British Fiction- Essays

This is a short collection of essays on some of the most important fiction on the British Empire. The essays offer summaries, analyses, and comparisons and contrasts of the works, which reflect an era British Imperialism. Titles include: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe; Lord of the Flies by William Golding; The Coral Island by R.M. Ballantyne; Death and the King’s Horseman by Wole Soyinka; Beyond the Pale & The Tomb of His Ancestors by Rudyard Kipling.

These essays address the theme of the “stranger” and the cultural-other in the specific context of late British imperialism. Examined is the adventure story, one of the most popular genres of Britain’s late imperial period (1870-1914) as well as some post-colonial texts produced by African authors in the twentieth century. Deepened is the understanding of the British imperial experience in our readings, as the cross-cultural encounter remains the major focus of analysis throughout the book.

"Things Fall Apart- An Essay" by Forest Balderson is also available as a single essay, exclusively available on Amazon. According to Wikiquote.org, the variant quote, “The only constant is change” is attributed to Greek Philosopher Heraclitus (c.535 BC - 475 BC). The title of Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, explicitly states that change is inevitable; however, the inevitability of the Nigerian society, which encounters British Imperialism, may be examined through in-depth analysis of the text. Although nine villages and several clans exist among the Ibo civilization, they do not constitute a union. Achebe portrays an established pre-colonial society, complete with its own socio-economical and judicial systems. Through Christian ministry and governing laws, the British aim is to colonize the Ibo culture by penetrating their culture through its weaknesses. The novel reveals vulnerabilities within the Native’s culture that do not well serve the Ibo’s ability to stave off change. Specifically, Achebe compares the cultural differences between military amalgamation and servitude to their respective motherlands. The novel centers on the protagonist, Okonkwo, who lives in fear of the weakness. Through Okonkwo, the reader is able to see the culture’s polygamist and patriarchal society as well as its governing laws and trade practices. At the end of the novel, Okonkwo’s tragic suicide represents one Ibo warrior’s belief system that is self-serving and unbending. Okonkwo would rather die than to experience change, which could have included empowering women and asking for help from neighboring villages. Such concepts had not yet evolved in Ibo’s culture and may have been a contributing factor to the culture’s “falling apart.”