No Longer at Ease

Obi’s experience as a young man is defined by colonialism. Even though Obi dreams of Nigeria’s future as an independent country, he grows up with a double heritage and an understanding of two different cultures. Simultaneously, the world of the story is male dominated, as Obi’s community relies on men to ground a post-colonial national identity. The Umuofia Union that raised money for Obi’s scholarship expects that men like him with Western education and state jobs will guide the way toward the nation’s independence. Obi’s education was an “investment which must yield heavy dividends” and brings honor to the community, as Umuofia could ally with others on the path toward “political irredentism, social equality and economic emancipation” (18).

These three prerogatives are Nigeria’s goals in a post-colonial condition. While women, like Clara, also study, the community prioritizes men’s education. Such expectations prove to be a burden for Obi. He is caught between personal and cultural conflicts he cannot resolve.

Obi’s inner cultural conflict intersects with his personal life. As he oscillates between the Western and the Igbo culture, he tries to balance community and individualism. In England, Obi was homesick and longed for his community: “Four years in England had filled Obi with a longing to be back in Umuofia. This feeling was sometimes so strong that he found himself feeling ashamed of studying English for his degree” (26). The Igbo take pride in Obi’s academic excellence in England and simultaneously consider his male identity a national foundation for the community: “He is a son of Iguedo […]. We have our faults, but we are not empty men who become white when they see white, and black when they see black” (28).

Obi’s family and community are sources of both tension and love. He rejects Christianity despite his father’s expectations to follow the religion. The role of Obi’s mother is to obey her husband, but as a kid, she told children traditional stories in secret. Obi has a “special bond” with his mother, while his father was distant. Despite his connection to Umuofia, Obi clashes with the Union when they cross boundaries and intervene in his personal affairs. He cannot accept the community’s pressures on his individual life and his relationship with Clara. However, he cannot counter his father’s arguments against their marriage.

Obi’s fatal flaw is pride. His financial responsibilities contribute to his crisis and demise, and his pride does not allow him to accept the Union’s grace period for his debt. His responsibilities become insurmountable. In the colonial state, Obi, as an educated man, becomes solely responsible for his family, as they can rely only on him. He cannot manage his bills and an exploitative taxation simultaneously, and he cannot afford a proper funeral for his mother. The Union’s initial pride turns into “shame,” and they blame him for his failure to live up to their expectations. Obi’s colonial experiences reinforces his isolation and downfall.

Through Obi, the novel shows how even a moral individual with strong values can succumb to corruption due to the pressures of a postcolonial state. Obi succumbs to bribery and subverts all his principles, but only in the end, leaving the question of a postcolonial identity open-ended.