No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe includes a variety of idealistic characters, from Obi Okonkwo, the typical educated young reformer, to Mr. Green, his grumpy boss and racist. Despite these characters' divergent viewpoints, they share the characteristic of being trapped in their worldviews, unable to bring about change due to their inability to see the world beyond their preconceived ideas. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Because he is between two worlds, Obi seems the most likely to accomplish something, but he is the least capable. Raised in a Nigerian village and educated in England, he has experience of European and African cultures but understands neither. He believes enough in European progressivism to marry a woman from a forbidden caste, despite the fact that she does not share his beliefs. “I can’t marry you” (80), says his fiancée Clara, to which his response is “nonsense!” (81). Even after Clara tries to give him back his engagement ring, explaining “your family will be against [our marriage]. I don’t want to come between you and your family” (141), Obi retorts: “bundled! » (141) and drives to his house, where his mother tells him that if he marries during his lifetime, she "will commit suicide" (154). Obi does not understand that he cannot marry Clara. Although his own opinions are informed, no one else in his life shares them. Clara is not interested in the gift of equality brought by the missionaries who teach that “in Christ there is neither bond nor freedom” (151). The Umuofia Progressive Union, which sent Obi to England to become "a great light" (9), has no desire to see what he illuminates, condemning Obi's marriage to "a girl of doubtful ancestry » (94). attempt to reform Nigeria's corrupt bureaucracy. When Obi refuses a bribe from a man who is trying to get a scholarship for his sister, the sister comes in person to offer Obi another bribe. She gets the scholarship without any help from Obi, but when her friend Christopher asks her, "How do you know she didn't sleep with the board members?" (138), Obi acknowledges that "she probably did" (138). Similarly, when Obi's cart is stopped by armed men demanding money, Obi ostensibly spies on the extortionists, making them fear that Obi will report them. The driver reacts by complaining that "now that [']policeman['] [is] going to charge...ten shillings" (50) instead of two. Mr. Green, the only person in the book who agrees with Obi's goals, is never informed of his attempts to end corruption, only of his possible bribes, which reinforces his own opinion according to which “the African is corrupt through and through” (3). .M. Green's form of idealism is less orthodox than Obi's. Mr. Green dreams of a government without corruption: a Nigerian government without any Nigerians. According to Obi, he is “a man who does not believe in a country and yet works hard to obtain it” (120), which makes him seem like a pragmatist. It is true that Mr. Green is trying to stem corruption; we hear him dictate a letter informing the recipient that "the government provides a dependent's allowance to the bona fide wives of government academics and not to their friends" (132). However, he “had submitted his resignation when it was thought that Nigeria could become independent” (121), which could only be the act of an idealist. Mr. Green “must have initially come with an ideal: to bring light to the hearts of.