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Chapter 7
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 and Joseph arrive at the monthly Umuofia Progressive Union meeting in Obi’s flashy new car, which earns ecstatic praise from the crowd. Obi’s arrival has interrupted a debate over whether to fund one of group’s members who had been fired for sleeping on the job. The argument led to a debate over whether work in itself is valuable, or only work’s financial reward. After Obi’s arrival, a new debate breaks out over unfair distribution of beers at this meeting.
The enthusiastic admiration of Obi’s car solidifies it—and material wealth in general—as a symbol of success in the social order Nigeria’s British rulers have imposed. This imposition has bled into the local culture, leading Nigerian people to question the value of their work. Their debate shows the confusion and cultural alienation that has resulted from the colonial government’s imposition of Western norms on Nigerian culture.
Themes
Obi stands and gives a heartfelt thanks for his warm welcome. He then requests a four-month freeze on his scholarship loan repayments. The Union president grants this request, but then he launches into a speech in which he admonishes Obi, referencing rumors that Obi plans to marry an osu. Enraged, Obi says he will pay back the loan right away as long as the Union stay out of his personal business. He storms out and drives off as the Union members and Joseph plead with him to calm down.
Joseph yet again tries to act as a voice of reason to Obi, encouraging him to abandon his deluded idealism and instead behave more pragmatically and realistically. Obi’s willingness to sever ties with the Union, who raised his scholarship funds, again shows his sense of disconnection from his people.
Themes
