Point of View

This book is narrated in the first person by Odili, a young teacher who is an idealistic intellectual. The story is told both in dialogue and in exposition through Odili’s eyes. By using Odili’s point of view, Achebe is able to take the reader along on Odili’s journey of learning the full extent of corruption in his country. He is also able to show Odili’s blind spots and weaknesses, such as his pride, by describing Odili’s perceptions. Like Odili, the reader is at first hopeful the country can improve with a change in leadership, but it becomes clear the will of the people is not strong enough to fight the greed of its leaders.

There are limitations to the first-person narration, primarily the limited amount of information given to the reader about the thoughts and feelings of other characters in...