Chike's School Days Flashcards
Theme: Cololialism as a form of violence
Chinua Achebe presents British colonialism’s impact on an Igbo village through Chike, a young boy whose family exemplifies cultural disruption. Chike’s father, Amos, prioritizes British-influenced Christianity over Igbo tradition, leading to family tensions, particularly with his mother, Elizabeth, who reluctantly returns to Igbo faith in response. The violent language describing Amos’s “nailed ears” symbolizes the forceful influence of Christian missionaries.
Colonial schooling further alienates Chike from Igbo culture. Fear of punishment at school and the metaphor of “flogging to death” reflect the violent imposition of foreign education, leading to a form of “cultural death.” Achebe draws a comparison between seed dispersal and colonialism, where “explosive mechanisms” symbolize violent cultural change, positioning English as a weapon that disrupts Igbo society. Through these metaphors, Achebe emphasizes colonialism’s destructive impact on traditional life and the uncertain future of colonized youth.
Theme: Family and community
Chinua Achebe illustrates how colonialism disrupts family and community structures within an Igbo village, affecting relationships on a personal level. Chike’s father, Amos, marries Sarah, an Osu, due to his Christian beliefs, which isolates him from his traditionalist mother, Elizabeth. Although Elizabeth herself converted to Christianity, her disapproval of the marriage leads her to return to traditional Igbo practices, highlighting the tensions that arise when new beliefs clash with long-standing social norms.
Chike’s mother, Sarah, instructs her children not to eat with neighbors, contradicting the Igbo custom of communal child-rearing and pushing the family toward an isolated, nuclear model. Chike’s refusal of food from a neighbor, due to his mother’s beliefs, results in resentment, showing the community’s resistance to altered family structures and social hierarchies under colonial influence. Achebe’s portrayal highlights the divide and loss of unity caused by colonialism, reflecting the broader strategy of colonial powers to weaken indigenous communities by disrupting their social cohesion.
Theme: leadership and authority
Achebe’s story explores unreliable authority in both colonial and Igbo figures, reflecting the cultural disruption caused by colonialism. Mr. Brown gains respect through medicine rather than genuine spiritual guidance, and the village diviner fails to influence family decisions, indicating the limits of traditional authority.
Chike’s teacher reinforces this instability by teaching irrelevant colonial content, like songs about Julius Caesar. This fractured leadership suggests that neither colonial nor local systems provide the guidance the community needs, prompting Chike’s generation to forge new values and traditions.
Chike
Chike is a young Igbo boy, excited to start school, and his birth as the first son after five girls is celebrated. His family’s Christian beliefs isolate him from traditional Igbo culture, such as when he refuses food offered to local deities. At school, Chike loves singing English songs, despite not understanding them fully, and is fascinated by complex English words like “periwinkle.” He often creates imaginative songs with these new words, finding joy in his schoolbook stories and envisioning a “strange, magical new world.”
Amos
Amos, originally from the respected “free-born” group, loses community respect by marrying Sarah, an Osu woman, due to his Christian beliefs against traditional Igbo class rules. This choice alienates him from his mother, Elizabeth, despite her own conversion to Christianity. Amos’s decision means his children, including his celebrated first son Chike, inherit the Osu status.
Sarah
Sarah, an Osu, converted to Christianity, rejecting traditional Igbo class rules that once barred her from interacting freely with “free-borns.” Her faith enables her marriage to Amos, but it also leads her to isolate their children from the village’s traditional practices. She even tells them not to accept food from neighbors, as they offer it to Igbo deities, which she calls “idols.”
Elizabeth
Elizabeth, Amos’s mother, converted to Christianity but still values traditional Igbo beliefs. She strongly opposes Amos’s marriage to Sarah, an Osu, and even seeks a diviner’s help to stop it. When the ritual fails, Elizabeth abandons Christianity and returns to her traditional faith.
The Diviner
The diviner, a practitioner of traditional Igbo religion, is regarded as wise and powerful, especially by those who haven’t converted to Christianity. When Elizabeth seeks his help to stop her son Amos from marrying Sarah, the diviner performs a ritual, but it fails. Despite this, Elizabeth returns to her original faith afterward. His failure invites readers to question the legitimacy of his authority in the village.
Mr. Brown
Mr. Brown, an English missionary, is more respected for running a dispensary than for his religious teachings, as most villagers resist Christianity. He persuades Amos to marry Sarah despite her low status, and together they raise Chike and their other children as Christians.
The Schoolteacher
The schoolteacher, notorious for using a cane on students, introduces Chike and his classmates to English. He teaches catechism songs and Western history, including a memorable one about Julius Caesar. While stricter with older students, he uses English to tease them and introduces longer words like “periwinkle” and “procrastination,” along with phrases like “explosive mechanism.”
