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imanb9601's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
brianareads's review
challenging
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
mjkienbaum's review
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
nsabrekwa's review against another edition
4.0
I love these collections by Chinua Achebe! This is my second and I can't wait to read his other collections.
sophiefaerber's review
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
foxypiano's review against another edition
5.0
Girls at War is a collection of stories by the literary Legend Chinua Achebe, adept with social consciousness, philosophical inquiries, and allegories that mirror the inner depths of both the psyche of the collective and the individual. The stories are endowed with cultural sensibilities — its splendour and hypocrisy. The particular story, The Madman, was my favourite of the collection. It is a short allegory with a poetic realization that reflects disturbing ironies, the philosophical question of identity (society thinks therefore I am?), social callousness and hypocrisy, and the dynamics of oppression. Here's a review of The Madman.
The Madman Review
Nwibe, a wealthy farmer, who has distinguished himself to be amongst the council of the venerable members of society is the protagonist who this paradoxical story is centred on. Returning from his farm on a faithful Market Day, Nwibe stops to have his bath at the stream. While Nwibe was taking his bath, a naked madman embittered by the ongoing harsh day, came along to satisfy his thirst at the stream; he sees Nwibe's cloth, grabbed them, and used them to cover his nakedness. Nwibe, noticing such putrid act of madness, then runs after the madman, in stark nakedness, thereby turning himself to the original madman!
This exchange of identities was symbolically registered by the derisive laughter of the sprinting madman. Nature, attuned with the irony, echoes the mad man's jeering laughter: "the deep grove of the stream amplifying his laughter." Nwibe, with his fierce temper, screams out to the madman: "I will kill you... I will whip that madness out of you today."
In this sweeping irony cloaked in adamant desperation, a sane man's life would take a tragic turn if a miracle doesn't come to change the situation. To render this dramatic exchange hopeless, Chinua Achebe tells us the madman is "spare and wiry, a thing made for speed."
What was a private matter between a sane and a madman, then became an outward reality, a spectacle, when: "Two girls going down to the stream saw a man running up the slope towards them, pursued by a stark-naked madman. They threw their pots and fled screaming."
After that scenario, the exchange of identities became complete, and the irony victorious. The pursuit of the madman — or rather, the sane man, continued, leading Nwibe to the highway, and worse still, to the market square where he is seen in his stark-nakedness by everyone! According to a traditional belief of the Igbo tradition of Nigeria, any madman who sets foot into the "occult territory of the powers of the market" can never be cured or redeemed. Now, not only is Nwibe a madman, but an incurable one!
After the established exchange of identities, other minor situational ironies occurred. For example, Nwibe running stark-naked in a crowded market shouting: "Stop that madman...he's got my cloth!" Condemned to the fate of tradition, Nwibe also loses his reputation in the sphere of the venerable men of the Ozo society. He indeed became a madman in their eyes.
From this central irony of mistaken identities also emerges the ironic situation whereby a reputable “medicine man” loses his fame while a mere charlatan overnight acquires the reputation of the best “mad doctor”(psychiatrist) in town. Nwibe, of course, only needs time to recover from the shock from his traumatic experience; but when he does, the credit for his “cure” ironically goes to the charlatan. This situation appropriately occasions the sarcasm that the “mad doctor” who “cured” him becomes the most celebrated in his generation.
The most devastating irony that emerges from this story, however, concerns the fact that the foundation has suddenly been effectively removed from under our self-assuredness as cognitive beings who can distinguish fact from fiction.
Even up until now, we must understand the existence of a tiny dividing line between the irresponsibly sane and the responsibly insane. Suddenly, we are made to entertain doubts concerning our perception of the nature of reality and we begin to credit the philosophical doubt that affirms illusion and reality to be the same. And if indeed, we cannot distinguish truth from untruth, reality from illusion, a sane man from a madman, then we exist because the philosophical evidence of our existence as human beings is, “I think, therefore I am.” The situation whereby a perfectly sane person is identified and treated as a madman not only underscores the precariousness of the claim of every sane person to sanity within the society but pinpoints the basic subjectivity of existence and human judgement.
Societal delusions can be indistinguishable from reality, in so far as the society is blind to the internal psyche of individuals. It is then a question of if there's anyone sane in that society. One could also put a hinge of doubt as to whether Nwibe was even sane to begin with, because he eventually got to behave like a madman and believed himself to be one — even to the point of allowing himself to be taken to the native doctors for a cure. Would a truly sane person allow anger and desperation to rob him of his better judgement and run stark-naked for whatever reason into a crowded market?
This story might not be inviting us to abandon our own logic and judgement of sanity, but it has certainly introduced doubts into the authenticity of our perception of reality. Again, isn’t it safe to think that Nwibe’s emotion is in excess of the reasons for his action as they appear, and he specially contrasts it with the madman’s negative and insignificant personality?
The moral implication of the story is obvious. It shows that it is the society that creates its madmen that also treats its madmen shabbily as though they were not human beings. If indeed, we are at first comfortable with the way the first madman who opens the story is ill-treated, by the time the story closes, and we are familiar with the fate of Nwibe, we certainly can no longer be complacent about the treatment of the madman. What is more, we are awed by the realization that Nwibe’s troubles have only begun by the time the story ends. The alternate implication is that Nwibe might in the end become truly mad. This situation certainly urges us to the belief that the madman who opens the story might have become a madman through an experience similar to that of Nwibe. This is a devastating indictment of society.
This indictment is addressed not only to the stone-aged society ridden with superstitions and taboos such as Nwibe’s, but also the modern society because Nwibe’s village is in the end only a microcosm of the larger human society. The extreme vulnerability of the individual within the society is the major concern of Achebe in this epic. Man is revealed to be ultimately alone and alienated in society which is supposed to exist for his advantage but which ironically seems to exist to destroy him. Despite the solicitude of relatives, the existential tragedy of Nwibe is his loneliness in the face of a horrendous natural calamity.
As we can see from the beginning of the story, Nwibe is surely a tacit representative of the society, with all its boasts to success and sanity. The madman, on the other hand, represents the victims of society. In the tragic collision of these two opposites of society and in the symbolic fate of Nwibe therefore, we can read the poetic justice visited on the callous society by nature which seems to have taken sides with the victim. The fact that Nwibe is the unhappy representative of the society which creates its madmen and treats them badly, is confirmed by the fact that the madman sees Nwibe as the embodiment of all the injustices he has so far suffered. This is accentuated by the fact that the whole gamut of the story casts doubts on the sanity of the society which treats its victims shabbily since no sane society treats its members with so much disdain. It is also a well-articulated warning on the consequences of social callousness. It is proof of the fact that any revered member of a society can through a curious twist of fate turn to a painful victim of that society through either gloss or natural forces. If the first madman has acted dangerously, it is the society which created him that should be blamed.
The Madman Review
Nwibe, a wealthy farmer, who has distinguished himself to be amongst the council of the venerable members of society is the protagonist who this paradoxical story is centred on. Returning from his farm on a faithful Market Day, Nwibe stops to have his bath at the stream. While Nwibe was taking his bath, a naked madman embittered by the ongoing harsh day, came along to satisfy his thirst at the stream; he sees Nwibe's cloth, grabbed them, and used them to cover his nakedness. Nwibe, noticing such putrid act of madness, then runs after the madman, in stark nakedness, thereby turning himself to the original madman!
This exchange of identities was symbolically registered by the derisive laughter of the sprinting madman. Nature, attuned with the irony, echoes the mad man's jeering laughter: "the deep grove of the stream amplifying his laughter." Nwibe, with his fierce temper, screams out to the madman: "I will kill you... I will whip that madness out of you today."
In this sweeping irony cloaked in adamant desperation, a sane man's life would take a tragic turn if a miracle doesn't come to change the situation. To render this dramatic exchange hopeless, Chinua Achebe tells us the madman is "spare and wiry, a thing made for speed."
What was a private matter between a sane and a madman, then became an outward reality, a spectacle, when: "Two girls going down to the stream saw a man running up the slope towards them, pursued by a stark-naked madman. They threw their pots and fled screaming."
After that scenario, the exchange of identities became complete, and the irony victorious. The pursuit of the madman — or rather, the sane man, continued, leading Nwibe to the highway, and worse still, to the market square where he is seen in his stark-nakedness by everyone! According to a traditional belief of the Igbo tradition of Nigeria, any madman who sets foot into the "occult territory of the powers of the market" can never be cured or redeemed. Now, not only is Nwibe a madman, but an incurable one!
After the established exchange of identities, other minor situational ironies occurred. For example, Nwibe running stark-naked in a crowded market shouting: "Stop that madman...he's got my cloth!" Condemned to the fate of tradition, Nwibe also loses his reputation in the sphere of the venerable men of the Ozo society. He indeed became a madman in their eyes.
From this central irony of mistaken identities also emerges the ironic situation whereby a reputable “medicine man” loses his fame while a mere charlatan overnight acquires the reputation of the best “mad doctor”(psychiatrist) in town. Nwibe, of course, only needs time to recover from the shock from his traumatic experience; but when he does, the credit for his “cure” ironically goes to the charlatan. This situation appropriately occasions the sarcasm that the “mad doctor” who “cured” him becomes the most celebrated in his generation.
The most devastating irony that emerges from this story, however, concerns the fact that the foundation has suddenly been effectively removed from under our self-assuredness as cognitive beings who can distinguish fact from fiction.
Even up until now, we must understand the existence of a tiny dividing line between the irresponsibly sane and the responsibly insane. Suddenly, we are made to entertain doubts concerning our perception of the nature of reality and we begin to credit the philosophical doubt that affirms illusion and reality to be the same. And if indeed, we cannot distinguish truth from untruth, reality from illusion, a sane man from a madman, then we exist because the philosophical evidence of our existence as human beings is, “I think, therefore I am.” The situation whereby a perfectly sane person is identified and treated as a madman not only underscores the precariousness of the claim of every sane person to sanity within the society but pinpoints the basic subjectivity of existence and human judgement.
Societal delusions can be indistinguishable from reality, in so far as the society is blind to the internal psyche of individuals. It is then a question of if there's anyone sane in that society. One could also put a hinge of doubt as to whether Nwibe was even sane to begin with, because he eventually got to behave like a madman and believed himself to be one — even to the point of allowing himself to be taken to the native doctors for a cure. Would a truly sane person allow anger and desperation to rob him of his better judgement and run stark-naked for whatever reason into a crowded market?
This story might not be inviting us to abandon our own logic and judgement of sanity, but it has certainly introduced doubts into the authenticity of our perception of reality. Again, isn’t it safe to think that Nwibe’s emotion is in excess of the reasons for his action as they appear, and he specially contrasts it with the madman’s negative and insignificant personality?
The moral implication of the story is obvious. It shows that it is the society that creates its madmen that also treats its madmen shabbily as though they were not human beings. If indeed, we are at first comfortable with the way the first madman who opens the story is ill-treated, by the time the story closes, and we are familiar with the fate of Nwibe, we certainly can no longer be complacent about the treatment of the madman. What is more, we are awed by the realization that Nwibe’s troubles have only begun by the time the story ends. The alternate implication is that Nwibe might in the end become truly mad. This situation certainly urges us to the belief that the madman who opens the story might have become a madman through an experience similar to that of Nwibe. This is a devastating indictment of society.
This indictment is addressed not only to the stone-aged society ridden with superstitions and taboos such as Nwibe’s, but also the modern society because Nwibe’s village is in the end only a microcosm of the larger human society. The extreme vulnerability of the individual within the society is the major concern of Achebe in this epic. Man is revealed to be ultimately alone and alienated in society which is supposed to exist for his advantage but which ironically seems to exist to destroy him. Despite the solicitude of relatives, the existential tragedy of Nwibe is his loneliness in the face of a horrendous natural calamity.
As we can see from the beginning of the story, Nwibe is surely a tacit representative of the society, with all its boasts to success and sanity. The madman, on the other hand, represents the victims of society. In the tragic collision of these two opposites of society and in the symbolic fate of Nwibe therefore, we can read the poetic justice visited on the callous society by nature which seems to have taken sides with the victim. The fact that Nwibe is the unhappy representative of the society which creates its madmen and treats them badly, is confirmed by the fact that the madman sees Nwibe as the embodiment of all the injustices he has so far suffered. This is accentuated by the fact that the whole gamut of the story casts doubts on the sanity of the society which treats its victims shabbily since no sane society treats its members with so much disdain. It is also a well-articulated warning on the consequences of social callousness. It is proof of the fact that any revered member of a society can through a curious twist of fate turn to a painful victim of that society through either gloss or natural forces. If the first madman has acted dangerously, it is the society which created him that should be blamed.
helen88's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
marie_felix's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0