No Longer at Ease: Chinua Achebe

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Thursday, May 6th, 2010 Intro to African Civilizations No Longer at Ease: Chinua Achebe Obi Okonkwo, the main character, is the grandson of Okonkwo from Things Fall Apart. The story is about his life as a Nigerian man who has learned of Western culture and is trying to blend the two worlds together. Achebe’s writing style is a timeline that jumps back and forth between what’s happening in Obis life currently and the events that led up to it. The novel begins with Obis court case, the judge is yelling at him for being in such a condemning situation, and then the story goes back to his childhood. Obi is given a scholarship by the U.P.U to study law in England; he eventually has to pay back the loan which will add to his financial hardships down the road. The story goes on to talk about Obis life in England. One encounter that happens in the beginning of the novel will give us a foreshadowing of events to take place. Obi goes to lunch with his friend Christopher and the two begin to argue about civil service and the bribery going on within. This is a theme that will continue throughout the story. After almost four years in England Obi leaves and returns home to Nigeria. On the ship back Obi meets Clara for the second time, the two talk and become friends, she will soon become his fiancée. Once Obi returns home the author begins to illustrate the differences between the Ibo people and Obi now that he has spent so much time in Western culture. There is a reception for Obi the first night he is back in Nigeria however, he makes some mistakes to highlight those differences. First, he wears short sleeves to the dinner and second, he speaks with an English slang rather than the formal English. We can see that Obi has been away from his home for awhile and has forgotten the customs of his people. Now that Obi is in Nigeria he takes a job
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