effect of the city

In Chinua Achebe’s No Longer at Ease, the author quotes T.S. Eliot’s “The Journey of the Magi” to truly set the tone of his novel. The text states:

“ We returned to our places, these kingdoms, but no longer
at ease here, in the old dispensation, with an alien people
clutching their gods. I should be glad of another death” (Achebe)

This quote gives the reader a hint about the mentality of the protagonist who has gained knowledge, but lost his identity. Yet, through the novel, the character Obi, does not only feel like he cannot identify with his own culture, but cannot fit in with his new found culture. Obi is essentially lost or between two worlds. This point is extremely profound. Does Obi consider his new found knowledge and culture a gift or a curse? Does Obi prefer ignorance and a sense of belonging over an enlightened spirit of knowledge? Obi’s new found education was to empower his country, but instead alienated himself.
These questions are perplexing after considering the individuals of Baltimore city. Loyola’s new mission is to merge the society and culture of Loyola into Baltimore. Will these two cultures collide? And how will these new interventions or mergence into the city impact Baltimore culture? The long term effects of knowledge can have either a negative or positive impact on society or the individual.
I cannot predict what type of impact Loyola College will have on the Baltimore community. I can only hope that it will be a profitable and positive one that will lead the city toward the greater good. However, in term of this novel the negative effects will not be a feelings of displacement.

As in other literature that we have read discussing the adverse and positive affects of cities on the lives of those who travel through and live in them, it is certainly apparent that the city is considered the mecca of opportunity and prosperity. I think, in turn, Achebe's portrait of Obi's Nigerian village represents more of a family than what we would contemporarily view as a town; this family is responsible for teaching its son values and traditions by which to live. I think that it is a very interesting and pertinent point that it is his village that teaches Obi his traditional standards and values, but to assume that he would not have reduced himself to accepting bribery and participating in the corruption that surrounded the Nigerian government had he never left Umuofia and traveled to the city may be a bit of a stretch, as he is exposed to the notion of advancing one's social status by any means possible by other members of his village, or family.

Corruption in the Nigerian government seemed commonplace, and virtually inescapable to Obi, "[Obi's] theory that the public service of Nigeria would remain corrupt until the old Africans at the top were replaced by young men from the universities was first formulated in a paper read to the Nigerian students in London."(44) But as an acceptional scholar and strong willed individual, I believe that Obi would have undoubtedly, at one point or another, have encountered this same corruption had he remained in the village of Umuofia the rest of his life.

By exposing himself to the cosmopolitan way of life, Obi was not simply presented with the opportunity to particpate in corrupt government, but also experience with the tools to combat such a way of life. In fact, the reader sees the first "casual" mention of bribery on Obi's return to his village after receiving his education in London,
"'Have they given you a job yet?' the chairman asked Obi over the music.
In Nigeria the government was always 'they'. It had nothing to do with you or me.
It was an alien institution and people's business was to get as much from it as they
could without getting into trouble. 'Not yet. I'm attending an interview Monday.'
'Of course those of you who know book will not have any difficulty,' said the Vice-President
on Obi's left. 'Otherwise I would have suggested seeing some of the men
before-hand.'"(38)
It seems to me that the culprit behind such rash decisions to forgo one's established set of values is a result of a desire to get ahead--a desire which in Obi's case could have been a product of the stress of shouldering the hopes for advancement of his entire village. I think that Achebe is making the point that, while in fact his character's relocation to the city does play a pivotal role in his decision to accept a bribe, it is the infiltration of Western ideas and standards into the Nigerian villages and the distorted view of success and the means by which it is acceptable to achieve such a successful status is what ultimately drives Obi to corruption.

City As Possession

Reading No Longer at Lease, I was moved by Mr. Green’s choice of words in a comment directed at Obi in chapter twelve: “‘…I have lived in your country for fifteen years and yet I cannot begin to understand the mentality of the so-called Nigerian…’” (132). I think it is interesting how Mr. Green makes the word “country” seem like a possession, one that is not his but Obi’s, even though Mr. Green has lived in Lagos for a substantial amount of time. This is especially strange because in the novel Mr. Green seems to represent imperialism and influence of the Europeans over Lagos. Instead, he claims neither ownership nor understanding.

One reason that I think Achebe carefully chooses Mr. Green’s words is to make the distinction that imperialism isn’t necessarily a means of claiming ownership over another people but that it is actually a way for the imperialist nation to gain space within which its own people can flourish. Throughout the novel, Achebe makes it clear that a group will try to retain its identity even if the people leave their home city. In chapter fourteen, Obi’s father asks him: “‘How were all our people in Lagos when you left them?’” (149). Again, there is a sense of ownership when Mr. Okonkwo distinguishes the Umuofia people as “ours” even though they are relatively far away.

In chapter five, Achebe reveals that “Four years in England had filled Obi with a longing to be back in Umuofia. This feeling was sometimes so strong that he found himself feeling ashamed of studying English for his degree. He spoke Ibo whenever he had the least opportunity of doing so. Nothing gave him greater pleasure than to find another Ibo-speaking student in a London bus.” (57). The reader never catches any hint that Mr. Green misses his home country, and he feels no shame at speaking English in Lagos. If the Umofia Union had been present in England, I’m sure that Obi wouldn’t have felt such a sense of alienation and shame. In a way, imperialism allows a culture to travel together in distant lands, moving but staying together. In No Longer at Ease, imperialism seems just to be another way that a culture maintains and strengthens its identity, at its heart a means of survival more than a means of power.

Conflicting Cultures Within the City

Sometimes outside influences can bring a wealth of good to a particular city. They can diversify the city and create new opportunities. However, this is not the case with Umuofia and the other towns of Nigeria, which are mentioned in the novel No Longer at Ease. These Nigerians are influenced in a negative way by English society, and consequently they must face conflicts between their old culture and the new one that is forced upon them by the English. These citizens are victims of imperialism and are forced to adapt a sort of double culture in their lives, which brings about unrest.

The main character Obi returns to England to find his expectations unfulfilled. He returns to a place of discord, bribery, and strife. He is not as respected as he should be upon his return because he has been highly educated at a prestigious university. At one point in the novel, the elder Odogwu says, " Today's greatness has changed its tune. Titles are no longer great, neither are barns or large numbers of wives or children. Greatness is now in the things of the white man" (Achebe 62). When Obi speaks of the woman he met in England, he is praised for not returning with a white woman. A carpenter named Matthew Ogbana says, "I say a black man who marries a white woman wastes his time" (Achebe 61). Obi's boss, Mr. Green, often disrespects Obi and disregards his prestigious education. He says, " I think the government is making a terrible mistake in making it so easy for people like that ( referring to Obi) to have a so-called university education" (Achebe 132). He seems to represent the unrelenting close-minded and hypocritical mentality of the British upon their invasion of Africa. This is especially apparent because of his decision to resign his duties upon the independence of Umoufia. Obi says that, "He must have come originally with an ideal- to bring light to the heart of darkness...but when he arrived, Africa played him false" (Achebe 121). Clearly, Mr. Green and all of England set out on a self- fulfilling conquest that bore no interest of the others in mind. These conflicts, as well as conflicts with religion show the negative influence that England has on Umuofia. Obi's grandfather placed a curse on Obi's father when he decided to leave home to join the missionaries, which shows just how taboo succumbing to the white man was in those times. Obi's father said he "went through fire to become a Christian" ( Achebe 157). The old religion of the Umuofians was mostly lost due to English influence and some Umuofians, such as Obi's father, resorted to violence because of this. In Augustine's City of God, he says, "I divide the human race into two orders. The one consists of those who live according to man and the other of those who live according to God" (Augustine 635). This illustrates that it is not easy to balance obligations between two ways of life within the city, and that infact, it may be impossible. Just as Obi's father paid a price for his religious choice within his city, we too will pay prices for our cultural obligations. It is not always easy to please two cultures while following your own desires and dreams. This is exemplified in the character Obi, who ultimately falls apart due to his conflicting obligations to both the imperialistic culture of England and his homeland of Umuofia. He fails at his job, he fails to take a wife, and he fails to completely please his family and city.

In today's cities, many people are surrounded by conflicting cultures, similiar to Obi's situation. For instance, immigrant families must learn a new language and new customs and they must adopt the new lifestyle necessary to fit into a city. America is filled with cities that are seperated by cultural districts. These people, and many others, must create a place of their own, while striving to abide by the customs of their homeland. They must learn multiple languages, etc. The culture of the city to which some immigrate may be too drastically different, so these people may choose to follow traditions from their old country. In most cases, they are constantly trying to balance the old and the new. It is not always easy for the older generation of immigrants to see their children fall away from the ways of their homeland, but in a way, it is somewhat necessary, although unfortunate. At any rate, to try and fulfill the obligations of two cities with conflicting cultures can certainly make one no longer at ease.