''Arrow of God'', published in 1964, is the third novel by

Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe (; born Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as a central figure of modern African literature. His first novel ''Things Fall Apart'' ( ...

. Along with ''

Things Fall Apart ''Things Fall Apart'' is a 1958 novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. It is Achebe's debut novel and was written when he was working at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. The novel was first published in London by Heinemann (publisher), ...

'' and ''

No Longer at Ease ''No Longer at Ease'' is a 1960 novel by Chinua Achebe. It is the story of an Igbo man, Obi Okonkwo, who leaves his village for an education in Britain and then a job in the Colonial Nigeria civil service, but is conflicted between his African c ...

'', it is considered part of ''The African Trilogy'', sharing similar settings and themes. The novel centres on Ezeulu, the chief priest of several

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a t ...

villages in

colonial Nigeria Colonial Nigeria was ruled by the British Empire from the mid-nineteenth century until 1st of October 1960 when Nigeria achieved independence. Britain Lagos Treaty of Cession, annexed Lagos Colony, Lagos in 1861 and established the Oil River ...

, who confronts colonial powers and Christian missionaries in the 1920s. The novel was published as part of the influential

Heinemann African Writers Series The African Writers Series (AWS) is a collection of books written by African novelists, poets and politicians. Published by Heinemann, 359 books appeared in the series between 1962 and 2003. The series has provided an international audience fo ...

. The phrase "Arrow of God" is drawn from an Igbo proverb in which a person, or sometimes an event, is said to represent the will of God. ''Arrow of God'' won the first ever Jock Campbell/''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

'' Prize for African writing. In 2022, it was included on the "

Big Jubilee Read The Big Jubilee Read is a 2022 campaign to promote reading for pleasure and to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II. A list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors, 10 from each decade of Elizabeth II's reign, was selected by a panel of e ...

" list of 70 books by

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authors, selected to celebrate the

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Plot summary

The novel is set amongst the villages of the

Igbo people The Igbo people ( , ; also spelled Ibo" and historically also ''Iboe'', ''Ebo'', ''Eboe'', / / ''Eboans'', ''Heebo''; natively ) are an ethnic group found in Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. Their primary origin is fo ...

during the 1920s. Ezeulu is the chief priest of the god ''Ulu'', worshipped by the six villages of Umuaro. The book begins with Ezeulu and Umuaro fighting against a nearby village, Okperi. The conflict is abruptly resolved when T. K. Winterbottom, the British colonial overseer, intervenes. After the conflict, an indigenous African Christian

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

, John Goodcountry, arrives in Umuaro. Goodcountry begins to tell the villages tales of Nigerians in the

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitic ...

who abandoned (and battled) their traditional "bad customs" in favour of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. Ezeulu is called away from his village by Winterbottom and is invited to become a part of the colonial administration, a policy known as

indirect rule Indirect rule was a system of public administration, governance used by imperial powers to control parts of their empires. This was particularly used by colonial empires like the British Empire to control their possessions in Colonisation of Afri ...

. Ezeulu refuses to be a "white man's chief" and is thrown in prison. In Umuaro, the people cannot harvest the yams until Ezeulu has called the New Yam Feast to give thanks to Ulu. When Ezeulu returns from prison, he refuses to call the feast despite being implored by other important men in the village to compromise. Ezeulu reasons to the people and to himself that it is not his will but Ulu's; Ezeulu believes himself to be half spirit and half man. The yams begin to rot in the field, and a famine ensues for which the village blames Ezeulu. Seeing this as an opportunity, John Goodcountry proposes that the village offer thanks to the

Christian God In Christianity, God is the eternal, supreme being who created and preserves all things. Christians believe in a monotheistic conception of God, which is both transcendent (wholly independent of, and removed from, the material universe) an ...

instead and they may harvest what remains of their crops with "immunity". Many of the villagers have already lost their faith in Ezeulu. One of Ezeulu's sons, Obika, dies during a traditional ceremony, and the villagers interpret this as a sign that Ulu has taken sides with them against his priest. For this apparent judgement against Ezeulu and the promised immunity by the Christian God, at the Christian harvest, taking place a few days after Obika's death, many men embrace Christianity by sending their son there with yams. The title ''Arrow of God'' refers to Ezeulu's image of himself as an arrow in the bow of his god.

Themes

Ulu, the villages of Umuaro and Okperi, and the colonial officials are all fictional. However, the depiction of colonial Nigeria is accurate in depicting the conflict between the traditional beliefs and religions of the Nigerians and the foreign values introduced by the Europeans, including Christianity. In addition,

was favoured by the colonial authorities in West Africa as a way to reduce the cost of colonial administration. The novel is considered a work of African

literary realism Literary realism is a movement and genre of literature that attempts to represent mundane and ordinary subject-matter in a faithful and straightforward way, avoiding grandiose or exotic subject-matter, exaggerated portrayals, and speculative ele ...

. Achebe's first novel, ''

'', tells the tale of Okonkwo, a leader in his community who comes into dispute with the colonial authorities. ''Arrow of God'' similarly describes the downfall of a traditional leader at the hands of the colonial authorities. The central conflicts of the novel revolve around the struggle between continuity and change, such as Ezeulu refusing to serve Winterbottom, or between the traditional villagers and Ezeulu's son who studies Christianity. Change is realized as inevitable among the Igbo people.

References

Relevant literature

* Alimi, S. A. "A Study of the Use of Proverbs as a Literary Device in Achebe's ''Things Fall Apart'' and ''Arrow of God''." ''International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences'' 2, no. 3 (2012): 2222-6990. * Fagrutheen, Syed. "Downfall of Traditionalism in ''Things Fall Apart'' and ''Arrow of God''." ''The English Literature Journal'' 1, no. 1 (2014): 21-37. * Innes, C. L. "A Source for" Arrow of God": A Response." ''Research in African Literatures'' 9, no. 1 (1978): 16-18. * Kalu, Anthonia C. "The priest/artist tradition in Achebe's ''Arrow of God''." ''Africa Today'' 41, no. 2 (1994): 51-62. * Machila, Blaise N. "Ambiguity in Achebe's ''Arrow of God''." ''Kunapipi'' 3, no. 1 (1981): 119-133. * Nnolim, Charles. "A Source for" Arrow of God"." ''Research in African Literatures'' 8, no. 1 (1977): 1-26. * Nwoga, D.I., 1981. The Igbo World of Achebe's" Arrow of God". ''Research in African Literatures'', 12(1), pp.14-42.

External links

''Time'' book review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arrow Of God 1964 Nigerian novels Nigerian English-language novels Novels about clergy Novels by Chinua Achebe Novels set in the 1920s Novels set in the British Empire Novels set in colonial Africa Novels set in Nigeria Realist novels Works about missionaries Heinemann (publisher) books African Writers Series