UNIVERSITY OF NUEVA CACERES
College of Education
Academic Year 2021-2022
Learning Task 2
Literary Critique:
Instructions: Read and critique The Voter by Chinua Achebe using historical and biographical
approach.
Historical Approach:
1. When was the work written? When was it published? How was it received by the critics
and public and why?
The Voter by Chinua Achebe was written in year 1965 but was originally published twenty-nine years
later, 1994 by Viva Books. This literary piece was received by the public in a positive way since it
showcased the reality of politics in Nigeria. I’ve read several reviews and what all of them have in
common is how ‘The Voter’ reveals the dirty business of politics, targeting the under the table acts like
bribery and corruption. It also became an international success and is widely taught in high schools and
colleges in all English-speaking countries.
2. What does the works reception reveal about the standards of tastes and value during the
time it was published and reviewed?
The piece reveals how common corruption and bribery is in Nigeria where the story was based on. In
terms of standards of taste and value during the time it was published we can conclude that the Igbo
people are ignorant when it comes to politics. They were blinded by the money, water, and electricity
that they overlooked it was given to them not out of the abundance of the heart but through a hidden
agenda, to buy their votes. This just showcases that their standards were too low that they didn’t even
care of the consequences instead they focused on what they can have for just a short period of time.
3. What social attitudes and cultural practices related to the action of the word were
prevalent during the time the work was written and published?
The year that this piece was published was the year Nigeria became independent of the Great Britain
where government officials clung to their power through corruption. According to A Study Guide for
Chinua Achebe’s The Voter (Dorsch) , ”the Voter is set in a time and place in the middle of a national
transition and cultural conflicts it depicts could be labeled in various ways: between traditional local rule
and centralized Western government, between the ways of the village and the ways of the city, between
the old and the new.” When it comes to cultural practices, the Igbo people holds a traditional feast of
slaughtering bulls and goats just like what was mentioned in the story. Another noticeable cultural
practice that was in the story was about the “Iyi” a spirit object that in Igbo tradition carries the spirit of
a dead child. It was mentioned in the story was when Roof was bribed with pounds of money to buy his
Hilary Joan R. Prilles
Survey of Afro-Asian Literature / Stylistics & Discourse Analysis / Literary Criticism
UNIVERSITY OF NUEVA CACERES
College of Education
Academic Year 2021-2022
vote Roof agreed not knowing that the Iyi was there. Although Roof had a bright future at Port Harcourt
and is viewed as an influential man, the Igbo culture is still important to him and he respected his oath
to the Iyi.
4. What kinds of power relationships does the word describe, reflect, or embody?
The story of ‘The Voter’ focused on how corruption is normalized in the village of Umiofia. All political
parties openly show how they corrupt the citizens by bribing them with money in exchange for their
votes and by the limited water and electric supplies. The story didn’t mention anything about being
honest and serving the public good, and the people doesn’t expect these politicians to be.
5. To what extent can you understand the past as it is reflected in the literary text? To what
extent does the work reflect differences from the ideas and values of its time?
This literary piece was written over several decades ago and is still relevant up until this day because
corruption can be found all over the world. It is one of the problems that the world still doesn’t get to
solve. Although situations are changed, there is not much difference to what happened before that
reflected in the literary text. Up until now, people are selling their votes, politicians still do dirty works.
Biographical Approach:
1. What influences-people, ideas, movements, events- evident in the writer’s life does the
work reflect?
Humans are like sponges, we absorb everything whenever we are exposed to someone or something
just like when we are with other people, we also absorb their ideas. Chinua Achebe was born and bred
in Ogidi, Nigeria when it was still under the British colonization. He was exposed to the Igbo culture
which reflects in his writing. One example of this is when the Progressive Organization Party went to
Roof and bribed him five pounds for his vote and when he agreed, the P0P revealed the Iyi, which is a
spirit object.
2. To what extent are the events described in the word a direct transfer of what happened in
the writer’s actual life?
Achebe grew in Nigeria which is a protectorate of the Great Britain in year 1901 which lasted fifty-nine
years. In those years, “[he] grew increasingly frustrated with political corruption in Nigeria.” If we refer
to the story of the voter, its theme mainly focused on the corruption of both political parties PAP and
POP that is evident to Achebe’s life.
Hilary Joan R. Prilles
Survey of Afro-Asian Literature / Stylistics & Discourse Analysis / Literary Criticism
UNIVERSITY OF NUEVA CACERES
College of Education
Academic Year 2021-2022
3. What modifications of the actual events has the writer made in the literary text? For what
possible purposes?
One modification that I noticed was when Roof was caught up in the situation of voting between Marcus
whom he served for so long and gave him “firewood” or benefits or Maduka whom he swears in front of
Iyi that he will vote for. At the ending of the story, Roof was pressured that he decided to tear his ballot
paper in half voting for both candidates, convincing himself that he did the right thing and “went out of
the booth as jauntily as he had gone in.” In the real world, there is no such thing as voting for both
candidates, one should make up his mind on who will he really give his vote. The author ended the story
that way because he wanted people who will read this story to stick on his beliefs and to stand up for
what is right. He teaches us through this that no matter how big and small we are going to receive in in
return, we should not stain our dignity and conscience.
4. What are the effects of the differences between actual events and their literary
transformation in the text?
The actual events became the mirror and inspiration of the Achebe to write the voter. Since this story’s
theme is about corruption, his purpose was to use this platform as to awaken his fellow citizens to take
a step and work on changing what became normal in their country. In the story, the citizens especially
the elders knew that they were being bribed to vote but they didn’t care as long as they will benefit for
only a period of time. Achebe wanted to change this and let the people know that the politicians are not
faithful public servants and that they as a citizen should condone these acts.
5. What has the author revealed in the work about his/her characteristic modes of thought,
perception, or emotion? What place does this work have in the artist’s literary
development and career?
Most of Chinua Achebe literary works took place at where he grew up, in Nigeria. His first novel, ‘Things
Fall Apart (1958) was about an Igbo elder whose life was changed because of the influence of the British
colonizers and Christian missionaries. Another novel that he published in year 1966 entitled ‘A Man of
the People also tackled corruption which reflected the life in his country. ‘The Voter’ became a popular
because of its satire approach on revealing how corrupt the political system is in his country. Achebe
wrote his way to be heard about the harsh reality of corruption and succeeded because his novels
became an international success and is widely taught in high schools and colleges in all English-speaking
countries.
Hilary Joan R. Prilles
Survey of Afro-Asian Literature / Stylistics & Discourse Analysis / Literary Criticism
UNIVERSITY OF NUEVA CACERES
College of Education
Academic Year 2021-2022
References
Achebe, C. (1994). The Voter. In C. Achebe. Viva Books.
Dorsch, K. A. (2018). A Study Guide for Chinua Achebe's "The Voter". A Cengage Company.
Kachele, E. (2020). Notes: Analysis of 'The Voter.' A Short Story by Chinua Achebe.
The Voter by Chinua Achebe. (2016, November 9). Retrieved from The Sitting Bee: Short Stories Reviews:
http://sittingbee.com/the-voter-chinua-achebe/
Hilary Joan R. Prilles
Survey of Afro-Asian Literature / Stylistics & Discourse Analysis / Literary Criticism