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Chapter 11
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in No Longer at Ease, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Corruption
Western Influence and Alienation
Language, Literature, and Communication
Prejudice and Discrimination
Summary
Analysis
Obi receives a letter from his father saying that his mother is back in the hospital and that he has urgent news to discuss with Obi when he sees him, which Obi takes as a sign that his parents have heard about Clara.
Obi will now be forced to confront his parents about his intentions to marry an osu. This development creates narrative tension, leaving readers to wonder how the clash between the traditional Igbo values of Obi’s rural village and the Western customs of Lagos, which Obi has come to prefer, will play out.
Themes
Mr. Green dictates a letter to Marie Tomlinson denying a student’s request for an allowance from the government for his girlfriend. He then remarks to Obi that young Nigerians are growing spoiled regarding university education and government handouts.
Mr. Green’s condescension and racism irk Obi, who’s well aware of the hypocrisy inherent in Mr. Green’s position—the resources he withholds belong by rights to Nigeria and its inhabitants. Moreover, Mr. Green and other European officials engage in the same lavish spending as Mr. Green is accusing Obi—yet Mr. Green doesn’t judge European people like himself as harshly as he judges the young Nigerians of Obi’s generation.
Themes
Later, Obi and Christopher go to see two Irish girls, Pat and Nora, newly arrived at a Catholic convent in Nigeria. Obi and Christopher have been dancing and playing tennis with the girls for the last few weeks. Obi has successfully kissed one of them, but the girls’ religion forbids anything more adventurous. This time, they inform Obi and Christopher that the Mother of their convent has admonished them about bringing African men around and that they can no longer meet Obi and Christopher at the convent.
This brief episode shows the casual pervasiveness of prejudice among older generations, which undermines the younger generation’s rejection of racism. It also shows Obi casually attempting to cheat on Clara, something over which he seemingly feel no guilt. This perhaps suggests his moral fiber beginning to weaken.
Themes
Dejected, Christopher and Obi go to visit Christopher’s recent girlfriend Florence, but she isn’t home. Christopher is smitten with Florence and is dismayed that she plans to go study in England. Obi then brings Christopher up to speed on the Elsie Mark story, saying that she indeed got her scholarship to England. He says that Elsie tried to bribe him with sex, but he refused. Christopher then says that Obi made a mistake, in that sexual bribery is different from a cash bribe because the briber gets some satisfaction out of it, too. He and Obi then debate the definition and finer points of bribery late into the night. As soon as Obi is alone, however, he begins worrying again about his father’s letter.
Obi’s recollection of the Elsie Mark incident casts that interaction in a new light: was she really attempting to bribe him with sexual favors? And if so, was the scene of rejection in Obi’s apartment really the end of the story? Did Obi actually Elsie’s bribe? Given that Obi has just demonstrated his willingness to cheat on Clara, the reader must wonder what exactly went down between Obi and Elsie, and how much Obi is willing to reveal—to Clara, and even to himself. Obi’s willingness even to debate Christopher’s (misguided and sexist) stance that sexual bribery isn’t all that bad suggests Obi’s weakening moral ideals.
Themes
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