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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chinua_acebe_010_3.jpg]]
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3->''"When suffering knocks at your door and you say there is no seat for him, he tells you not to worry because he has brought his own stool."''
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5Chinua Achebe (born Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe, 16 November 1930 -- 21 March 2013) was one of, if not the most significant 20th century African author and literary star to emerge from the continent. Achebe was born in an Igbo village in British Nigeria to Pentecostal parents into an era when the continent was undergoing the transition from colonial Protectorate to emerging nation-state.
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7From the publication of ''Things Fall Apart'' in 1958 Achebe's works dealt with themes of the effects of colonization on the African people, tribal customs, gender roles and the desire of Africans to write tell their own stories following years of having only limited representation by White and European authors.
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9He is particularly famous for challenging the depiction of Africans in Creator/JosephConrad's novella ''Literature/HeartOfDarkness'' which he deemed dehumanizing and racist despite Conrad's intent to illustrate the exploitation of Africa by Europeans.
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11Alongside helping establish African literature on the world stage Achebe was actively involved in continental politics, becoming a representative for the short-lived Republic of Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War which would weigh heavily on him when the Nigerian government restricted his travel.
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13In 1990 Achebe was left paralyzed from the waist down following a traffic accident leaving him to rely on the use of a wheelchair and remain permanently in the United States for medical care. After a short illness Achebe passed away in Boston in 2013. He was 82 years old.
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15!!His works include:
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17* ''Literature/ThingsFallApart'' (1958)
18* ''Literature/NoLongerAtEase'' (1960)
19* ''Literature/ArrowOfGod'' (1964)
20* ''A Man of the People'' (1966)
21* ''Anthills of the Savannah'' (1987)
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23!!Tropes associated with his work include:
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25* CultureClash: Often between African natives and European colonialists.
26* DarkestAfrica: One of its most famous critics, leading to this becoming a DeconstructedTrope if there ever was one, intending to shift the perspective on Africa in literature away from white Western authors to native and black writers.

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