No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe

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Description:

No Longer at Ease takes place in the 1950s, using as its focus the experience of the grandson of the Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart. This young man is far from the stereotypical savage. An intelligent idealist educated at a university in England and trained in classical thinking, he returns to Nigeria and is disappointed in many ways. He expects equality with the white man of similar training and that Nigeria would have completely entered the twentieth century. He finds British condescending attitudes and fellow countrymen who cling to some seemingly outdated traditions including the caste system. These customs prevent him from marrying the girl he loves. He learns that he is expected to maintain a certain expensive lifestyle while maintaining traditional obligations to clan and family. The double standard that exists between the business practices of the British and those expected of the native government employees becomes the stumbling block that ruins him. An emphasis is placed on the changes caused by colonization.

Activities:

In this unit, students look at titles and themes through poetry analysis; explore the differences in generations; examine the frame-story; outline; draw conclusions about the character’s experiences; discover the qualities of the novel that indicate it is an initiation story; study reality versus idealism; and analyze character.

Ethical Values:

Equality, Faith, Loyalty, Peace, Respect, Responsibility