Ezeulus Defeat in Chinua Achebes Arrow of God Essay

Ezeulus Defeat in Chinua Achebes Arrow of God When the Umuaro people began to encounter the spreading European colonialists, most realized that the colonialists were not like their other enemies and that they could not be defeated in the same way. So, even those most fiercely opposed to the colonial presence at first eventually conformed to its power. However, Ezeulu, the tragic hero of Chinua Achebes Arrow of God, was not the typical Umuaro villager. As the chief priest of the powerful deity Ulu, Ezeulu felt that he could be subordinate to no one and accordingly rose up in direct confrontation with both the colonialists and his own community. Even as strong of a man as Ezeulu could not fight successfully against such outnumbering†¦show more content†¦Captain Winterbottom stepped in, used colonial soldiers to stop the fighting, took the villagers guns away, and held a trial to determine which village rightfully owned the farmland in dispute. Winterbottom later explained to a colleague that during the trial, Only one man ... witnessed against his people (17). The man was, of course, Ezeulu who disagreed with the warlike actions of his village. Winterbottom interpreted Ezeulus refusal to defend the actions of his village as great honesty and, accordingly, held Ezeulu in high esteem. Because of his trust in Ezeulu and a misinterpretation of the chief-priests role in the community, Captain Winterbottom selected Ezeulu to serve as a puppet chief under the new system of indirect rule promoted by Lord Lugard. Winterbottom thought that the title Eze was that of a priest-king and did not realize that it was only that of a chief and held no political power. Although Ezeulu did indeed have political aspirations, others in the village, such as Nwaka, were quick to prevent any takeover by a religious leader. Nwaka says of Ezeulu, He is a man of ambition; he wants to be king, priest, diviner, all then said that the village must hold him in check (27). It would seem as though a man with political aspirations would have been thrilledShow MoreRelatedArrow of God - Paper7783 Words   |  32 PagesAfrika Focus, Vol. 5, Nr. 3-4, 1989, pp. 153-165 CONFLICT AND ITS MANIFESTATIONS IN ACHEBES ARROW OF GOD Owen G. MORDAUNT English Department University of Nebraska at Omaha Omaga, Nebraska 68182-0175 USA SUMMARY Mordaunt describes how the Nigerian author Chinua Achebe deals with the problem ofpersonal conflict in his novel Arrow of God. The main character in this novel is Ezeulu, who is chiefpriest of the god Ulu, of the village of Umuaro. Ezeulu comes into conflict with himself in a quest to