EPIC LITERATURE AND STRATEGY OF HUMAN RESISTANCE IN THINGS FALL APART: CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS
It is not easy to find a human model of resistance in modern kinds of literary epic, but this paper identifies an epic hero in Things Fall Apart. Epic uses elevated or dignified language to celebrate a hero by bestowing honour, nobility and giving meaning to human life. African epics immortalise the memories of those who have achieved excellence through struggles against foreign supremacy and leadership. However, the rapid progress in science and technology which began as epic and science fiction stories, sparked many experiments and laboratory work that are shaping the world. African epic literature is scarcely available to drive the continent into an illustrative course of resisting Western influence and control through technology. The principal question is: are African literary kinds of epic capable of forming the consciousness of Africans to resist foreign influence in a world that is becoming highly digitalised? This study examined how Things Fall Apart explores the theme of resistance. It shall use the documentary method to identify the epic hero and show how the model of movement of resistance in the said novel could be relevant in the modern world. The study concludes with recommendations for emboldening opposition that will guarantee the sovereignty of Africa.
Keywords: African epic, Epic, Realistic setting, Resistance, Western epic