Grad School Discussion Notes and Summary: Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah

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All Things Achebe--The Complete Notes Collection

Anthills of the Savannah Discussion Notes and Summary

DISCLAIMER: These are my notes that I created from reading the novel and from classroom discussion. Generally speaking, the chapter-by-chapter summaries are my own, however, the other parts of the posts are what I hope are an amelioration of the classroom discussion.

Discussion Points/Observations:

• The role of women; they are still representing society.
• Parallel to Achebe's role as minister of info for Biafra.
• Rural and urban. From the 60's to 80's, the state has pulled back from trying to connect to the urban areas.
• Achebe's central characters always die. Their struggle is more important than their life—they inspire people.
• Failure of ruling class to connect to the majority (which is the poor)—all there is is struggle—there's no solution.