Refugee Mother and Child by Albert Chinualumogu Achebe

Refugee Mother and Child by Albert Chinualumogu Achebe

Introduction:-

 

Chinua Achebe born Albert Chinualumogu Achebe; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic. He was best known for his first novel and magnum opus, Things Fall Apart (1958), which is the most widely read book in modern African literature.

Raised by his parents in the Igbo town of Ogidi in south-eastern Nigeria, Achebe excelled at school and won a scholarship for undergraduate studies. He became fascinated with world religions and traditional African cultures, and began writing stories as a university student. After graduation, he worked for the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS) and soon moved to the metropolis of Lagos.

 He gained worldwide attention forThings Fall Apart in the late 1950s; his later novels include No Longer at Ease (1960), Arrow of God (1964), A Man of the People (1966), and Anthills (1987). Achebe wrote his novels in English and defended the use of English, a "language of colonisers", in African literature.

  

 About Poem :-

This poem is written by Chinua Achebe. First poet introduce statue of ‘Madonna’, and gives refrains of Jesus and his mother. But in this poem poet writes about the real mother and her child. What is the situation of the mother (African mother). Statue of Madonna is illusion of reality. Generally smile of mother is sweet but in the poem, mother’s smile is ghostly looking. Poet also says that mother’s heart is always tender.

 Mother’s smile is ‘Ghostly looking’ because her child is dead due to diarrhea. Here we found what the condition of African slave is. Mother, she is not able to take care of her child in such kind of illness. The description of mother taking care of her child is like she make child ready for school. But she makes ready her child for tiny grave. Here we found that death of motherhood also. She not sent her child to school but she sends her child for burial. If the child is belong to rich family, child get proper care. Here in the poem death of motherhood and child.