Previous
Chapter 6
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 begins work at the Civil Service, where he puts up with rude treatment from his White boss, Mr. Green. Obi recalls a figure from his childhood, Mr. Jones, the White school inspector in Obi’s province. Mr. Jones was an intimidating man who tried to catch both students and teachers making mistakes. He once slapped Obi’s Nigerian headmaster, angering the man, who instinctively responded by wrestling Mr. Jones to the ground. Obi reflects that no White person would slap a school headmaster like that today. This general trend away from explicit racist domination makes Obi’s experience with Mr. Green all the more unfortunate. Obi’s self-assurance and disdain for humbling himself provokes the ire of his superiors at work.
Since childhood, Obi has had to deal with condescending or threatening racist authority figures. Aware of his own worth, however, Obi boldly refuses to humble himself before them. Again, this impressive resilience nevertheless continually threatens to get him into trouble. Interestingly, Obi does not describe his experiences with discrimination in England, although his mention of feeling out of place there strongly suggests that he did face racism or discrimination.
Themes
Obi’s job gets him a car and a £60 signing bonus. That evening, he and Clara have a drink with Sam Okoli, who has become their friend. Sam shows them his radiogram, or recording device. On their way to dinner, Clara is clearly upset despite Obi’s recent windfall. She soon tearfully reveals that she cannot marry Obi because she is an osu, a descendant of a man who took religious vows that permanently marked off his descendants as a “forbidden caste.”
The car Obi receives as a perk from his new job signifies his “success” in the terms imposed by Nigeria’s English colonial rulers. He can now consider himself on the same level as Sam Okoli, whose car he previously admired. Meanwhile, Clara’s revelation here explains her previous mysterious reticence.
Themes
When Obi tells Joseph this news, Joseph understands perfectly, but when Obi says he plans to marry Clara anyhow, Joseph is upset. He insists on the ironclad nature of the osu prohibition, but Obi says he has no interest in these antiquated traditions. The next day, Obi takes Clara shopping and buys her a ring. Joseph remains doubtful that Obi’s marriage plans will succeed, but Obi feels that the only obstacle is what his parents will think. He recalls the special bond he has always had with his mother Hannah, symbolically solidified one day when she cut herself on a razor blade he carried in his pockets.
As in the previous discussion of the “bride price” custom, Joseph once again tries to undermine Obi’s idealism with a more pragmatic perspective. Obi’s indifference to tradition, however, stands in contrast with the graphic imagery of a blood bond between himself and his mother (who as it turns out is quite mindful of traditions, particularly the ban on marrying osus).
Themes
