https://doi.org/10.67147/literariness.v1si1.002
Caught Between Worlds: A Spatial-Theoretical Approach to Achebe’s No Longer at Ease
NIVEDITA R KARUN
Assistant Professor
Sree Narayana College, Thottada, Kannur
nrkofficial07@gmail.com
Abstract: Chinua Achebe’s No Longer at Ease follows Obi Okonkwo, a young man pulled in opposite directions—between the deep-rooted traditions and expectations of his village, Umuofia and the restless, morally complex world of Lagos, where he tries to carve out a modern life but slowly loses his footing. This paper looks at how these two spaces affect Obi. The impact is not just physical, but psychological as well, problematising his identity and existence itself. The places he confronts reflect his inner conflict. Somewhere he has a desire to honour his roots. Simultaneously, he is also trying to live by the ideals he picked up through his western education. This internal turmoil forms his ambivalence. This article examines how Obi’s identity, decisions and ultimate demise are conditioned by these disparate spaces, which are more than just settings. The village represents rootedness, while the city offers ambition and also moral vagueness. The paper refers to spatial theorists, Henri Lefebvre and Edward Soja, to argue that Obi, like a typical western educated postcolonial subject, is trapped in a kind of in-between space.
Keywords: Spatial Theory, Third Space, Henri Lefebvre, Edward Soja, Liminality, In-Between Space
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