ISSUES OF OTHERNESS IN CHINUA ACHEBE’S „ANTHILLS OF THE SAVANNAH” (1987)
ISSUES OF OTHERNESS IN CHINUA ACHEBE’S „ANTHILLS OF THE SAVANNAH” (1987)

Summary/Abstract: This paper focuses on representations of Otherness in Chinua Achebe’s last and most modern novel – “Anthills of the Savannah”, first published in 1987. As opposed to previous literary works by the same author that mainly focused on the disastrous encounter between the African and the European cultures, the above-mentioned novel is chiefly concerned with African culture itself, the one that has developed in postcolonial times. I argue that “Anthills of the Savannah” relies on discourses of Otherness and Sameness in order to give an answer to the complex problem of identity construction and I focus on two of the most relevant representations of Otherness that I have identified in Achebe’s novel – on the one hand, the way in which Achebe uses the language in the novel not only as a class marker but also as a marker of the individuality of the Africans as opposed to Europeans and, on the other hand, the relevance of Western experience and how the novel questions the way in which the African elite, educated in Western countries can and should combine forces with the masses in order to create a just and fair society. The conclusion is not bleak but, Achebe makes it clear that, in order to bring about the eagerly awaited change the whole nation, not just the elite, needs to be adequately educated to that effect.

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