Arrow of God
Arrow of God, novel by acclaimed Nigerian author Chinua Achebe that was first published in 1964. It is Achebe’s third novel and is the final book is what is called his African Trilogy.
Arrow of God is set during the 1920s in Nigeria, in the fictional Igbo village group of six villages called Umuaro, and focuses on Ezeulu, chief priest of Umuaro’s fictional god, Ulu. It begins by telling the story of an earlier dispute between Umuaro and the neighboring village group, Okperi. Ezeulu had told his people that their claims against Okperi were unjustified, but the people pursued the war against his wishes, until the British district officer, whom they call Wintabota, intervened and ended the dispute in favor of Okperi.
Ezeulu sends one of his sons, Oduche, to the white man’s school, where Oduche finds himself torn between the religion that he was raised in and the Christianity taught at the school. This leads to tension between various factions in Umuaro. Meanwhile, Winterbottom (Wintabota) summons Ezeulu, but the high priest refuses the summons and is imprisoned for two months for his defiance. When Winterbottom then wishes to appoint Ezeulu as the colonial “paramount chief” of Umuaro, Ezeulu declines and returns to his home. However, there he refuses to call the New Yam Feast that begins the harvest, believing that he is following Ulu’s instructions. Without the harvest, the people go hungry, and a Christian missionary exploits the situation by saying the people can be permitted by the Christian deity to harvest the yams if they sacrifice to that god rather than Ulu. The unexpected death of Ezeulu’s son Obika confirms to the people that Ulu has withdrawn his favor, and they flock to worship the Christian god.
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The “arrow” in the title of Arrow of God refers to Ezeulu’s image of himself as an arrow in the bow of his god, representing his will on Earth.
The quality of Arrow of God lies partly in the novel’s subtle plotting and largely in the vivid rendering of the complexities of the evolving indigenous society. We see the various responses of the people to the challenges of colonialism. Ezeulu’s community maintains traditional celebrations and intimate rituals, but its religion veers between the profoundly intuitive and the superstitiously silly. Achebe’s intelligent objectivity extends to the British community, too. If the English colonialists cause cultural disruption, they also terminate tribal warfare and build schools, roads, and hospitals. Achebe writes with wit, humor, sharp realism, and imaginative empathy. His prose is refreshingly original, pungently spiced with translated idioms, and coolly ironic.