t of their four children. Just the fact that they were alive is all that mattered to him. It did not matter whether they had money, a place to live or anything else, just their lives. These values are made apparent when thieves come to the families house demanding that they give them all their money. The father of the family, Jonathan, willingly gives-up all his hard earned money, knowing that if he doesnt, his family will suffer. The thieves do take the money, but Jonathan does not get angry, he believes in his god and knows that everything will work out as he says once again, nothing puzzles god. Jonathan buries his bicycle during the war so that nobody will steal it from him Jonathan believes that the bicycle is something he will cherish after the war is over. But when the war is over all he really cares about is his family, and the bike is just an added bonus. This just shows once again that what matters to people changes when war breaks out. Achebe is very skilled at being able to use both the traditional language of his people and the English language. This allows the reader to get a sense of the Ibo culture and still be able to understand and follow the story. The critic Bruce King backs this statement in his introduction to the book, Nigerian Literature by saying, Achebe was the first writer to successfully transmute the conventions of the novel, a European art form, into African literature. It is largely this skill that has allowed Achebe to be one of, if not the most influential, writers of this century. Achebe has opened up a whole new realm of literature with his writing, especially in Nigeria. After reading both a novel and a short story by Achebe it is clear what his purpose is when writing. Achebe is trying to make people understand the African culture the way it really was and the way it is now. Achebe has discovered that many people have a false idea of the African culture and many people have stereotyped Africans and ...
