No Longer at Ease (Penguin Modern Classics)

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There is also the irony of Obi's name, which means "the mind is at last at rest." It is supposed to mean that his father's mind is at rest because he was born a boy after so many girls; however, when juxtaposed against the title of the novel it becomes the greatest irony of the novel because Obi is, of course, never, himself, "at rest."

However, everything is not as rosy as it seemed. Although having been accepted in the services, his boss Mr. Green is a “white-man” who rebels against Nigeria’s independence. Suffering Mr. Green’s taunts and verbal abuses is, however, least of Obi’s problems. Chinua Achebe is gloriously gifted with the magic of an ebullient, generous, great talent.” —Nadine GordimerAsking these and many more such difficult to answer questions is Chinua Achebe in his book – No Longer At Ease. We are indebted to Achebe for reminding us that art has social and moral dimension—a truth often obscured.” — Chicago Tribune Whether the book is a tragedy (an unresolved situation) in Obi's definition of the word or not is up to whether we believe that it is Achebe who is the greatest "pioneer" in the novel. In other words, it is the author's critical voice that will lead others out of such corruption, if not by only making the world and younger generations of Nigerians aware of it. The Influence of Education In general, Obi faces many temptations upon his return to Lagos. The setting was actually reminiscent of Cyprian Ekwensi’s Glittering City. Lagos of the 1960s must have been a mean place to live in, full of temptations and buzzing with energy. “Lagos is a bad place for a young man. If you follow its sweetness, you will perish.”

When does a man break – when he runs low on means to eke out a decent life; or when he runs out of reasons to live? Obi Okonkwo is in the court at his trial, listening idly to the judge. He shows very little interest until the judge wonders aloud how a young man with so much promise could have done this. Weeks earlier a similar statement had left Obi unmoved, as he had lost his mother and Clara left, but now unwanted tears leap to his eyes. We’ve all heard of (or read) the author’s most famous work, Things Fall Apart. This book, No Longer at Ease, is the second volume in what became a trilogy. The third volume is Arrow of God. He sat and mused, listening to the words of the traders' songs and wondering why Clara said he could not tell people about her yet. After all, she did talk about wanting to marry him. The inciting force on this Thursday is a delegation from Abazon—the northern province of Kangan devastated, like Nigeria’s own northern regions, by drought— that has come to the capital city of Bassa to seek relief. Ikem has only recently written an editorial, his allegorical “Hymn to the Sun” that dries up the savannah, accusing the president (the sun) of responsibility and promoting the delegation’s cause. Sam at first feels threatened by the loud demonstrations outside his office, but when he learns that the delegation consists of only six elders and that the rest of the demonstrators are Bassa locals, he decides to use the situation to rid himself of his old school buddies and to entrench himself in power surrounded by loyal henchmen such as Ossai.

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The brother of a young woman applying for a scholarship comes to his office with a bribe - about half of Obi’s monthly salary. He rejects the bribe. Now the attractive young woman appears at his house, offering herself to him. He rejects her advances but realizes that all he is doing is condemning her to go offer herself down the line to the scholarship committee members. (He has a discussion with his male friend who insists that accepting sex is not ‘taking a bribe.’) He knows she is one of the best-qualified to get a scholarship but she risks getting displaced by lower-ranking students who offer bribes or sex. Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. The Corruptibility of Civil Servants Will he be able to resist temptation? The answer is NO. I’m not giving away any plot because the book’s opening scene is at his trial for bribery and the story explains how he got there. Mr. Achebe is such a marvelous talent and one whose praises I sing. I’m sure he’d put me at ease were I to join him for a little chat over a small meal. I’d love to hear about his days growing up in Nigeria and his interest in world religion and politics. Of course, I’d attempt to get some pointers on his flawless writing. Here’s an author I will definitely return to. Though set several decades after Things Fall Apart, No Longer at Ease continues many of the themes from Achebe's first novel. Here, the clash between European culture and traditional culture has become entrenched during the long period of colonial rule. Obi struggles to balance the demands of his family and village for monetary support while simultaneously keeping up with the materialism of Western culture.