NARRATING THE TRADITIONAL IGBO TALE: A GENERATIONAL DIALOGUE BETWEEN CHINUA ACHEBE AND NGOZI ADICHIE

This study examines the generational dialogue between Chinua Achebe and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie through their use of the traditional Igbo tale. They emphasis on the tale of the tortoise in their respective works: Things Fall Apart and Purple Hibiscus. The analysis highlights how these two authors, belonging to different generations of Nigerian writers, appropriate and transmit Igbo cultural values through traditional oral narrative techniques as theorized by Isidore Okpewho (1979). Despite the generational gap, both authors maintain a remarkable faithfulness to the structures of the traditional tale, such as the opening and closing formulas, the relationship between storyteller and audience, and its didactic function. This research also reveals how the traditional tale serves as a vehicle for escapism while retaining its fundamental educational value in traditional Igbo society.