The Great Book

The Great Book symbolizes dominant cultural narratives at large which govern behavior in a society. It is simultaneously a religious and a political text, as it invokes the goddess Ani to explain the political relationship between the Okeke and Nuru peoples. The Great Book represents the sociopolitical oppression faced by the characters in the novel. Both Onyesonwu and Daib’s acts of rewriting the Great Book thus metaphorically and literally represent a transformation in the novel’s social and political structure.

Nsibidi

Nsibidi is a magical writing script which symbolizes drastic systemic change. It is a tool used by both the protagonist and the antagonist, making it morally neutral. It is extremely powerful in both cases, as Daib uses Nsibidi to poison Onyesonwu and Onyesonwu uses Nsibidi to rewrite the Great Book. As a writing script which changes fluidly and can be wielded by...