Abstract
This paper is an exposition of how Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God (1964) is engaged with philosophical concepts of thymos, noos, eros, and akrasia. The focus of this study is principally on Ezeulu’s thymos. To achieve this end, Francis Fukuyama’s notion of thymos or “desire for recognition” has been considered to provide a more tangible description of the term. This study explores that when a person’s body formation is mostly dominated by thymos, which has run out of control, the result is akrasia. Subsequently, it will be discussed that Ezeulu’s akrasia or “weakness in will” is the result of his ambivalent quest for self-worth. This article also seeks to examine the ways in which Ezeulu, the Chief Priest of Ulu, struggles to maintain his dignity to remain Umuaro’s cynosure. Ezeulu’s old age, his poor eyesight, his conflicts with his people, his insistence on revenge, and his desire for higher values provide some of the major sources of akrasia. By applying these aforementioned philosophical concepts to this novel, it is hoped that this article will contribute to a new conceptualization in terms of psychic disposition in Achebe’s Arrow of God.
Highlights
With an intricate and periphrastic narrative, Chinua Achebe’s third novel Arrow of God (Note 1) embarks on issues dealing with an important milestone in Umuaro (Note 2) in 1921
Melamu (1971) in “The Quest for Power in Achebe’s Arrow of God” alleges that Ezeulu’s awareness of his deficiencies, like his “failing vision” (p. 225) and “receding strength” (p. 226), urge him to have an “insatiable greed for power,” a type of fallacious desire that he himself is the first victim of (p. 240). These studies illuminated Ezeulu’s strength, conflict and weakness in their own particular ways, in interpreting Arrow of God, we would like to expand Ezeulu’s character by touching on Ancient Greek emotions like thymos (Note 4) which we prove leads to akrasia
This study proves that thymos is leading Ezeulu to make incorrect decisions and foretelling resulting in akrasia or weakness in making judgment
Summary
With an intricate and periphrastic narrative, Chinua Achebe’s third novel Arrow of God (Note 1) embarks on issues dealing with an important milestone in Umuaro (Note 2) in 1921. Even though, these studies illuminated Ezeulu’s strength, conflict and weakness in their own particular ways, in interpreting Arrow of God, we would like to expand Ezeulu’s character by touching on Ancient Greek emotions like thymos (Note 4) which we prove leads to akrasia. The propensity to feel self-esteem arises out of the part of the soul called thymos It is like an innate human sense of justice Taking Fukuyama’s study into account, it is stated that when an individual acts based on his thymos and not noos, the result is akrasia. An akratic person experiences passions that are at variance with his rational principle In other words, he makes decisions mostly based on his feelings rather than his reason. This study proves that thymos is leading Ezeulu to make incorrect decisions and foretelling resulting in akrasia or weakness in making judgment
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