A Structuralist Study of Chinua Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah

Ononiwu Mark Chitulu, Njemanze Queen

Abstract


Major African writers have never stopped exploring the themes of corruption, radical struggles and political instability in their respective domains. One of these writers and his monumental classic, Chinua Achebe; Anthills of the Savanna, discusses these themes expertly and with utmost dexterity. The major task of this paper is not to discuss the themes, rather to study the underlying structures of signification as they are applied in the structure of the narrative. The researcher therefore, will attempt to identify the smallest meaningful units in the text and study their modes of combination with the sole aim of comprehending fully how the meaning and thematic content of this narrative is created instead of interpreting the actual meaning conveyed. Simply put, this study will take a deep incursion into the methods through which the author deftly gets these themes across to his audience.

Key words: structuralism, semiotics, narrative, Actants, functions, binary oppositions


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References


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