Interpretation of Obi’s Personality from Jungian Psychoanalysis

（云南師范大學外國語學院，昆明 650500）

【Abstract】： Chinua Achebe’s famous novel， No Longer at Ease tells the story of a young man. Although Obi is the second educated Nigerian generation， he ended his life tragically not only because of the society， but also his personality flaw.

【Key Words】： No Longer at Ease； Obi； Personality； Jungian Psychoanalysis

I. Introduction

Domestic scholars think that what causes Obi’s tragedy is social dissociation mentality[6]（61）. Besides， some people insist “the conflict that is from two kinds of civilization causes this turmoil”[7]（58）. Similarly， western scholars think that “quick westernization forces the character to be in a dilemma， Obi is the epitome of native culture. Obviously， his tragic ending reflects the extinction of traditional Igbo culture”[5]（220）. Gandhi said that “both traditional African culture and the cultural identity are in the crossroads”[2]（61）. The character was charged with taking bribes， his tragedy mainly resulted from himself. His disability on regulating persona， anima and shadow in inner world shows that it’s impossible for him to change and escape from his doomed ending. Jung’s psychoanalysis focuses on the inherited structural components of the psyche： persona， anima and shadow， which will affect the individual’s recognition of oneself[3]（181）. To this extent， except the universal social situation， the character’s failure of self recognition causes his tragic ending.

II. False and Inflexible Persona

The persona is the actor’s mask that we show to the world---it is our social personality that sometimes quite different from our true self[3]（183）. After graduating from Britain， Obi was offered a job in the white government. He thinks that his status is better than other native friends’， but he still has something inherited. He can’t avoid his ways of thinking and living like a native Nigerian. He is even used to drinking and eating with hands like any native Nigerians， because this will make him feel easy and comfortable[1]（23）. Besides， he has other characteristics， which were detested by the whites. He forgot Mr. Green’s warning. Within a week， he began to ask for a leave to visit his parents， and to enjoy life with Clara. He was quite uneasy in his first day， he thought that his partner Miss Tomson was seeing his every action. He was always scared to bring the sweat full of face like a child.

Obi refused to eat the food offered by friendly neighbors when he was young， his excuse was that they were not prayerful to God. When he went aboard to study， he carried a Bible and recited it every day. But when he returned home， “he finds that he is very fond of defending for Roman Catholic”[1]（120）. The first night when he went home， his father asked him to recite the Bible， and he did very badly. He told his father that he occasionally read the English edition. He regards himself as a prayerful Christian， but his action is always beyond his imagination. Such capricious attitude indicates the projection of his spiritual immaturity.

Obi’s persona is inflexible and 1 at first， this causes the unbalance between his real inner world and his personality to the outside society. There is no harmonious relationship between his inner world and his outside persona. He is a melancholy and irritability person， especially when he deals with his love affair with Clara， and solves his strong ambition to try to change the country and his financial situation later like an educated man. Jung said that a persona that is too artificial or rigid results in such symptoms of neurotic disturbance as irritability and melancholy[4]（243）. Obi’s persona is too artificial and rigid to recognize himself. He is doomed to have a tragic ending.

III. Restless anima

Just as his persona is inadequate in mediating between his ego and the external world， so his anima fails in relating to inner world. Obi can’t recognize his relationship with Clara. When he first met Clara， he fell in love with Clara， not because of her beauty or good personality， but because she gave him a kind of spiritual feeling like The Mother gives comfort to the son. “She said to him in Igbo for the first time. Seemed to suggest that ‘we are united， because we speak the same language’， she suggested something”[1]（27）. After four years of aboard life， Obi feels strange to the things in his country. In fact， he doesn’t belong to western civilization， nor his motherland， Nigeria. He is a third one that outsides the two. The time when he began to suspect his identity and his faith， Clara stood before him and gave him comfort. People tend to be attracted to members of the opposite sex who mirrors the characteristics of out own inner selves[3]（182）. For Obi， Clara is such a mirror， she reflects Obi’s inner self. Clara， at this extent， replaces The Mother’s role， and reflects his eager for faith.

Except The Mother， Obi’s attitude toward Clara is also like a son to mother. Obi is very reliable on Clara， every time when she is upset and disappointed at him， he would feel nervous and want to cry like a child. When Clara gave him 50 dollars to pay for his loan， he did not follow her advice to pay for the loan because he had his reason. But， he even can’t explain his idea to Clara when she was sad， though he had practiced it several times in mind. Every time when he made her sad， he couldn’t help remembering the situation when he made his mother bleed， he cut her fingers by mistake. Clara is the substance of his mother， she offered him the love and sense of a true mother.

Mature faith， like marriage， is a covenant that binds both parties mutually to uphold its cared vows[3]（183）. Obi broke this covenant， thus， he had to face the unpleasant consequences， that is separation and divorce. Clara left him and his mother died without his company in her last days. However， he still can’t accept and admit his error， he continued to being degenerate. He did the thing which he detested and objected strongly at first---take bribes. His wrong unconscious feeling to Clara suggests that once the part separates from himself， and leaves his restless inner world aside， he will be nothingness.

IV. Failure of comforting the shadow

The shadow is the darker side of our unconscious self， which we wish to suppress[3]（182）. Joseph’s ideas stand for traditional tribal culture， most of the time， these ideas are outdated， ignorant and cruel. Every time， Obi would put forward his idea strongly in order to convince Joseph. But after their discussion， he thinks “sometimes， Joseph’s idea is real and practical， compared with his”[1]（80）. Obi knew that Joseph wasn’t a good friend， but he still kept in touch with him frequently. When Clara left him， he was sad and tried to visit her， but Joseph advised “don’t worry， she will be back soon”， then he gave up seeking her and forgot her soon. When his mother died， he felt sorrowful， but Joseph gave him drinks and told him don’t to be sad， then he forgot the sorrow from his mother’s death the next day. It seems that Clara and his mother stand for Obi’s faith， Joseph is the person who persuades Obi to give up his faith. Joseph， in this novel， seems to replace the role of Devil or Satan， he tempts the character. Although Obi insisted his ideas（faith） at first， he gave up gradually and unconsciously.

Knowing mother’s death， Obi felt very sorrowful， but he sang unconsciously when he drank. He said ‘awful’， but then he comforted himself by using the story of King David who “refused eating when his son was ill， but he ate and washed himself after his son’s death”[1]（179）. This is a very strange behavior， the first day he is really sad for her death， but the second day he forgets it totally and begins to comfort himself by using stories. His attitude toward his mother death suggests his failure to comfort his shadow， he degenerates totally. There is no doubt that he accepts the bribe money with three “awful！” The three words are the external expressions of his shadow. He is thirsty for the money in his inner world， but he is scared for such kind of behavior， at the same time， he can’t understand what has happened.

The shadow is the invisible saurian tail that man still drags behind him[4]（217）. Although Obi might know the existence of his shadow， he did not accept it as a normal thing. He did not want to accept and admit his shadow consciously， he persisted in projecting the shadow： Joseph， Clara， his mother and finally on the money. In his eyes， the world is a shadow or gloom. Achebe excerpted T.S. Eliot’s poem at the beginning of the novel： “being united with a group of strangers， I would rather die again”[1]（II）. All these reflect that Obi can’t comfort his shadow， his ending is doomed to be a tragedy.

V. Conclusion

Jung theories that neuroses are the results of the person’s failure to confront and accept some archetypal component of the unconscious. Obi is an example who fails to confront and accept the archetypal components of the unconsciousness. The story of such a scholar who takes bribe indicates that under certain background， the individual can not recognize self. He can’t overcomes self inherited weakness， nor faces self shadow as a part of own psyche.

Works Cited：

[1]Achebe， Chinua. No Longer at Ease [M]. Trans， Ma Qunying. Haikou： Hainan Publishing House， 2014.

[2]Gandhi， Neena. African Identity [M]. USA： Routledge， 2011.

[3]Guerin， Wilfred L et al. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature [M]. Beijing： Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press， 4th edition， 2004.

[4]Jung， Carl Gustav. Psychological Reflection [M]. Princeton： Princeton University Press，1973.

[5]Moanungsang.“Death of Native Culture in Chinua Achebe’s No Longer At Ease”[J]. Nagaland University， 2011（03）： 213-221.

[6]顏治強.論阿契貝小說《再也不得安寧》的主題思想[J].樂山師范學院學報，2007（2）： 61-64.

[7]俞灝東.現(xiàn)代非洲文學之父——欽努阿·阿契貝[M].銀川：寧夏人民出版社，2012.