator. He is born into a successful and politically-involved family, and he distinguishes himself as a privileged member of society due to his educational background. As young energetic teacher who has become disillusioned with the current government of his home country. During his university days, Odili realized the politicians who ran his country were corrupt and interested only in increasing their own wealth, not in helping the ordinary people. At the start of the book, Odili is politically idealistic, and he truly wants to help improve the lives of the people in his country. However, he is also a young man who is full of lust and pride. As a flat character, he sometimes manipulates other people and wants to impress others. He is thoughtful and well-educated, but sometimes he is blind to his own shortcomings. Over the course of the novel, he matures and changes. His idealism is tested and he discovers personal integrity and courage are of great importance. He is portrayed as a middle class person and a revolutionist who is so active and ready to fight for the ordinary citizen.
Odili criticizes the selfishness of the politicians but as the novel unfolds we find that Odili quickly engulfed by the privileges that his political involvement awards him. At the end of the novel, it became difficult to decide whether Odili has actually grown from his experiences or if he is still too self-involved to think beyond the material things he was acquiring from politics.
Theme is simply the central idea of any literary work of art. A particular work of arts may discuss a number of thematic concerns. However, a few of them have been discussed for this novel under study.
Corruption is the main theme Achebe's novel. A novel that explores greed, corruption, politics, and power in an unnamed postcolonial African country. In A Man of the People, Chief Nanga amasses wealth and power as the Minister of Culture when his country is granted independence from white rulers. But, Chief Nanga is not as just and good as he claims to be. Rather, he uses his wealth to bribe others and garner more political power. Likewise, he uses his political power to acquire more wealth, which he then uses to repeat the cycle. With these actions, we can see clearly how easy it is for power to corrupt and for a single person who is given too much power to then use that power to corrupt others.
In fact, Chief Nanga is portrayed by the author as a corrupt leader, he tried to bribe Odili to step down from election,
"·take your money and take a scholarship to go and learn more books, and leave the dirty game·" (Page118).
Also Achebe portrayed Chief Koko too as a corrupt leader who bribed Maxwell Kulamo to step down from election,
"·Maxwell Kulamo has more sense than you. He has already taken his money and agreed to step down for Chief Koko·" (Page119).
In a nut shell theme which is vividly in here and explored by Achebe is simply a struggle of man against political corruption.
Throughout the novel, Odili is presented with opportunities due to his economic and intellectual privileges. Simultaneously, however, Odili denounces Western education and its conflation with an imperialist mindset. At the beginning of the story, Odili is invited to Chief Nanga's house due to his British educational background. Odili sees this invitation as the chance to continue his studies and reach his long-term goals. However, we are prompted to evaluate whether Odili's self-interest demonstrates his own hypocrisy, or if he is taking advantage of the resources available to him in order to help those that do not have the same privilege Macheka (2012). The Complacency of the Common Citizen
Throughout the novel, Odili voices his disdain for the nation's "common man." Although many people are disheartened by the nation's politics, their disappointment manifests in disinterest. While they are aware of Chief Nanga's fraudulent real estate cases and other examples of deceit, they still believe that they can get "their share of the national cake" if he is the figure in power. Odili ruminates on the dynamic between the masses and the elite politicians throughout his campaign. When Odili contests Chief Nanga, he stakes his ideas for reform on the claim that he is the champion of the common person. However, Odili comments on the irony of the C.P.C. and their chosen namesake. During one C.P.C. meeting, he explains that the mobilizing figures of the Common People's Convention are intellectuals that do not, in reality, represent the entire nation. However, the committee defends their formation, and they draw upon Karl Marx to explain that all revolutions begin with the intellectual elite Macheka, (2012).
In the novel, the betrayal was shown by the prime minister after the suggestion of minister of finance on cutting down of coffee price to meet the world market, then the minister was sacked by prime minister. This points out how politicians manipulate things in their favour and when it does not go in their favour betray the very people the place in position to work for them by sacking them (page 3). Also Chief Nanga seemed to betray Odili by seducing Elsie, Odili's fianc?.
Nepotism as to do with favoring of relatives or friends because of their relationship rather than their abilities. In the A man of the people, the situation was worse and was actually exhibited well by chief Nanga who said to Odili that he is wasting his time at village and tells him to go to the city and take a position in the civil service because those who are there are from the same village, ( page 12 ).
How does the text A Man of the People reflect the idea of Post-Colonial politics?
In many works of literature, specifically those coming out of Africa, the Middle East, and the India we meet characters who are struggling with their identities in the wake of colonization.
This notwithstanding, is a reflection of the kind of literature that came out of many colonized nations. In many cases, the literature or the literary works stemming from these events are both emotional and political. However the likes of Wole Soyinka, Jummo Kenyatta, Ayikwei Armah, Chinua Achebe and Djoleto are no exception of the writers who wrote to reflect such situations.
In fact, those who wrote to reflect the post-colonial theory wrote their works through a specific critical lens, or a specific way. The critical issues treated in their works compelled readers to analyze and explain the effects that colonization and imperialism as well as the struggle for power and against corruption have brought unto them.
The text A Man Of The People under study habours a number of critical elements that make the work reflect the idea of politics. On this not a number of these have been extensively discussed below to answer the research question.
Achebe after writing severally on the culture and evils of colonialism he sets on to portray the post-colonial reality in A Man of the People.
The novel is, offers the exposure of the corrupt political practices, careless nature of the mass and the ineffective role played by intellectual elites in Nigeria. The political experiences of Nigeria as an independent state is explored widely through the political career and dubious activities of Mr. M.A Chief Nanga, the Minister of Culture who came to power by distinguishing himself as a heckler in the Parliament and a believer in Africanism.
The novel treats the case of post-colonialism as it connect us to a personality in the novel like Nanga whom according to the Achebe is minister with accumulation of wealth and property and numerous sexual misconducts. He lives in a luxury flats, which is in the name of his wife whiles the majority of the people live in abject poverty. Yet, the common people exhibits an unconcern attitude because they find no wrong in corruption and they would usually would say,
"Let them eat,' was the people's opinion, 'After all when white men used to do all the eating did we commit suicide?'" p.144
PORTRAYAL OF POLITICS IN AMU DJOLETO'S MONEY GALORE. (2019, Dec 17). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/portrayal-of-politics-in-amu-djoleto-s-money-galore-and-example-essay
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