Bisi
In Chinua Achebe’s novel, Bisi is a girlfriend of Obi’s friend Christopher. She and Christopher go out one Saturday night with Obi and Clara; Bisi wants to go to the movies, but agrees to go out dancing instead. They stay out until two in the morning, and Bisi is reluctant to leave; she says the dance is just starting to heat up.
Christopher
Christopher is a good friend of Obi Okonkwo. He has a degree from the London School of Economics, and has recently been transferred to Lagos from the city of Enugu. Christopher and Obi enjoy lively intellectual debates, especially on the topic of corruption in the Nigerian civil service. Christopher invariably opposes Obi’s point of view, perhaps for the sheer pleasure of playing the devil’s advocate. Christopher’s attitude is much looser than Obi’s on the ethical questions concerning bribery. Obi admires Christopher’s flexibility in moving between standard English and pidgin, or ‘‘broken’’ English, depending on the context. Christopher does not support Obi’s choice to marry Clara, but helps Obi find a doctor willing to perform an abortion.
Mr. William Green
William Green is Obi’s supervisor at the Scholarship Board. Mr. Green is a stern, demanding boss who insists that the Africans working under him address him as ‘‘sir.’’ His attitude toward Africans in general, and educated ones in particular, is contemptuous. He frequently proclaims that the Nigerian people are selfish, irresponsible, and not equipped to govern themselves. However, he is capable of generosity on an individual level; for example, he pays the school fees for the sons of his African steward. Although Obi dislikes Mr. Green personally, he admires his devotion to duty, noting that he often works until the evening, even putting off personal obligations like dental appointments because of constantly pressing work. Obi finds it paradoxical that Mr. Green should work so hard for a country he does not believe in.
Charles Ibe
Charles Ibe, an Ibo, works as a messenger for the Scholarship Board in Lagos. He writes a letter to Obi asking for a loan of thirty shillings, saying his wife has just borne their fifth child.
Reverend Samuel Ikedi
Reverend Samuel Ikedi, pastor of St. Mark’s Anglican Church in Umuofia, leads a prayer meeting for Obi Okonkwo at his parents’ home before his journey to England. At the end of a long speech, he advises Obi to take his studies seriously and not to be drawn into the pursuit of pleasure.
Lorry Driver
The lorry driver takes Obi from Lagos to Onitsha aboard a mammy-wagon christened ‘‘God’s Case No Appeal.’’ He smokes and chews kola nuts to stay awake, but nevertheless nearly falls asleep at the wheel. When the lorry is stopped by the police, Obi’s watchful presence prevents the policeman from accepting a two-shilling bribe. Moments later, out of view, the policeman charges the driver’s mate ten shillings. The driver then berates Obi for sticking his nose in business that does not concern him and for being ‘‘too know.’’ Other passengers echo the driver’s rebuke.
John Macmillan
John Macmillan, a young Englishman working as an administrator in Nigeria, sails there from Liverpool on the same boat as Obi. The two become friends and go ashore for the evening, along with Clara, when the boat docks in the Madeira Islands. Elsie Mark Elsie Mark, a girl of seventeen or eighteen years of age, hopes to obtain a scholarship to study in England. She comes to see Obi at his home and pleads for his help, saying ‘‘I’ll do whatever you ask.’’ Obi feels for her but tells her he can make no promises. He and Clara give her a ride back to town. Mr. Mark Mr. Mark pays a visit to Obi at the office of the Scholarship Commission. Speaking in Ibo, so as not to be overheard by Miss Tomlinson, he tells Obi his sister is applying for a scholarship to study in England. When Obi understands that he means to offer a bribe, he abruptly sends Mr. Mark away.
Nora
Nora is one of two Irish nuns who have recently come to Nigeria. Obi meets them at his friend Christopher’s apartment. Obi tries several times to kiss Nora, who politely declines his advances. The four of them meet twice to play tennis, but on the men’s third visit to the convent, Nora tells them the Mother Superior has asked them not to go out with African men. Ogbuefi Odogwu Ogbuefi Odogwu, an elder of Umuofia, attends the reception to celebrate Obi Okonkwo’s return from ‘‘the white man’s land.’’ Although he is not a Christian, he respects Isaac Okonkwo’s insistence that no ‘‘heathen sacrifice’’ take place under his roof. Odogwu says a brief, quasi-Christian blessing over the kola nut, to the satisfaction of the entire party. He praises Obi by saying he is the return of the spirit of his grandfather, Okonkwo the warrior.
Clara Okeke
Clara Okeke, a young, beautiful nurse, is Obi Okonkwo’s girlfriend. She meets Obi briefly at a dance in London; eighteen months later, they meet again on the way home to Nigeria and become romantically involved. She asks Obi not to tell his family about her. The reason becomes clear when she reveals to him that she is an osu. Among the Ibo, the osu are considered the property of the gods, and their descendants are permanent outcasts. However, Obi’s modern sensibility leads him to defy the traditional taboo. He immediately buys Clara an engagement ring. Before Obi goes on leave to visit his family, Clara tells him she wants to break off their engagement, perhaps already aware that despite his words, Obi’s bond with her will not survive his parents’ disapproval. After he comes back, she returns the ring and hints that she is pregnant. She and Obi then go together to a doctor to seek an abortion. The operation is botched and Clara is hospitalized for five weeks. She refuses to look at him when he visits or read the letter he writes. When she is discharged she leaves Lagos and Obi’s life.
Joseph Okeke
Joseph Okeke was a childhood classmate of Obi Okonkwo now living in Lagos and employed as a government clerk. Obi stays in Joseph’s small apartment before embarking for England, and again after he returns several years later. Joseph is the first person who voices an objection to Obi’s plan to marry Clara, but his arguments serve only to embolden Obi. Joseph accompanies Obi to a meeting of the Umuofia Progressive Union, and privately tells the union president about Obi’s engagement. Obi considers this a betrayal, and Joseph falls out of his favor. Months later, however, after Obi’s mother dies, Joseph appears at his door, bringing bottles of beer to help entertain those who come to offer their condolences.
Hon. Sam Okoli
Hon. Sam Okoli is a young government minister. He is handsome, well dressed, and has a reputation as the most eligible bachelor in Lagos. Obi sees Clara sitting in Sam’s car, but later learns that they are not romantically involved. Later, Obi borrows thirty pounds from the minister to pay for Clara’s abortion.
Eunice Okonkwo
Eunice Okonkwo is Obi’s youngest sister, and the only one still living with their parents in Umuofia. Hannah Okonkwo Hannah Okonkwo is Obi Okonkwo’s mother. During the four years of Obi’s absence in England, her health has suffered and she has grown frail. For years she has been a devout Christian, fulfilling her duty as the wife of a catechist. However, she still enjoys ‘‘heathen’’ music and she used to tell Obi folk stories while her husband was out at prayer meetings. Obi feels a strong bond with his mother, and he is her favorite child. After becoming engaged to Clara, Obi is confident that he can persuade his mother to accept his choice. When he visits her again, however, her outrage is so powerful that it overwhelms him. She demands that her son not wed the osu woman until after her death, otherwise she will kill herself. From this point on, Obi is sapped of will. Shortly afterward, while Obi is in the midst of a crisis after Clara’s abortion, he receives word of his mother’s death. He chooses not to travel to Umuofia for her funeral. Isaac
Okonkwo Isaac
Okonkwo is Obi’s father. He was for many years a catechist of the Church Missionary Society in Umuofia. Now retired, he is one of the most prosperous men in the village, known for entertaining lavishly. He has a stern, stubborn personality, and is especially serious about maintaining a Christian home, free of what he calls ‘‘heathen’’ influences. Isaac refuses to give permission for his son to marry Clara; he is unimpressed by Obi’s appeal to Christian ethics. Late in the novel, he speaks to Obi about his past. Readers of Things Fall Apart will be familiar with the story of how Isaac (known then as Nwoye) ran away from the home of his father, Okonkwo, to become a Christian, and later refused to grieve his father’s death.
Obi Okonkwo
Obi Okonkwo is the main character of No Longer at Ease. He is the first young man from the village of Umuofia to travel to England for his studies; in the parlance of the Ibo people, he goes there to ‘‘learn book.’’ He is twenty-five years old when he returns to his home country with a degree in English literature. He settles in Lagos and gets a senior civil service job as secretary to the Scholarship Board. His personality is reserved, passive, intellectual, and somewhat haughty. At first he is idealistic and disdains the routine corruption of Nigerian life. As a young, cosmopolitan leader in the era just before Nigerian independence, Obi believes his generation is bound to change the country dramatically. He dismisses all criticism of his involvement with Clara, confident that the taboo against the osu is an antiquated superstition that will soon disappear. The events of the novel reveal the weakness of Obi’s moral fiber. He cannot overcome his mother’s fierce objection to his engagement to Clara and lacks the personal strength to move forward with Clara anyway. He allows Clara to break off their engagement despite her pregnancy. In the end, his emotional and financial difficulties lead him to compromise his principles and begin accepting bribes, resulting in his arrest. Mr. Omo Mr. Omo is the administrative assistant of the Scholarship Board. He has worked there thirty years. When Obi comes to him to see about a salary advance, his manner implies that he may demand a bribe.
President of Umuofia Progressive Union
The president of the Umuofia Progressive Union in Lagos is considered the father of the sons of Umuofia now living in the capital city. He is willing to accept most requests for help that come from individuals. He approves a ten-pound loan to Joshua Udo, and is willing to grant Obi a fourmonth postponement of his debt to the union. However, he reserves the right to offer personal advice. For example, he confronts Obi about his relationship with Clara, whom he calls ‘‘a girl of doubtful ancestry.’’ Sebastian Sebastian is Obi Okonkwo’s steward. He is somewhat confused by Obi’s orders to turn off the refrigerator at night, but to buy foods at the market only once a week.
Miss Marie Tomlinson
Miss Marie Tomlinson, a young Englishwoman, is Mr. William Green’s secretary and shares an office with Obi at the Scholarship Board. Although she is attractive, Obi is at first wary of her, suspecting that she may be reporting on him, but gradually he lets down his guard and the two become friendly. They speak frequently about their coworker Mr. Green, whom Marie views as a good man, although somewhat odd.
Source Credits:
Sara Constantakis, Novels for Students: Presenting Analysis, Context & Criticism on Commonly Studied Novels – Chinua Achebe, Volume 33, Gale-Cengage Learning, 2010