In the following excerpt from his book-length study of African short stories, Balogun examines how "Vengeful Creditor" exposes various inadequacies in Nigeria's political, social, and religious systems, focusing on class differences, education, power, and the distribution of wealth.
Materialism and hypocrisy remained with the church even after It had survived infancy in Nigeria, and as Achebe's stories reveal, these evils have continued to survive today. . . .
The inadequacy of the new faith is . . . evident in "Vengeful Creditor." A close examination of this story shows that religion is callous where it needs most to be sympathetic and understanding. Martha's pathetic fate is dismissed with easy platitudes. Her husband who dies prematurely, leaving her and their children in miserable poverty, is said to have been called to "higher service," when it is.....
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