Although I was supposed to read this novel as a part of our school unit in Grade 9, yet I did not thoroughly understand until preparing for my Grade 10 IGCSE exams! No Longer At Ease by Chinua Achebe explored the life of an African boy, Obi Okonkwo and his views on honesty, bribery and how people worked in his hometown. Being the only person to have further studied in England, he was given the respect and was admired by many. The drastic changes in lifestyle over a couple of years shocks him, as Obi realizes how common bribery had become. In hope for a better, more honest future, he took the initiative to establish honesty and equality among his village. The story took a very disturbing yet realistic turn when he is entrapped in the world of illegal activities.
Which then brings me to this question; did we actually come across a point in life where we had to forego our moral values, our dreams in a situation we never imagined ourselves to be in? How determined did we have to be to keep ourselves balanced between our values and circumstances? No matter how hard we tried, did we always fall into the trap of unfaithful deeds?
One deed leads to another...you think of putting off a situation by taking a bad decision; a choice that impacts thousands; your close ones. The more you ignore, the more dangerous it becomes for you. People often chose easy paths, by just judging the beginning. The initial easy paths led to grave consequences, whereas complicated paths; although difficult at first, but made you hold your head high with pride. It gave the satisfaction of honesty and faithfulness towards your society, city, our country one longed. So, choose wisely!
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