CULTURAL HEGEMONY IN CHINUA ACHEBE'S THINGS FALL APART: A POSTCOLONIAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

The current research paper considers theory of cultural hegemony as reflected in the Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe's 1958 novel Things Fall Apart. The study aims to examine Achebe's novel as a profound example of cultural hegemony during the colonial era. The novelist exhibits his mother land Nigeria as a culturally hegemonized territory by the English colonizer at that time. The study also presents Antonio Gramsci's theory of cultural hegemony as the main subject in the development of both fields Cultural Studies and Postcolonialism. The research paper is divided into three main sections and a conclusion. The first section shows the development of cultural hegemony as a new theory at the hand of the Italian theorist Antonio Gramsci, who is known for his own perspective of hegemony as a cultural component. Based on Gramsci's theory, the second section examines the significance of cultural hegemony in the fields of Cultural Studies and Postcolonialism. As for the third section, it tackles the theory of cultural hegemony through a selective analysis of Achebe's novel. As far as Things Fall Apart is concerned, the analysis traces the novelist's attempt to expose colonialism as a hegemonic power through an overt portrayal of the cultural struggle between the colonizer and the colonized in Nigeria. Finally, the study ends with a conclusion that sums up the ultimate findings of the research..