The 'communalistic' African and the 'individualistic' Westerner: some comments on misleading generalizations in Western criticism of Soyinka and Achebe

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Periodical article

Title:	The 'communalistic' African and the 'individualistic' Westerner: some comments on misleading generalizations in Western criticism of Soyinka and Achebe
Author:	Kronenfeld, J.Z.
Year:	1975
Periodical:	Research in African Literatures
Volume:	6
Issue:	2
Pages:	199-225
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Nigeria
Subjects:	cultural philosophy literary criticism
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/3819060
Abstract:	Many African intellectuals have been concerned with establishing the value of pre-colonial African life, in the face of hundreds of years of Western condescension towards and misunderstanding of 'primitive' peoples. This has been characterised by the use of a series of contrasts between African and Western cultures, e.g. the 'communal' African society and the 'individualistic' Western society. The use made of these terms in Western discussion of modern African literature may be misleading as is showm in the case of a social scientist commenting on Wole Soyinka's play 'The Lion and the Jewel' and a literary critic discussing Chinua Achebe's novel 'Things Fall Apart'. Notes.