Portrayal of Postcolonial African Personality by Tayeb Salih and Chinua Achebe

Abstract

This study aims at investigating the distinctive traits of postcolonial African characters exemplified by al-Tayeb Salih's to the North and Achebe's A Man of the People. The researcher has adopted the descriptive method by which the data is gathered from primary and secondary sources. The primary sources are the two selected novels, critical appraisals to the African novel in general, and al-Tayeb Salih's and Chinua Achebe's novels in particular. The researcher comes out with the: the African character is portrayed as a hybrid of different culture, self-conflicting, not very open-minded and a selfish one. Moreover, African males have hardly any respect for women (sex-obsessed character). Finally, African characters are seen in this novel as politically immature, when given the chance to choose their leaders. However, self interest and tribal affiliations have the ascendancy over national and societal considerations.