No Longer at Ease (Penguin Modern Classics)

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Obi grew up in the village of Umuofia, Nigeria. He had a happy childhood with his multiple siblings and parents. His father converted to Christianity, and his mother did so to appease him, but Obi was never very religious. He was very close to his mother. This is my second book by Achebe, but I must say that I feel disappointed. Unlike the first one (Things fall apart), I couldn't get familiar with the characters, I didn't feel cautivated by the plot or the context of the book, even though they are both similar in both books, but I feel the characters here are not as attractive as in the first book. And in the course of the story we learn of the challenges that face Africa and its people, especially the young. We learn what circumstances turns a man who finds corruption repugnant, and bribery evil, to one who accepts bribes easily. Surprisingly, it is not difficult to not only empathize with Obi but sympathize with him. Falling action After Obi loses Clara and his mother dies he goes though a period of mental turmoil and eventually finds himself out of it through a strange sense of calm and complacency that leads him to eventually allowing himself to guiltily take bribes. After he takes the bribes, he is taken to court, and he seems to be unmoved by the actions, but when his promise and education are mentioned he finds himself in tears.

Obi's mother grew ill and he traveled to visit her. There his father privately asked about Clara and expressed his reservations, but Obi tried to tell him that because he was a Christian he could not care about Clara's osu status. His mother, however, told him firmly that he could only marry her after she died, and if he married her beforehand she would kill herself. Obi Okonkwo, grandson of the main character in “Things Fall Apart” has returned from England. A union paid his education and now he landed his first government job. Nice perks - an office, a secretary and good pay. Obi, köy yasantisindan kopuyor, okumak icin binbir umutla Londra'ya gonderiliyor ve baskalasim hikayesi basliyor. Kulturel degisime ugruyor ama hicbir kulturel degisime ugramadan donmesini bekleyen cevresini memnun etmeye calismaktan da geri durmuyor. Surekli kendi icinde bir gelenek/yenilik catismasi var. Hangisini sececegini bir turlu bilemiyor. Bir pasajda kendisi de durup dusundugunu ve bu hale dusme sebebinin kendi akilsizligi oldugunu fark ettigini soyluyor. Nihayet geleneklere karsi gelip dernege para yollamayi kestiginde, hayatini duzene sokmak icin artik cok gec kaliyor.

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Illuminante, a questo riguardo, la postilla del traduttore che ci spiega innanzitutto come rispetto al primo volume de “Le cose crollano” ci si trovi di fronte ad un uso maggiore della lingua inglese, segno della seconda fase colonizzatrice. Le sfumature, tuttavia sono tanto molteplici quanto fondamentali. Soon enough, despite a salary beyond the wildest dreams of anyone from Umuafia, Obi finds himself short of funds, as he tries to keep up with a higher standard of living. In addition, he is engaged to a young woman who will never by accepted by his family or village because of an ancient curse that haunts her family. Tragedy looms and finally arrives. Baslarda kitabi bildungsroman yani oluşum hikayesi gibi okudum. Obi'nin kendi ayaklari uzerinde durabilmesi anlatilacak gibiydi. Ama ileredikce fark ediyorsunuz ki aslinda tam bir "olusamama hikayesi".

Torna, pertanto, con tanta teoria come ad esempio il credersi saldamente fermo sui principi morali che si oppongono alla corruzione dilagante del paese. Clara Okeke eventually reveals that she is an osu, an outcast by her descendants, meaning that Obi cannot marry her under the traditional ways of the Igbo people of Nigeria. He remains intent on marrying Clara, but even his Christian father opposes it, although reluctantly due to his desire to progress and eschew the "heathen" customs of pre-colonial Nigeria. His mother begs him on her deathbed not to marry Clara until after her death, threatening to kill herself if Obi disobeys. When Obi informs Clara of these events, Clara breaks the engagement and intimates that she is pregnant. Obi arranges an abortion, which Clara reluctantly undergoes, but she suffers complications and refuses to see Obi afterwards. Mr. Green's secretary, Marie, is kind to Obi. Marie often claims what a strange man Mr. Green is and, on other occasions, defends the same Mr. Green. She, like Mr. Green, represents the presence of the English in Nigeria. Sam Okoli On his return after 4 years, Obi realizes that the real Nigeria, Lagos especially, doesn’t match anymore to the memories he had carried with himself. Corruption is abundant and Obi, full with zeal, idealism and foreign education, sets out to secure a position in the Civil Service to do what he can for his country.Chinua Achebe has written a brilliant novel on the age old condition. However, when you add in the perspective of how the modernization (or colonization) of Nigeria has changed the past with the new, complicated by religion and race, then a whole other can of worms is opened. The heart of the matter leads to corruption. And that makes things very uneasy. Avete visto?” disse il presidente. “Un uomo può andare in Inghilterra, diventare un avvocato o un medico, ma il suo sangue non cambia. È come un uccello che prende il volo e si posa su un formicaio. Sempre a terra è.” The novel begins with the trial of Obi Okonkwo, who we find within this first chapter is accused of having taken a bribe. The courtroom is full and the case seems to be a very popular one—everyone in Lagos, Nigeria, has been talking about it and is going to witness it in court on his/her day off. Obi seems to be indifferent most of the time until tears come to his face when his "education" and his "promise" are mentioned. Also, an official turning down a bribe opens up opportunities for his underlings to say “Yes, he says he won’t take the bribe, because I take it for him.” It turns out that the real crime in a society like this is not in taking a bribe, but in taking the bribe and not delivering on what was ‘paid for.’

Though set several decades after Things Fall Apart, No Longer at Ease continues many of the themes from Achebe's first novel. Here, the clash between European culture and traditional culture has become entrenched during the long period of colonial rule. Obi struggles to balance the demands of his family and village for monetary support while simultaneously keeping up with the materialism of Western culture.

Every one who starts out after university goes through the same financial challenges. It’s just how we all deal with it that reveals who we are. In these first five chapters, we learn why Obi was able to travel to England –he was given a prestigious scholarship from the Umuofia Progressive Union with the hope that he would bring honor to his kinsmen as well as return to be a lawyer who could help the Union with cases. In one of many disappointing moments for the Union, Obi decides not to be a lawyer but to attain a degree in English and then a job as a civil servant in the scholarship division. One of the main themes of the novel, then, is the tension between the village of Umuofia’s pride in Obi and the sense that he has strayed from their culture and community. Although Obi begins his life in Nigeria in an honest way, events do not go as he has planned. First, Clara tells him that she cannot marry him because she is an osu, an outcast. Obi decides to ignore this and go against what most of his fellow countrymen believe to be a major transgression of custom, and he decides he will marry her anyway. Still, his economic hardship worsens, given that he has to send money home and that he is in debt. Obi then receives a letter from his father telling him that he must go home. When he arrives at home he sees that his mother is very ill. And, his parents tell him he must not marry Clara because she is an osu. In fact, Obi's dying mother gives him an ultimatum: she tells him that if he insists on marrying Clara, he must wait until she is dead because if he marries Clara while she is alive, she will kill herself. Hundreds of people came to the reception. He was asked about how far the white man’s country was. Mr. Okonkwo and an old man argued about kola nuts; Mr. Okonkwo said they would eat them, but not sacrifice them to idols. We’ve all heard of (or read) the author’s most famous work, Things Fall Apart. This book, No Longer at Ease, is the second volume in what became a trilogy. The third volume is Arrow of God.

They talked of the Nigerian people and Joseph reminded Obi of the time when he had written a letter to Hitler during the war. Obi laughed and mused that he did not know what came over him.Obi’s love interest is Clara, a Nigerian nurse he met in London and was dazzled by. Unfortunately, she is an osu, or outcast, so customs forbid a marriage to Obi. Nonetheless, she accepts an engagement ring from Obi and they believe their love will prevail. Clara is a strong and hardworking woman and is devoted to Obi, yet not so certain their love is strong enough to see them through. An unforeseen event creates even more friction for the couple who are facing financial and familial difficulties. Love doesn’t always conquer all.