No Longer at Ease

No Longer At Ease (1960) is a novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. The story takes place in the years prior to Nigeria’s independence from the British Empire and focuses on Obi Okonkwo. Obi is a young Nigerian man who returns home after studying English in Britain and finds a job in the civil service. He finds himself situated within the conflict between African and Western culture, raising questions about his identity and worldview. No Longer At Ease is the second installment in Achebe’s African Trilogy, following Things Fall Apart (1958) and preceding Arrow of God (1960). The trilogy follows three generations of an Igbo family exploring the impact of colonialism and the state of African society in the years leading up to Nigeria’s independence.

Achebe remains a central figure in modern African literature, a prominent novelist, poet, and critic who sought to shift colonial literary depictions of Africa. He was awarded the Commonwealth Poetry Prize in 1972 and the Man Booker International Prize for fiction in 2007. He was a professor of African Studies at Brown University from 2009 up to his death in 2013.

This guides refers to the 2010 Penguin Classics e-book edition.

Content Warning: The source text discusses colonialism, racism, and abuse.

Plot Summary

The story opens as Obi, a young Nigerian man, is tried for bribery. It unfolds in a flashback describing the events that led to his trial. Obi, an Igbo, studied English in Britain through a scholarship raised by the Umuofia Union in his community. He is an idealistic man that dreams about Nigeria’s future as an independent nation and has firm principles against corruption in the state.

Obi meets Clara in London, and they fall in love on the trip back home. Obi finds a job at the civil service in Lagos, full of hope and excitement while his community celebrates his success in the Western world. Soon, however his struggles begin. Obi is impacted by social, cultural and economic problems that prove insurmountable. Clara reveals that she is an osu, an outcast in the Igbo tradition, and her status becomes an obstacle to their marriage plans. Obi is the only man from his village, Umuofia, to study in England, and he assumes financial responsibilities that are burdensome. He soon realizes that his seeming privileges within the colonial state come with a cost. He pays high bills and exploitative taxes while supporting his struggling family in the village and must also repay the Union for his scholarship through his salary. His debts soon proliferate, and he finds it impossible to make ends meet. In the civil service, his boss, Mr. Green, indicates that European authority in Nigeria still reinforces a system of inequality that impedes Nigerians’ economic autonomy. However, Obi continues to dismiss people who attempt to bribe him and feels sure of himself.

Obi is also torn by his double cultural heritage. Obi’s relationship with Clara is problematic as they often hide their feelings and remain distant from one another. He clashes with the Umuofia Union and his family about his relationship with her. While his father is a catechist (one who teaches the precepts of Christianity) and a devout Christian, he refuses to abandon the osu tradition. His sick mother also threatens to kill herself if Obi marries Clara. Soon, Clara reveals she is pregnant but insists they should break off their engagement after learning of his family’s reaction. Clara and Obi visit doctors for Clara to arrange an abortion. Their decision is portrayed as hasty and uncertain. Obi regrets he did not stop her. Clara disappears from his life. He must pay for the operation, and his economic troubles grow.

After Clara’s loss comes Obi’s mother’s death. Obi becomes severely depressed, but soon he becomes numb and feels dead inside. As he struggles to cope with his salary, Obi accepts bribes with not much consideration, subverting all his values and principles. One day, he becomes disgusted with himself, but it is too late. The police arrive and find the money at his home. He is arrested and tried for bribery for an amount of 20 pounds. In the end, everybody wonders how an educated man like Obi reached this point.