Brent holds a Ph.D. in American culture from the University of Michigan. In this essay, Brent discusses the motif of vision in Okri's "In the Shadow of War."

Ben Okri utilizes vision as a recurring motif in "In the Shadow of War," contrasting images of light, vision, and visibility with images of darkness (or shadow), blindness, and invisibility. Light, vision, and visibility function as metaphors for truth, knowledge, and understanding, while darkness, invisibility, and blindness function as metaphors for lack of knowledge, comprehension, or a clear perception of the truth.

Okri in "In the Shadow of War" represents the experience of war from the limited and uncomprehending perspective of a young child. The narrative is thus restricted to the sights, sounds, and smells that the boy perceives. In representing the boy's limited understanding of what he sees in the war-torn world around him, Okri refrains from...