SOME REFLECTIONS ON ACHEBE’S ARROW OF GOD: A REDACTIVE APPROACH

Abstract

This paper reviewed Achebe’s Arrow of God using a critical methodology known as Redaction. According to Caner & Caner (2002), Redaction is “the process of re-defining an established set of terms to fit one’s own ideas” (105). Redaction is applied in this study thus leading to a re-examination of the roles of the central character, Ezeulu in the novel. Through this process, the paper re-affirmed that change is the central theme of the novel and that Ezeulu and Umuaro are at the heart of this sweeping change. While Umuaro is reluctant to accept change initially, Ezeulu embraces it earnestly but foundered when it matters most thus leading to both his ruin and the ruin of his deity. After a careful re-examination of the circumstances under which Ezeulu rejects the requests of both the colonial administrator and his clan, this paper concludes that far from being as progressive as his words and actions initially portray him to be, Ezeulu is an anti-progressive traditionalist whose conservatism spells doom for him, his deity, and his Umuaro society.