THE CONCEPT OF TRAGEDY IN ACHEBE’S ANTHILLS OF THE SAVANNAH AND MOFOLO’S CHAKA

Abstract

The literary landscape has been dominated by the singularly fascinating theme of power, its acquisition, its use and abuse.  Chinua Achebe and Thomas Mofolo in Anthills of the Savanna and Chaka examine the nature of power and authority and its corrupting influence in humans.  The novelists’ artistic reconstruction of the image of dictatorship follows the universal literary discourse which seeks to find out how each artist contributes to the subject of abuse of political power and authority.  Achene employs a significant African philosophical principle of “Chi” as the chief determinant for the incidence of tragedy in his novel while Mofolo exploits the principle of moral choice as the chief determinant for the incidence of tragedy in his work.