Arrow of God - Characters

Characters
Characters are rendered not only through the eyes of the

omniscient narrator, but through those of other chief characters,
giving a rich multifaceted view of their motives and forces that
have shaped them.
The central character of this novel is the chief priest of the god
Ulu, who originated in reaction to the marauding of the
neighboring tribe of Abame whose mercenaries raided the six
villages now joined together as Umuaro in order to capture
slaves. He has married three wives, one of whom has died, and
tends to shift his affections from older sons onto younger ones.
Seen through the eyes of his oldest son Edogo, he is single
minded and expects all others to think as he does. Thus the
growing isolation, contributed to heavily by the advance of
colonialism, is seen to be partly his fault. As the novel opens,
Ezuelu is unhappy with the escalation of a minor conflict with the
nearby Okperi tribe whom he sees as entitled to a disputed piece
of land. His arguments for not going to war are considered and
reveal his knowledge of history. But a powerful speaker and a
very wealthy leader, Nwaka, prevails. Unfortunately, the delegate
sent to the Okperi gives in to his anger after being goaded about
his virility and breaks the ikenga or ancestral image of the Okperi
spokesman, who then kills him. The resulting war is crushed by
the British District Officer, Winterbottom, who rules in favor of
the Okperi. (The choice of this name for him is humorous, as it
appears to be a euphemism for "ashy buttocks," the undignified
epithet hurled at the British in Things Fall Apart.)
Winterbottom is a chief foil for Ezuelu, as he is presented as

colonial governor with superior sensitivity and certainly common
sense. After the war, he breaks all the guns in Umuaro, and
becomes known by an epithet that evokes this act. Winterbottom
is also an idealist, however, who strongly believes in the mission
of British colonialism. He had been promoted to Captain in the
British campaign against the Germans in Cameroon in 1916, and
he has become used to the Nigerian climate, although it often
makes him sick. He is one of five male British officials in the area,
the others being Tony Clarke, Roberts, Wade, and Wright. There
is also the dedicated and severe missionary Dr. Mary Savage,
who is at first secretly courted by Winterbottom and later marries
him, and the Nigerian Anglican preacher John Goodcountry, who
takes advantage of Umuaro's yam crisis to gain converts.
Clarke is Winterbottom's assistant and a replacement for "Poor

John Macmillan" who has "died from cerebral malaria." Wright
oversees the building of the road with little more humanity than a
Simon Legree — he routinely beats the workers (his victims
include Ezuelu's son Obika), and does not pay them, and Clarke
sticks up for him by failing to investigate reports of abuse and
then denying that they have happened in his reports. Less
intelligent characters like Wright are more likely to use
demeaning epithets for the Africans. Wade is a slightly sketched
character who assists Clarke. He steals the coin from a sacrifice
displayed on the side of the road, causing even Clarke to feel
alarmed at the desecration. That Achebe sees important
distinctions in quality and depth of character among these
different supposed puppets of colonialism indicates that he is not
writing Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (1902) in reverse, as
some critics have maintained.
Significant relations of Ezuelu are his four sons Obika, the second
son and heir apparent, Oduche, the lesser son sent to the
Christian school, and Edogo, the oldest son. Obika drinks heavily,
often with his friend Ofoedu, who is "never absent from the scene
of a fight." He defends his half-sister, Akueke, after she is
battered by her husband by humiliating and almost killing the
batterer. He has a rash temperament, and is beaten for his
insolence by Wright when he goes to work on the road. Yet his
relationship with his wife, Okuata (a woman with the same name
as Ezuelu's late wife) is sensitive and caring. He dies of a fever
during a festival, contributing to the suffering thatbrings on
Ezuelu's defeat and madness. Oduche's overzealous adherence to
the literal rule of the Christian faith is comically dealt with
(described above). Ezuelu has two wives, Matefi, the senior one,
and Ugoye, the younger one; his first wife, Okuata, has died
three years prior to the time of the novel and is the mother of
daughters Adeze and Okueke, and the eldest son Edogo, who
lives in a compound tangential to the father's house. Matefi's
children are Obika and Ojiugo; Ugoye's are Obiageli and Nwafo,
who has suffered from convulsions at night but has been cured by
a sacred image or okposi. These children are young enough to be
friends with, tease, and tell stories to Akueke's daughter Nkechi.
Amoge is the wife of Edogo, whose first child has died and whose
second one has turned very sickly. Ezuelu also has a younger
brother Okeke Onenyi, who speaks up to ensure her safety when
it appears that the battered Akueke's husband wants her back.
Ezuelu's best friend is Okbuefi Akuebue, who is of the same age

group and one of few "whose words gain[ed] entrance into
Ezuelu's ear," and he can even tell Ezeulu he is wrong. They have
wonderful dryly witty dialogues when not speaking about totally
serious subjects, and they take snuff together. Akuebue goes to
see the priest after Obika has been whipped, and with Edogo the
two discuss the matter, Edogo and Akuebue arguing that the son
has been badly treated, while Ezuelu attributes the trouble to
Obika's fondness for palm wine and his ne'er do well friend
Ofoedu.
There are also numerous citizens of Umuaro, who give advice,

debate precedents, or outright disagree with Ezuelu. These are
the very rich Nwaka, who has five wives; the foul-mouthed
warmonger Akukelia, killed after he desecrates the Okperi man's
household god; and Egonwanne, one of the oldest men in the
village, who also counsels war with the Okperi. Another vividly
drawn character is Moses Unachukwu, a Christian carpenter who
although much older than the young men who work on the road,
knows English well and serves as the interpreter between them
and Wright, at one point preventing Obika from attacking him.
Nweke Ukpaka is a witty road worker who actually fans the
flames for this fight by his irreverent jokes. Yet he defends
keeping the carpenter around (despite his age) because of his
knowledge of English and the white man. Another man supports
this decision, citing the importance of asking the white man why
they have not been paid for working on the road. The most
important gathering of the citizens occurs when they try to
persuade Ezulu to hurry up and eat the yams; the powerful
Nwaka is omitted from the ten-man delegation to appease
Ezuelu, and other dignitaries, including Ezekwesili, Egonwanne,
Anichebe Udeozo, Onnenyi Nnanyelugo, and Ofoka try to
persuade him to change his mind. Each of these characters is
vividly drawn and given his own approach and style of speaking.

Arrow of God - Characters

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Arrow of God - Characters

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Characters

Characters are rendered not only through the eyes of the

Winterbottom is a chief foil for Ezuelu, as he is presented as

Clarke is Winterbottom's assistant and a replacement for "Poor

Ezuelu's best friend is Okbuefi Akuebue, who is of the same age

There are also numerous citizens of Umuaro, who give advice,

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