Literary Allusion

Chinua Achebe: No Longer at Ease

Literary Allusion
Chapter 1 (pg 4) Prodigal son from Biblical parable, Luke Chapter 15: 11-32, a younger son who demanded his share of his inheritance from his father and then squandered it with loose living. Prodigal son refers to the waste of money in sending Obi for further education and the members of UPU have to spend more on hiring a lawyer for him for his criminal act of accepting bribes.

Prodigal Son

Literary Allusion
Chapter 2 (pg 13) Holy of Holies refers to the holy place / sanctuary where the Ark (10 commandments) is kept during the Old Testament times in the Bible and only the priest can enter once a year to make atonement.
It refers to Joseph oneroom flat separated by a blanket into the "Holy of Holies" (his bed), and the sitting area. Allusion is meant to be comical (blasphemous) as Joseph keeps his cooking utensils, boxes and other personal effects hidden away under the Holy of Holies while the hidden behind the Biblical Holy of Holies is where the Ark lies in the Old Testament.

Literary Allusion
Chapter 6 (pg 52-53) Hannah, name of Obis mother; also Biblical name, favoured wife of Elkanah, who could not conceive a child for many years until she prayed that she would dedicate her first-born to the Lord if her prayers are answered; they are and she gave birth to Samuel, the prophet in the Old Testatment. Name means graciousness

Hannah is characterized her as a person of no voice, who merely listened to her husband and children, and stopped (telling stories to her children) because her husband forbade her to do so. Thus, it alludes to the biblical Hannah, whose husband does not understand her inarticulate cries for a child.

Literary Allusion
Chapter 9 (pg 84) A philosophers stone, meaning it is a legendary alchemical substance, said to be capable of turning base metals, especially lead, into gold: sometimes believed to be an elixir of life, useful for rejuvenation and possibly for achieving immortality.

A university degree is referred as a philosophers stone because it (with the help of scholarship) can determine the pay a person gets at work and ultimately material gain (570 pounds, a car & flat)

Literary Allusion
Chapter 7 Pg 40 Augean stables from Greek my about Hercules; 5th of his 12th labours to clean the stables in one day. Augean stables is allusion to an impossible task of ridding Nigeria of corruption. Hercules could redirect the flow of river to clean up the stables which is quite impossible.

Hercules

Literary Allusion
Chapter 4: Golden Fleece pg 29 It is the tale of Jason and his band of Argonauts, who set out on a quest for the fleece in order to place Jason rightfully on the throne of Iolcus in Thessaly. The Golden Fleece is mentioned in the Secretary of the Unions welcome address for Obi on his return overseas- he was referring to the education overseas in the quest of the Golden Fleece

Literary Allusion
Chapter 18 (pg 149) Allusion to King David in Biblical Old Testament. He fasted while his newborn son is sick. It was Gods punishment for David who impregnated Bathsheba, anothers mans wife.
Obi felt guilty after his friend Nathaniel told the story of the tortoise which has allusion to Obi not attending his mothers funeral. Like King David, Obi caused Clara to be pregnant, who through a distant ancestor belongs to a god. When he remembered King David that he felt peace that passeth all understanding although this peace is at odds with his lost faith.

Literary Allusion
Title: No Longer at Ease Taken from TS Eliots Poem, Journey of the Magi. Poem is a mirror of melancholic story of Obi Okonkwo who is alienated from both worlds - the Umuofian community and his European employers.

The end