A MAN OF THE PEOPLE
by Chinua Achebe
SETTING: NIGERIA
YEAR: 1966
THE FORM OF THE NOVEL
THE TITLE
The title of the book “A Man of the People” is
ironical, since a person who is called a man of the people is in no way a man
of the people but an enemy of the people. Chief Nanga –the minister of culture
is named A man of the people by his
people in his home village Anata but he is in no way a man of the people.
SETTING
¨
Although the book does not mention the names of real
places, and uses imaginary places, tracing through the book we can estabilsh a
conclusion that the novel is set in post-colonial Nigeria. it satiricises the
challenges of most newly independent African states emanating specifically from
the leaders who took power from the colonialists and ideally simply replaced
the coloniser. However, the language that people use (Pidgin English) and names
like Odo, Odili, Chief Nanga, etc reflect Nigerian names.
Futhermore, the setting can be categorised in
terms of rural and urban.
¨
Rural setting. This is portrayed by;
Þ
The mentioning of villages like like Anata, Urua, etc, these
help us to understand that there are people living in rural areas where even
the mode of transport is mainly walking on foot or at the best using bicycles.
Þ
Poor social services like no electricity, no piped water
and the hospitals are far away.
Þ
People in the villages are extremely illiterate and
ignorant thus giving way to the few like Chief Nanga, Chief Koko and Josiah to
exploit then unawares.
¨
Urban setting. There is a small trading town of Giligili, where
Odili lived with his half-sister when he was twelve. Additionally, there is the
capital city of Bori, where Odili visited Chief Nanga after his unexpected
invitation.
Þ
The city life is quite different from that of the
countryside. Here, there are luxurious houses like chief Nanga’s, there is
adequate supply of water and electricity, major means of transport is
motorcars.
Þ
People have access to information through Television and
newspapers like Daily Chronicles and Daily Matchet.
Þ
There are night parties like the one Chief Nanga attended
leaving Odili with his wife at home.
PLOT
This is the arrangement of events in a
literary work. It is the sequence of events/incidences in a story. The story is
told chronologically. The novel therefore has a chronological plot arranged in
a succession of 13 chapters each one building the foundation upon which the
subsequent chapters develop. We see Chief Nanga visiting Anata, then back to
the city (Bori), in campaigns with Odili, up to the end when the army takes the
Government.
However, there are some few instances of flashback;
¨
When Odili tells the story when Chief Nanga was still a
teacher. In page 2 he says “I had not
always disliked Mr Nanga. Sixteen years or so ago he had been my teacher in
standard three…(p.2)
¨
When Odili tells a story how people hated his father,
during colonialism when he was a District interpreter. He says (p.28) “My father was a district interpreter. In
those days when no one understood as much as ‘come’ in the whiteman’s
language…..”
¨
When odili narrates his experience at the time he was
twelve and was living with his elder half-sister in the small trading town of
Giligili. (p.41)
STYLE
This is a way of doing things . This novel is very rich
in its style as the author has employed various techniques to pass his message
across. Some of the techniques employed are;
¨
It has used a straightforward Narration. From the beginning at Anata the story goes straight in a
succession of 13 chapters up to the end when the army takes over, with
exception of few flashbacks.
¨
He has used first person point of view. The narrator is also a character (Odili) and tells a
story in 1st person singular
though in some cases 3rd
person is used. From the beginning of the novel he makes it clear that
the narrator is none other than Odili Samalu;
“No one can
deny that Chief the Honourable M. A. Nanga, M. P., was the most approachable
politician in the country. Whether you asked in the city or in his home village
Anata, they would tell you he was a man of the people. I have to admit this
from the outset or else the story I’m
going to tell will make no sense.”
¨
Achebe has also used other genres of
literature in the novel. For example a
poem, a song and a letter.
¨
A poem- Dance Offering to the Earth mother.
I will return home to her-many centuries I have wondered
And I will make offering at the feet of my lovely mother
I will rebuild her house, the holy place they raped and
plundered. (p.81)
¨
Song
For they are jolly good follows
For they are jolly good follows
For they are jolly good follows
And so say all of us (p.122)
¨
A letter
A letter has been used to show close relationship of
characters and a means of communication. Odili and Edna exchange letters as a
means of communication. Edna for instance writes to Odili
Dear Odili,
Your missive of 10th instant was received and contents well noted.
I cannot adequately express my deep sense of gratitude for your brotherly piece
of advice. It is just a pity that you did not meet me in the house when you
came last time. My brother has narrated to me how my father addressed you badly
and disgraced you. I am really sorry about the whole episode and I feel like
going on a bended knee to beg forgiveness. I know that you are so noble and
kindhearted to forgive me before even I ask [smiles]…
I have noted all that you said about my marriage. Really,
you should pity poor me, Odili. I am in a jam about the whole thing. If I
develop cold feet now my father will almost kill me. Where is he going to find
all the money the man has paid on my head? So it is not so much that I want to
be called a minister’s wife but a matter of can’t help. What cannot be avoided
must be borne.
What I pray for is happiness. If God says that I will be
happy in any man’s house I will be happy.
I hope we will also be friends. For yesterday is but a
dream, and tomorrow is only a vision but today’s friendship makes every
yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Good-bye
and sweet dreams.
Yours
v. truly
Edna Odo
CHARACTERISATION
There are two main characters in this novel:
Chief Nanga and Odili
Chief Nanga
¨
He is an ex-teacher and scoutmaster. He taught Odili when
he was in standard three. Odili says “Sixteen
years or so ago he had been my teacher in standard three and I something like
his favourite pupil. I remember him then as a popular, young and handsome
teacher, most impressive in his uniform as a scoutmaster” (p.2)
¨
He is currently a minister of culture and a
member of P.O.P. He left the teaching profession and became a great
politician although he started like an unknown back-bencher in P.O.P (p.3).
¨
He is a corrupt and selfish leader. Like other African leaders who took power
after independence he uses his position for his own private inerests. He gives
and receives corruption. For example he gives Odili a bribe and a scholarship
to step down for him. He gives the editor some money to have his speech printed.
He receives bribes from British companies like British Amalgamated and Antonio
and sons.
¨
He is an infidel and a great womanizer. He is married but he is not satisfied as he
plans to marry Edna after financing her education. He sleeps with many women
like Elsie, etc. and he tells Odili that he could bring him six girls for him
to have sex with them in compansation for Elsie.
¨
He is a cultureless minister of culture. Although he is a minister of culture, he is
himself not cultured because it is so surprising to note that Chief Nanga as a
minister of Culture does not know about the Book Exhibition and famous writers
in his society but he knows Western writers like Shakespeare, Dickens, Jane Austen,
Bernard Shaw, Michael West and Dudley
Stamp. (p.65) He warns Jalio not to dress in African dress but he should wear a
suit.
¨
He is illiterate and uneducated but pompous. He is just a standard six school leaver but
people call him, Chief the Honorable Doctor M.A. Nanga. LLD. He is pompous and
brags about his education level. “Yes I
use to tell them that standard six in those days is more than Cambridge today”
(p.11)
¨
He is a very rich politician who lives luxury
life while his voters live in poverty. He has a big house with many rooms and 7
bathrooms while his people use pails latrines. He is building a four-storeys
building and drives expensive cars like a Cadillac.
¨
He is a hypocrite. He pretends to offer Odili a scholarship
and the money as a way of helping him but he wants him to step down for him
during the election. He is a minister of
culture but he dresses and lives like Europeans. He tells Odili that teaching
is a nobel profession while he left teaching and became a politician instead. “That is very good. Sometimes I use to
regret ever leaving the teaching field. Although I am a minister today I can
swear to God that I am not as happy as when I was a teacher” (p.9). He
tells Odili that if someone wants to make him a minister he should run away.
What a hypocrite!
¨
He is oppressive and cruel. He beats odili when he attends his campain
meeting, and denies him to sign the nomination papers. When the Minister of Finance
presents his plan to rescue the financial situation, he pronounces that the ministers
who supported him deserved to be hanged. (p.5)
¨
He is tribalist and supports nepotism. He advises Odili to leave the teaching
profession and take up a strategic post in the civil service because most of
the people there are from other tribes. He says “By the way, Odili I think you are wasting your talent here. I want you
to come to the capital and take up a strategic post in the civil service. We
should’nt leave everything to the highland tribes. My secretary is from there;
our people must press for their fair share of the national cake.” (p.12)
Odili Samalu
¨
He is a main Character and the narrator of
the story. He
is the one telling the story from his own 1st person point of view
as he says in page one that “…the story
I’m going to tell will make no sense”
¨
He is a university graduate and a school
teacher. After
graduating he was employed as a teacher at Anata grammar school where he came
to meet Chief Nanga and changed the trajectory of his life into politics.
¨
He is anti-corruption and nepotism. He is given corruption and a scholarship by
Chief Nanga to step down for him but he refuses and goes on with his plans. He
even objects Maxwell’s idea of taking the money he was given by Chief Koko to
step down for him, since it will ruin the reputation of their newly formed party.
¨
He is revengeful. He wants to revenge against Chief Nanga who
slept with his girlfriend-Elsie. He wants to tell it to Mrs Nanga and prevent
Edna from marrying him. He also becomes a politician and among the founders of
CPC ( Common Peoples Convention) and contests against Chief Nanga as a revenge
against him in which case he loses his job and the election. He says “I was anxious to play down my humiliation
but even more because I no longer cared for anything except the revenge.”
(p.76)
¨
He is a victim of oppressive regime. He is beaten up by chief Nanga when he
attends one of his campaign meetings. He is denied the opportunity to sign the
nomination paper to qualify him as an election candidate. He loses his job
after contesting againt Chief Nanga.
¨
He is promiscuous and a fornicator. He started dating and sleeping with Elsie
when he was at the university and they were not married. He continued with the
same when he went to the city he wanted to have sex with her. He had sex with Jean
the wife of John when the party was over.
¨
He is an agent for change. He wants to bring changes in his society but
the presence of ignorant citizens and corrupt but politically powerful people
like Chief Nanga, Chief Koko and the oppressive police organs make his movement
almost impossible.
¨
He has true love for Edna. He loves Edna and convinces her to marry
him warning her against marrying Chief Nanga.
¨
He has a firm stand. He tells Chief Nanga to keep his dirty
money because he was not so cheap to be bought with a few dirty pounds. He says
“Do you want an answer? It is NO in capital
letters! You think everyone can be bought with a few dirty pounds. You are
making a sad mistake.” (p.119)
MINOR CHARACTERS
Maxwell Kulamo
¨
He is professionally a lawyer. He is one of the founders of C.P.C – a
political party founded to overthrow P.O.P from power.
¨
He is creative. He takes the money given to him by chief
Koko (£ 1,000/=) to step down for him
but uses the money to hire a minibus for campaign.
¨
He is a poet. Back when he was at school he was a Poet
Laureate of the school as Odili
confirms: “He was the Poet Laureate of
our school and I still remember the famous couplet of the poem he wrote when
our school beat our rivals in the intercollegiate Soccer Competition.” (p.73)
¨
He is assassinated by Chief Koko. Following his refusal to step down for
Chief Koko he is knocked by one of Chief Koko’s jeeps and dies on spot and his
girlfriend revenges for him by shooting Chief Koko .
¨
He is an agent for change. He plans to bring about changes in his
society but his plans are cut short by Chief Koko who plans his assassination. People
call him a hero after his death.
Chief Simon Koko
¨
He is a minister of Overseas Training and a
member of P.O.P. He
is among the corrupt leaders of the government in power who have enriched
themselves while their citzens suffer in dire poverty.
¨
He is a corrupt leader. He offers Max one thousand (£1000) pounds so that he may step down for
him, but Max uses that money to hire the minibus for campaigns. Max says “Chief Koko offered me one thousand pounds,
I consulted the other boys and we decided to accept. It paid for that minibus”
(p.126)
¨
He is a murderer. He hires an assassin who knocks Maxwell
with a jeep and kills him on spot for political reasons. The author explains “But as soon as he (Max) alighted from his
car, one of Chief Koko’s jeeps swept up from behind, knocked him over and
killed him on the spot”. (p.142)
¨
He is killed by Eunice. (Max’s fiancée). Following the death of Max,
Eunice revenges for her fiance by shooting him dead as well. The author
narrates “Eunice had been missed by a few
inches when Max had been felled. She stood like a sone figure, I was told, for
some minutes more. Then she opened her handbag as if to take out a handkerchief,
took out a pistol instead and fired two bullets into Chief Koko’s chest.” (p.142)
Edna Odo
¨
She is the daughter of Odo.
¨
She comes from a poor family. She leads a poor life something that makes
her father force her to get married to Chief Nanga as a way of getting his
wealth. In a way she is a victim of forced marriage. When Odili gives her a
lift on a bicycle and the food is spilt she says “My mother will die of hunger today”. Meaning that there was no any
other alternative to get the food.
¨
She is educated. Her education is funded by Chief Nanga so
as a result she is forced to marry him because by the way he has already paid
part of the bride price.
¨
She is sympathetic. She witnesses chief Nanga beating Odili and
she is the only one who helps him up. But also she visits him in the hospital
to see his progress in which case their bond of friendship is strengthened.
¨
She is apologetic. She apologises to Odili on behalf of her
father because he mistreated Odili when he visited her home. She says “My brother has narrated to me how my father addressed you
badly and disgraced you. I am really sorry about the whole episode and I feel
like going on a bended knee to beg forgiveness. I know that you are so noble
and kindhearted to forgive me before even I ask [smiles]…” (p110)
¨
She is appreciative and thankful. She thanks Odili for the pieces of advice
he gives her. “I cannot adequately
express my deep sense of gratitude for your brotherly piece of advice. It is
just a pity that you did not meet me in the house when you came last time.” (p.
110)
¨
Lastly she becomes Odili’s wife. She ends up marrying Odili when Chief Nanga
is arrested.
Hezekiah Samalu
¨
This is Odil’s father and a member and a local chaiman of
P.O.P
¨
He is a polygamist. He has five wives and 35 children (p.30) Right now
he has five wives – the youngest a mere girl whom he married last year. And he
is at least sixty-eight possibly seventy.” (p.30)
¨
He is superstitious. Being a district interpreter made him hated
by many people, as a result he had to use protective medicine to protect his
family. Odili says: “Our father had protective medicine located at crucial
points in our house and compound” (p.28)
¨
He has a firm stand. When Odili and Max launch their campaings
on his compound, he is forced to sign a document that dissociates him from his
son’s lunatic activities and that the
launching of C.P.C. was done without his knowledge and consent. All he said was
“A man of worth never gets up to unsay
what he said yesterday. I received your friends in my house and I am not going
to deny it.” (p.135)
¨
He was a District interpreter. He worked as a district interpreter during
colonialism and he was hated by people because they considered him part of the
colonial regime. Odili says: “So
interpreters in those days were powerful, very rich, widely known and hated.”
(p.28)
¨
He is a local chairman of P.O.P. After retiring as a district interpreter he
plungs himself into politics of his village and was the local chairman of the
P.O.P. (p.30). He loses his post when he
allows the C.P.C. to launch their campaigns on his compound. He is charged of
the business he doesn’t run.
¨
He is corrupt since he wants Odili to take bribe from
Chief Nanga.
Eunice
¨
She is professionally a lawyer and Max’s Fiancee.
¨
She is a revolutionist and a co-founder
of C.P.C. She joins other revolutionists to form a new political party that
exposes the evils of the party in power so as to bring about changes in the
cociety. She represents women who take part in the struggle for rights.
¨
She is courageous. She is portrayed as a courageous woman as she
revenges against Max’s death by shooting Chief Koko. Odili later comments about
this by saying “Max was avenged not by
the people’s collective will but by one solitary woman who loved him.”
(p.148) She is arrested but later released after the revolution.
Elsie
¨
She is a university graduate who works in a hospital.
¨
She is unfaithful in love affairs. She is immoral as she sleeps with any man e.g.
Ralph, Odili, Chief Nanga, etc.
¨
She is a betrayer. She betrays Ralph by sleeping with Odili at
the university. She also betrays Odili by sleping with Chief Nanga instead of Odili
who brought her in the house.
¨
She was beautiful and happy. In the words of Odili despite her beauty
she never made demands whatever. (p.25)
Margareth Nanga
¨
She is Chief Nanga’s wife.
¨
She is a victim of gender steriotype. She passes to secondary school after
finishing standard six but is denied the opportunity because she is a woman and
ends up marrying chief Nanga. She feels sorry for Edna who wants to marry Chief
Nanga but she fails to help her.
¨
She
likes African culture. She takes the children to the village to learn African
roots.
¨
She represents voiceless women who are oppressed by men
and the patriarchy system.
Josiah
¨
A trader who owns a shop and a bar.
¨
He is corrupt, superstitious and exploiter. He takes Azoge’s stick as a medicine to
maximize his profit by giving him the food and palm-wine to eat and drink.
¨
He runs bankrupt. Because of what he did to Azoge, people
decide not to buy from his shop and he runs bankrupt in a week.
¨
He represents corrupt people who have robbed the wealth
of poor ignorant people.
Other minor
Characters
Þ
Agnes,
Þ
Mr Nwege,
Þ
Jean,
Þ
John,
Þ
Jalio,
Þ
Hon. T.C. Kobino(Minister of public Construction),
Þ
Odo(Edna’s Father),
Þ
Prime Minister,
Þ
Editor of the Daily Matchet,
Þ
Dr. Makinde (Minister of Finance)
Þ
Azoge etc
LANGUAGE USE
Although the writer has used much of pidgin
English which may not be well grasped by
some readers, generally speaking the language used is understood.
Pidgin is used to show the language used by
people with low level of education like Chief Nanga or those occupying lower
positions like gatekeepers, houseboys, bodyguards, etc
E.g. the cook says “Abi my head no correct? And even if to say I de craze Why I no go go
jump for inside lagoon instead to kill my master” pg 34. The language is
also full of figures of speech not only to colour the work but also to pass the
message through literary devices.
FIGURES OF
SPEECH/LITERARY DEVICES
METAPHOR
This is a figure of speech that compares two
things without the use of conjunctions “as”, “like”. In the book we have the
following metaphors;
¨
He has become an earthworm. (p.42)
¨
He led the pack of back-bench hounds straining their
leash to get at their victims. (p.5)
¨
Imagine such a beautiful thing wasting herself on such an
empty-headed ass. (p.23)
¨
That was Irre for you a real monster. (p.25)
¨
I heard some remark, ‘the white man is a spirit’ (p.123)
SIMILE
The comparison that uses conjunctions.
¨
You are eating all the hills like yam. (p.93)
¨
My in-law is like a bull and your challenge is like the challenge
of a tick to a bull. (p.106)
¨
Edna’s voice came back from the interior of the compound
like a distant flute. (p.90)
¨
Giving things to him (Odili’s father) was like pouring a
little water into a dried-up well. (p.27)
¨
What I objected to was standing in a line like school
children. (p.19)
¨
Then his bodyguard whom we had seen dressed like a cowboy
hurried in from the front gate…(p.33)
¨
His huge body was quivering like jelly. (p.34)
¨
The towels as large as a lappa. (p.37)
¨
He looked as bright as a new shilling in his immaculate
white robes. (p.38)
¨
(Chief Nanga)…came back at two looking as fresh as a
newly-hatched chick….(p.43)
¨
Some of my people are narrow as a pin – we have to admit
it. (p.44)
¨
I ease my shoulders away like one avoiding a leper’s
touch.
¨
He turned on me then like an incensed leopard. (p.72)
¨
I was just flappping about like a trapped bird when I
suddenly saw the opening. (p.76)
¨
Now he sang it like a dirge. (p.80)
¨
Some people’s belly is like the earth. (p.86)
(meaning-they are not satisfied)
¨
So I raced up all the little hillocks until my heart
raged like a bonfire…(p.93)
¨
I sprang to my feet like some woman-fearing Englishman.
(p.91)
¨
I felt a tingling glow of satisfaction spread all over me
as palm-oil does on hot yam. (p.108)
¨
A big fellow like you should be ashamed of gossiping like
a woman. (p.129)
¨
Her tongue when he spoke stung into me like the tail of a
scopion. (p.129)
¨
On the contrary my mind was as clear as daylight. (p.130)
¨
Those days he walked like a fowl drenched by rain.
(p.136)
¨
The roar of the crowd was now like a thick forest all
around. (p.140)
¨
She stood like a stone figure. (p.142)
¨
I have behaved like an animal. (p.144)
¨
I feel like a beast. (p.144)
PERSONIFICATION
¨
You must thank your stars that I am not a wicked man.
(p.19)
¨
This is why the outside world laughs at us. (p.23)
¨
Chief Nanga’s house where things tumbled over one another
in a scramble to happen first…(p.43)
¨
Memorable events were flying about his stately figure and
dropping at his feet, as those winged termites driven out of the earth by late
rain dancing furiously around street lamps and then drop panting to the ground.
(p.46)
¨
Ocassionally words like ‘Good Heavens’ escaped me and
came out aloud. (p.70)
¨
My watch said a few minutes past four. (p.70)
¨
What money will do in this land wears a hat. (p.85)
¨
Let her come quick-quick to enjoy Chief Nanga’s money
before it runs away. (p.88)
¨
My thanks died in my throat. (p.102)
¨
But Anata had not finished with me yet. (p.102)
¨
Suffering should be creative, should give birth to
something good and lovely. (p.104)
¨
Every goat and every fowl in this country knows that you
will fail woefully. (p.118)
¨
There is one word he said which entered my ear more than
everything else – not only entered but built a house there. (p.125)
¨
A goat does not eat into a hen’s stomach no matter how
friendly the two may be. Ours is ours but mine is mine. (p.125)
¨
The village of
Anata has already eaten, now they must make a way for us to reach the plate.
(p.125)
¨
The owner was the village, and the village had a mind; it
could say no to sacrilege. (p.148)
IRONY
This is a statement which means the opposite
of what it says.
¨
The title “A Man of
the People”, is ironical since Chief Nanga who is called a man of the
people does not deserve the name he is actually an enemy of the people..
¨
Chief Nanga tells Odili “ teaching is noble profession” the opposite is true that’s why he left
teaching and joined politics.
¨
He tells Odili if someone wants to make you a
minister run away.
¨
Chief Nanga is a cultureless minister of culture. “Just imagine such a cultureless man going
abroad and calling himself Minister of Culture”. (p.23)
SATIRE
¨
The figure of speech that ridicules a subject with the
intention of inspiring changes. It ridicules people, practices, or institutions
in order to reveal their failings (weaknesses)
¨
People are
ignorant to the point that they clap their hands to reinforce useless points.
Odili says “For how else could you
account for the fact that a Minister of Culture announced in public that he had
never heard of his country’s famous novel and received applause – as indeed he
received again later when he prophesied that before long our country would
produce great writers like Shakespeare, Dickens, Jane Aussten, Bernard Shaw and
– raising his eyes off the script – Michael West and Dudley Stamp. (p.65)”
It is surprising that Chief Nanga as a minister of Culture does not know about the
Book Exhibition, or famous writers in his society but he knows Western writers,
and he confuses a song with a book.
¨
He tells Odili, he can bring him six girls for Odili to
have sex with them. As a minister of culture this is not expected of him. That
is why Odili wonders; What a country! You
call yourself minister of culture. God help us’ (p.72)
¨
The president of student union who used to criticize the
government but now is corrupt man in the
government.
¨
Chief Nanga is called Honorable Doctor M.A. Nanga MP L.L.D.
while he doesn’t have even a diploma.
EXAGGERATION
¨
The laughter that went up must have been heard a mile
away. (p.13)
¨
He looked as bright as a new shilling in his immaculate
white robes. (p.38)
¨
You could ‘hear’ the smell of the town ten miles away. (p.41)
¨
He said it was a fitting and appropriate tribute to his
concern for African Culture – a concern which was known all over the world –
(p.63)
¨
Oh, we crack such expensive jokes. (p.82)
¨
She asked with round-eyed, surprised innocence that could
have melted a heart of stone. It melted
mine. (p.99)
¨
As the whole world knows, our Minister of Foreign
Trade….(p.99)
EUPHEMISM
¨
She said she was thirty and I took her to my room for a
drink of water. (p.24) (Actually he went to have sex with her)
¨
She was one of those girls who send loud cries in the heat of the thing. (p.24) (when
having sex)
BIBLICAL
ALLUSION.
There are some verses taken from the Bible
that state:
A voice was heard in Ramah
Weeping and great lamentation
Rachel weeping for her children
And she would not be comforted, because they are not.
SYMBOLISM
Refers to the use of one thing to represent
another. Some symbols in the novel include;
¨
Gun and gunpowder =power
¨
National cake= national resources (wealth)
¨
Azoge’s stick = the wealth/resources of the majority
stolen by few rich people.
¨
Azoge= represents poor ignorant people (masses)
¨
The poem. Dance offering to the Earth Mother.= promises
given by politicians during colonialism to care for their countries but later
betrayed the people
¨
It must be very enjoyable going to all these embassy
parties and meeting all the big guns. (p.36). the big guns symbolise
people with political and economic power. (the high claass)
¨
Busket (pail) latrines symbolise filthiness and moral
decay in the society.
¨
The bicycle represents poverty in the society.
PROVERBS AND
SAYINGS
¨
If alligator comes out of water one morning and tells you
that crocodile is sick can you doubt his story. (p.120)
¨
A man of worth never gets up to unsay what he said
yesterday. (p.135)
¨
It didn’t matter what you knew but who you knew (p.17)
¨
To lick any Big Man’s boots. (p.17)
¨
Anyway it is none of my business. (p.23)
¨
Do the right and shame the devil (p.11)
¨
Not what I have but what I do is my kingdom. (p.3)
¨
They have bitten the finger with which their mother fed
them (p.5)
¨
Once a teacher always a teacher. (p.10)
¨
A man who is my senior must still be my senior. (p.11)
¨
The ninisters excellent behaviour was due to the sound
education he had received when education was education. (p.11)
¨
It is better the water is spilled than the pot broken.
(p.28)
¨
When one slave sees another cast into a shallow grave he
should know that when the time comes he will go the same way. (p.36)
¨
A man who has just come in from the rain and dried his
body and put on dry clothes is reluctant to go out again than another who has
been indoors all the time. (p.37)
¨
Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. (p.61)
¨
If you respect today’s king others will respect you when
your turn comes. (p.63)
¨
When an old woman hears the dance she knows that her old
age deserts her. (p.67)
¨
Apart from everything else it (C.P.C.) would add a second
string to my bow when I came to deal with Nanga. (p.78)
¨
But without trying to put a cat among your pigeons
….(p.78) (meaning - including an irrelevant or dangerous person)
¨
We will drop cats among their pigeons here and there
stand aside and watch. (p.80)
¨
Do we commit suicide every day we feel unhappy with the
state of the world? (p.83)
¨
It is only when you are close to a man that you can begin
to smell his breath. (83)
¨
He holds the knife and he holds the yam. (p.90)
¨
If you fail to take away a strong man’s sword when he is
on the ground, will you do it when he gets up? (p.91)
¨
For a man who avoids danger for years and then gets
killed in the end has wasted his care. (p.109)
¨
What cannot be avoided must be borne. (p.110)
¨
What I know is that he is poking his finger into my
in-law’s eyes. (p.106)
¨
He that knows not and knows not that he knows not is a
fool. (p.117)
¨
When a mad man walks naked it is his kinsmen who feel
shame not himself. (p.118)
¨
A mad man may sometimes speak a true word, but you watch
him, he will soon add something to it that will tell you his mind is still
spoilt. (p.120)
¨ My son, why
don’t fall where your pieces could be gathered? (p.120)
¨ You have lost
the sky and you have lost the ground. (p.120)
¨ If Alligator
comes out of the water one morning and tells you that Crocodile is sick can you
doubt his story? (p.120)
¨ Man no fit
fight tiger with empty hand. (p.113)
¨ I believe
that the hawk should perch and the eagle perch, which one ever says to the
other don’t, may its own wing break. (p.122)
¨ If the very
herb we go to seek in the forest now grows at our very backyard are we not
saved the journey? (p.126)
CONTENT
THEMES
The novel has presented a number of themes
including the following:
CORRUPTION
Þ Corruption is a common theme in African
literature. It involves people’s misuse of power or public office and resources
for private gain. It is a result of moral decay in any society engaging in
corruption. In the novel there are many cases of corruption. Let us examine
some of them:
Þ Chief Nanga bribes Odili by giving him some
money and a scholarship so that Odili can step down for him. However, Odili
refuses the offer. Chief Nanga tells
Odili to take the money and a scholarship to go and learn more books since the
country needs young people like him (Odili) and leave the dirty game of
politics to people like Chief Nanga who know how to play it. Likewise, Chief
Koko bribes Maxwell £ 1000 to step down for him, but Max uses the money to hire
a minibus for campaigns.
Þ Chief Nanga bribes the Editor of the Daily
Matchet so that his speech can be printed and for the journalist to write
only good things about him. He says “ if I don’t give him something now
tomorrow he will go and write rubbish about me” (p.66)
Þ Boniface asks Odili to provide them with more
money since the money he gave them the previous day was used to bribe the
police and the court clerk to get their case cancelled. (p.144)
Þ Chief Nanga receives “a dash” From British Companies like Antonio and Sons after giving
them a contract worth a half a million pounds. The story goes;
“The
house in question was the very modern four-storey structure going up beside the
present building and which was to get into the news later. It was, as we were
to learn a ‘dash’ from the European building firm of Antonio and Sons whom
Nanga had recently given the half-million-pound contract to build the National
Academy of Arts and Sciences.” (p.96)
Þ Also Max is complaining that he has paid for
telephone connection charges, but for two months he has been on the waiting
list since he does not know any big person in the government and he has not given
bribe to anybody.
IRRESPONSIBILITY
It
involves people not taking actions or playing their roles effectively. In this
country both leaders and citizens are not responsible. This becomes an obstacle
to development. The following are the cases of irresponsibility in the novel.
Þ Max complains that he has paid for telephone
connection charges but for two months he has been on the waiting list. This
shows that the officers in the telephone company are irresponsible.
Þ Also when Max visits Odili at Urua, they
complain that Max sent a telegram but it has taken 4 days and Odili says it
will reach there after 2 days later. This is irresponsibility for the Minister
of Posts and Telegraphs. However when they are told it has reached the 4th
day instead of the same day it was sent, they satirically congratulate the
Minister.
Þ The people are also irresponsible since they
have failed to take actions against irresponsible and corrupt leaders like Chief
Nanga, Chief Koko and other Ministers. They believe on lies told by these
leaders and they end up saying “Let them
eat”, Let’s wait our chance.”
Þ Chief Nanga proves an irresponsible leader. He
is a minister of Culture but he does not know the famous writers in his
country, he doesn’t know what book exhibition is, he confuses that Jalio has
composed a song instead of a book. etc.
Þ Mrs Nanga knows about the immorality of her
husband but does not take any action to change him. She only blames and even
feels sorry for Edna who wants to fall into the same trap but does not help
her.
Þ The minister of Public construction Hon. T.C
Kobino is an irresponsible leader since the Cabinet has approved the completion
of the construction of the road between Giligili and Anata since January but he
has been dallying and dallying the project because it is not in his
constituency. (p.42)
IGNORANCE
Ignorance is the lack of
knowledge about something. Most African leaders have been taking advantage of
the citizens’ ignorance and continue exploiting them and establish themselves in
their positions of power. In this novel, specifically speaking, most people in
this society are ignorant and do not know what is taking place just around them.
They are exploited by the very leaders they chose, but they remain passive and
support their leaders. Someone who tells them the truth or tries to expose the
ills of the leaders is ironically considered an enemy to them. Let’s examine
the cases below.
Þ
Odili comments about
the villagers at Anata village and the way they are treating Chief Nanga
portraying their ignorance. “Here were
silly, ignorant villagers dancing themselves lame and waiting to blow off their
gunpowder in honour of one of those who had started the country off down to the
lopes of inflation. (p.2)
Þ
People
call Chief Nanga “a man of the people” and if anyone tells them otherwise they
hate him. For example, Odili tells them the truth about Chief Nanga and they
hate him and call him a traitor. This gives a chance for few individuals to
exploit the masses. Proving their ignorance one man says :
“Let them eat”, let’s wait our chance” after all when the Whiteman
used to do all the eating did we commit suicide? And where is the Whiteman
today? He came, he ate, he went, but we are still around. The important thing
is to stay alive”(143/4)
Þ
Leaders
like C. Nanga are ignorant. Despite the fact that he is a minister of Culture,
he doesn’t know what Book Exhibition is. He is a standard 6 leaver but a
minister.
Þ
Edna is
ignorant since she is told about Chief Nanga that he is not a good man and
still she wants to marry him.
Þ
Azoge’s
story (a blind beggar) symbolizes the ignorance of the majority who are
exploited but they don’t notice it. Leaders give them gifts during the
campaigns and forget them later by embezzling the public funds.
EMBEZZLEMENT OF PUBLIC FUNDS {MISUSE OF
RESOURCES}
This is
the act of stealing the money that you are responsible for or that belongs to
your employer. Many
leaders embezzle and misuse the public funds for private interests. The leaders
are rich, live in luxury houses, dress in expensive European robes while their
voters are poor. There are many cases portraying the misuse of public funds in
this novel;
Þ
In
chapter one, we see Chief Nanga buying a lot of expensive beers for people to
drink. He is sticking notes (money) on the faces of dancers. All these are done
for political reasons of attracting approval from the people for re-election.
Odili says “To one group alone he gave
away five pounds” (p.14)
Þ
Chief
Nanga uses the public funds to pay for Edna’s Education, bride price, and
financing her family.
Þ
He uses
the money to bribe Odili to step down for him. He tells Odili “Take your money and take your scholarship
to go and learn more book; the country needs experts like you. And leave this
dirty game of politics to us who know how to play it.” (p.119) Chief Koko also
uses the public funds to bribe Max to step down for him.
Þ
Chief
Nanga buys six buses for the route from Giligili to Anata. He drives an
expensive car {Cadillac} bought with public funds. He has a big house and is
building another four-storey building sponsored by Antonio and Sons company
after giving it a contract worth a half a million pounds. He has also built
three blocks of seven-storey luxury flats at 300,000 pounds each in the name of
his wife. (p.99)
Þ
Chief
Koko and Chief Nanga use the public money to pay their thugs and buy them
weapons to cause troubles to their opponents. E.g. The “Nanga’s Youth Vanguard
or Nangavanga for short.” (p.112)
Þ
The
president of the student union was poor but after becoming the Permanent
Secretary of the ministry of Labour and Production he becomes rich, wealthy and
corrupt.
Þ
Odili
uses a ministerial car with the national flag to visit his girlfriend Elsie at
the hospital.
CONFLICT
This refers to
misunderstanding between people, groups of people or contradictory ideas. The
following are some of the conflicts in the novel.
§
Personal conflicts.
Þ
The
conflict between Odili and Chief Nanga. This is caused first by Chief Nanga
sleeping with Elsie {Odili’s girlfriend},
later when Odili contests against Chief Nanga and lastly when Odili attends
Chief Nanga’s campaign meeting in which case, he is beaten up by Chief Nanga.
Þ
The
conflict between Odili and his father. This arises from Odili’s refusal to take
Chief Nanga’s money and Scholarship and instead he announces to contest against
Chief Nanga.
Þ
Odili and
Edna’s father. This occurs when Odili announces to contest against Chief Nanga
who is his supposed son-in-law.
§
Political conflict
Þ
The
conflict between Max and Chief Koko. This arises when Max takes Chief Koko’s
money but does not step down for him, instead he continues with the campaigns.
Chief Koko murders him and he is also murdered by Eunice, Max’s fiancée. This
results into an intensive political conflict between Max’s followers and Chief
Koko’s. The author puts it this way; “The
fighting that broke out that night between Max’s bodyguard and Chief Koko’s
thugs in Abaga struck a match and lit the tinder of discontent in the land.” He
continues to say; “then they went on a
rampage, sacking one market after another in the district, seizing women’s
wares and beating people.” (p.143)
§
Social Conflict
Þ
The
conflict between Josiah and the villagers. This comes forth when Josiah takes
Azoge’s stick as a medicine to enrich himself in exchange for the food and wine
he gives the blind beggar. Villagers decide not to buy in his shop and bar, as
a result he runs bankrupt.
POSITION
OF WOMEN IN THE SOCIETY
Women have been portrayed
differently in this novel; mostly negatively and in few cases positively. Let’s
have a look at it:
Þ
Women are
portrayed as weak people. Women are seen as weak and are not involved in decision making.
Margaret is forced by her parents to marry Chief Nanga though she has passed to
secondary school. Edna is also forced to marry Chief Nanga by her parents.
Chief Nanga sleeps with other women although he is married. He doesn’t care
about his wife.
Þ
Women are
portrayed as marginalized and humiliated individuals. Women are denied access to further education
as compared to men. Mrs. Nanga has passed to sec school but being a woman is
denied the opportunity. She says “I
passed the entrance to a secondary school, but Eddy’s father and his people
kept at me to marry him, marry him, and my own parents joined in; they said
what did a girl want with so much education? (p.88)
Þ
Women are
portrayed as tools of pleasure for men. In the novel we see men using women to
satisfy their sexual desires. For example Elsie is used by Ralph, Odili, Chief
Nanga etc., Agnes, Elsie, Edna, Mrs Nanga are used by Chief Nanga. Chief. Nanga
tells Odili that he can bring him six girls for him to have sex with them.
Hezekiah Samalu has 5 wives for the same reason etc.
Þ
Women are
portrayed as parents and caretakers. We see Mrs. Nanga planning to take her
children to the village to learn African roots. Hezekiah Samalu has 5 wives and
35 children but it is his wives who take care of them. Odili himself was
brought up by his step-mother like one of her own children. (p.27)
Þ Women are portrayed as revolutionists. Eunice represents women who can take part in
the revolution to bring changes in the society. She is portrayed as a
courageous woman as she revenges against Max’s death by shooting Chief Koko.
Odili later comments about this by saying “Max
was avenged not by the people’s collective will but by one solitary woman who
loved him.” (p.148)
BETRAYAL
Betrayal
is the act of hurting somebody who trusts you, especially by not being loyal or
faithful to them. This is also
a common theme in African literature. Many leaders who took power from
colonialists have betrayed their people because they only care about themselves
and their relatives.
Þ
Chief Nanga and other leaders have betrayed
their voters. They live in luxury houses and drive expensive cars while their
voters live in dire poverty.
Þ
Elsie betrays Ralph by sleeping with Odili,
later betrays Odili by sleeping with Chief Nanga.
Þ
Jean betrays her husband John by sleeping with
Odili out of wedlock.
Þ
Chief Nanga betrays his wife by sleeping with
many women out of his marriage including Elsie.
Þ
Max betrays Chief Koko by taking his money and
not stepping down for him instead he uses the same money to hire the minibus
for campaigns. As a result Chief Koko plots to kill him.
Þ
The president of student union has betrayed his
fellow revolutionists by becoming corrupt, contrary to what they were fighting
for when in college. Odili says “He was
now an ice-cream-eating Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Labour and
Production and had not only become one of the wealthiest and most corrupt
landlords in Bori but was reported in the Press as saying that trade-union
leaders should be put in detention.” (p.109)
EXPLOITATION
Leaders exploit their subjects. E.g. Chief
Nanga has an expensive car and big houses.
Þ
Josiah
exploits his customers, when they notice it they say that Josiah has taken
enough for the owner to notice. One woman says “So the beast is not satisfied with all the money he takes from us and
must use a medicine to turn us into blind buyers of his wares” (p.85)
Þ
Hezekiah
Samalu is charged of the business that he does not conduct. Odili says “The next day, however, the palaver came
closer home. The local council Tax Assessment Officer brought him a reassessed
figure based not only on his known pension of eighty-four pounds a year but on
an alleged income of five hundred pounds derived from ‘business’” (p.132). This
is exploitation.
VICTIMIZATION/BRUTALITY/OPPRESSION
This
is the act of making somebody suffer unfairly because you do not like them,
their opinions, or something that they have done. There are several cases of
victimization in this novel.
¨
The prime minister
victimises the ministers. When a financial crisis hits the country, the Minister
of Finance who was a first-rate economist with a Ph.D. in Public Finance presents
to the Cabinet a complete plan to recure the situation but the Prime minister
objects. He instead suggests that the Nationa Bank should print fifteen million
pounds. The ministers who supported the minister of finance were sacked and
accused of being conspirators and traitors who had teamed up with foreign
saboteurs to destroy the new nation. (p.3). After his dismissal, the Minister
of Finance faced another tragedy “That
week his car had been destroyed by angry mobs and his house stoned. Another
dismissed minister had been pulled out of his car, beaten insensible, and
dragged along the road for fifty yards, then tied hand and foot, gagged and
left by the roadside.” (p.4/5)
¨
Chief Nanga
mistreats Odili by beating him when he attends his campaign’s rally. Chief
Nanga beats him and finally they arrest him. His car is overturned and set on
fire. Odili is not only tortured but also denied to sign the nomination paper.
(p.141)
¨
Hezekiah Samalu is
victimised because of allowing C.P.C. to launch their campaigns on his
compounds. He is ignominiously removed from his office for subversive
anti-party activities, he is charged the tax for the business he doesn’t run,
and his pension funds of eighty-four pounds a year is reassessed.
¨
Max is victimized
by Chief Koko and killed on spot. When he investigated the scandal that Chief
Koko’s wife would be leading the Women’s Wing of the P.O.P in the operation of
smuggling into the polling booths wads of
ballot papers concealed in their brassiers. As soon as he got out of his
car he was knocked by Chief Koko’s jeep and died on the spot. (p.142)
HYPOCRISY.
Ø
This is a behaviour
in which somebody pretends to have moral standards or opinions that they do not
actually have. Chief Nanga
represents the hypocrites we have in our societies who preach water and drink
wine. He pretends to offer Odili a
scholarship and the money as a way of helping him but he wants him to step down
for him during the election.
Ø
He is a minister of culture but he dresses and lives like
Europeans. He tells Odili that teaching is a nobel profession while he left teaching
and became a politician instead. “That is
very good. Sometimes I use to regret ever leaving the teaching field. Although
I am a minister today I can swear to God that I am not as happy as when I was a
teacher” (p.9).
Ø
He tells Odili that if someone wants to make him a
minister he should run away. Later the same man tells odili that he is wasting
his talent in the teaching profession instead he should take up a post in the
civil service. “By the way Odili you are wasting your talent here. I want you to come
to the capital and take up a strategic post in the civil service. We shouldn’t
leave everything to the highland tribes.” What a hypocrite!
AFRICAN TRADITIONS AND CUSTOMS.
§
Polygamy
This is one of the mostly reputed Africa traditions.
Marrying many wives in Africa has become a fashion. There are some cases of
poligamy described in the novel.
¨
Odili’s
father, Hezekiah Samalu had five wives something
that makes him unable to take care of the family fully and leaves the
responsibility to the wives. Odili says “The
trouble with my father was his endless desire for wives and children. Or
perhaps I should say children and wives. Right now he has five wives – the
youngest a mere girl whom he married last year. And he is at least sixty-eight
possibly seventy.” (p.30)
¨
Chief Nanga
is another case. Although he is married to Magreth Nanga, he has many
concubines, he still wants to marry Edina Odo the young girl he has already
paid the bride price for and had financed her education for the same. Mrs Nanga
tells Odili “We are getting a second wife
to help me” (p.36)
§
Superstition
This is another aspect of African traditional beliefs in which
most people believe that there are some powers that control human lives. As a
result people have to put protective medicines to defend themselves from the
harms associated with these supposed witchcraft. This is portayed in different
scenarios;
¨
Protecting the home.
Odili’s father being a District interpreter during
colonialism, he believed that people hated him, so he had to protect his home
using protective medicine and he warned his children from visiting some homes
or accepting the food from certain homes as Odili narrates;
“We grew up
knowing that the world was full of enemies. Our father had protective medicine
located at crucial points in our house and compound. One, I remember, hung over
the main entrance; but the biggest was in a gourd in a corner of his bedroom.
No child went alone into that room which was virtually always under lock and
key anyway. We were told that such and such homes were never to be entered; and
those people were pointed out to us from whom we must not accept food” (p.28)
¨
In marriage relationship.
Another case of superstition is shown in marriage
relationship. A man puts juju on his wife’s breasts to scare her into
faithfulness. However, this was believed to work only if she exposes her
breasts to another man. As a result a woman would have sex with another man
without taking her brassiere off. In that case the juju didn’t work. Odili
says;
“The best I thought
was about the young married woman who never took her brassiere off. It was not
until after many encounters that Chief Nanga managed to extract from her that
her husband (apparently a very jealous man) had put some juju on her breasts to
scare her into faithfulness; his idea being presumably that she would not dare
to expose that part of her to another man much less other parts” (p.50)
¨
In business/trade
Many people believe that they cannot run a successiful
business without having to associate it with some juju. Most of them visit the
witch-doctors who give them some juju to attract more customers. Josiah the
shop-owner is a case in point. He invites Azoge – the blind beggar to his shop
and gives him the rice to eat and plenty of palm-wine to drink. Meanwhile, he
takes his stick away and replaces it with a new one. One villager narrates to
Odili “Yes, the blind beggar, Josiah is
not touched by Azoge’s ill-fortune and he is not satisfied with all the
thieving he does here in the name of trade but must now make juju with Azoge’s
stick” (p.84)
§ Bride price.
Just as in many African traditional
societies, men have to pay bride price before they officially take a girl for a
wife. In this society the story is the same as we can see Chief Nanga has paid
the bride price for Edna and on top of that he financed her education. However,
we come to learn that the custom dictates that if the courtship is to be broken
then the bride price paid should be refunded fully.
This is definitely what happens when Chief
Nanga is arrested and lets go of Edna and Odili becomes the only bird in hand.
Odili summarizes it this way “Therefore
we made rapid progress with Edna’s father who no doubt, saw me as a bird in
hand. He told us that Chief Nanga had paid a bride price of one hundred and
fifty pounds for his daughter and another one hundred pounds on her education
and other incidentals.”
So in a manner of speaking they had to refund
the bride price according to the custom as Odili observes; “‘Our custom,’ said my father firmly, ‘is to
return the bride price – finish. Other bits and pieces must be the man’s loss.
Is that not the custom?’ Our party said yes that was the custom.”
§ Forced
marriage.
In African setting many girls are forced into
marriage relationships against their wishes and to men who are not of their choices.
The whole issue is prearranged by the parents –mostly male parents – who fix up
everything and the girl’s duty in that arrangement is to say yes. Edna finds
herself cornered and has no way to
escape as she narrates in her letter to Odili.
I have
noted all that you said about my marriage. Really, you should pity poor me,
Odili. I am in a jam about the whole thing. If I develop cold feet now my
father will almost kill me. Where is he going to find all the money the man has
paid on my head? So it is not so much that I want to be called a minister’s
wife but a matter of can’t help. What cannot be avoided must be borne. (p.110)
§
Tribalism.
¨
Tribalism is
portrayed in different scenarios. Chief
Nanga is a tribalist as he advices Odili to leave the teaching career and take
a strategic post in the civil service lest they leave those posts to be taken
by the highland tribes.
¨
The minister
gives the journalist a ‘dash’ of five pounds to go and clear the rent arreas
avoiding to attract tribalism. He says “Apparently
it was not a straightforward case of debt, since the landlord and the
journalist came from different tribes, the element of tribalism could not be
ruled out” (p.66).
INFIDELITY AND MORAL DECAY
This
is the act of not being faithful to your wife, husband or partner, by having
sex with
somebody else. There are many cases of infidelity in this novel.
Þ
Elisie is
infidel as she slept with Odili the same day at campus while she was Ralph’s
girlfriend – a fellow medical student. (p.24)
Þ
Odili’s
neighbour nicknamed Irre (Irresponsible) was known to be the most ruthless and
unprincipled womanizer in the entire university campus.
Þ
Chief Nanga is an infidel and a great womanizer. He is married
but he is not satisfied as he plans to marry Edna after financing her
education. He sleeps with many women like Elsie. He tells Odili that he can
bring him six girls for him to have sex with them in compansation for Elsie.
Þ
Odili and his fellow university students also show moral
decay in the society. Odili started dating and sleeping with Elsie when he was
at the university and they were not married. He continued the same when he went
to the city he wanted to have sex with her. He had sex with Jean the wife of
John when the party was over. So Jean is also infidel and a betrayer as she
betrayed her husband by having extamarital sex with Odili.
NEPOTISM AND SELFISHNESS.
This
is the act of giving unfair advantages to your own family if you are in a position
of power, especially by giving them jobs.
§
Max and
Odili started their campains with the spirit of nepotism. They told the
villagers in Urua that it was their turn to elect the son of their land and not
Chief Nanga from Anata. One elder supporting what Max had said commented that
Max had spoken with wisdom and he added “That
word entered my ear. The village of Anata has already eaten, now they must make
way for us to reach the plate. No man in Urua will give his paper to a stranger
when his own son needs it; if the very herb we go to seek in the forest now
grows at our very backyard are we not saved the jouney?
§
Chief Nanga
also buys six buses but all of them
are directed to provide transport for a route from Giligili to Anata his home
village. Chief Nanga complains against Hon. T.C Kobino the minister of Public
Construction for dillying and dallying the completion of the road from Giligili
to Anata because it was not in his constituency. He wanted to the road to be tarred preparing
for the next election and the buses that were coming. He complains “If it were in his constituency he would
listen to the experts. And who is the expert? One small boy from his town –
whom we all helped to promote last year” (p.42) This shows that job
provision and promotions are based upon nepotism.
UNITY.
Þ
When the
villagers decided to unite together and in one voice they declared not to buy
from Josiah’s shop and bar because of what he did to Azoge the blind beggar,
Josiah ran bankrupt. Also they united against the oppressive and corrupt
government led by the P.O.P. and overthrew the government arresting the corrupt
leaders like Chief Nanga. This shows the power of unity.
SELF-AWARENESS.
Þ
The
villagers were ignorant and Josiah used that advantage to exploit them. However,
from Azoge’s story they came to their awareness and Timothy the carpenter said
“Josiah has taken away enough for the
owner to notice. If anyone ever sees my feet in this shop let him cut them
off.” (p.86) This paints both a picture of awareness and an act of protest.
The same statement was given by Odili’s father refering to Chief Koko when he
said “Koko has taken enough for the owner
to see” (p.148)
CLASSES
There are two major classes in this society. High class
and lower class.
§
High class.
¨
High class
is represented by rich politicians like Chief Nanga, Chief Koko and other
ministers who live luxuriously and drive expensive cars while the majority are
suffering. They also send their children to expensive schools run by Eropeans.
Odili says “Mr Nanga always spoke English
or pidgin, his children, whom I discovered went to expensive private schools
run by European ladies spoke impeccable English…” (p.32)
¨
There are
residential areas for high-class members and for poor people. When Jean drives Odili
around the city she takes him though the areas where poor people lived and then
to those of high class as Odili says “we
were now back in the pleasant high-class area.” (p.54)
§
Poor /lower class
¨
Poor
class which comprises the majority of the citizens live in dire poverty. The
following are few cases showing poverty in this society.
¨
In
Giligili Odili’s sister was living a poor life when Odili visited her. They
were living in a house with only two rooms and had to fight with rats in the
house. He says “My sister, her husband
and two small children slept in one and the rest of us – three boys – shared
the other with bags of rice, garri, beans and other stuff. And of course the
rats.” (p.41)
¨
When
Edna and Odili get a bicycle accident and the food spills down she cries saying
that “My mother will die of hunger today.”
Odili has the following to say “Actually
I think her crying was probably due to hurt pride because the food lying on the
road showed how poor her family was” (p.94)
¨
Poor
people who are lucky are using pit latrines but the disadvantaged ones are
using bucket latrines. This includes Odili’s half-sister in Giligili who were
using bucket latrines. In the city poor people are using bucket (pails)
latrines and when the night soil men went into a strike the smell was all over.
This shows the highest state of poverty.
