In Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart, the character Oberika struggles to Free himself from the power of others and seeks to gain power over others. Oberika is the main protagonist of the novel. He is the best friend of Okonkwo; unlike Okonkwo, Oberika is a very open-minded and forgiving character throughout the novel. Although Oberika is a very thoughtful and rational individual throughout the novel, he challenges the authority of elders, which puts him at odds with his peers. Oberika's most significant struggle was with the Oracle and when he challenged the British Colonizer's authority. The Oracle is a powerful force in the clan, and its decisions are considered final. In chapter nine of Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo's daughter Ezinma …show more content…
Later in the novel, Oberika comes to Okonkwo's town and lets him know that British people have arrived in his village; Oberika is one of the few people who identify the threat …show more content…
In Umofia, there is a practice of abandoning twin babies in Igbo culture; the belief is that twins bring bad luck to a family and community; when Okonkwo's wife gives birth to twins, Oberika questions the authority of the elders and unwillingly agrees to follow the tradition without knowing the reason behind the tradition. This explains how Oberika struggles to free himself from power due to his questions about his culture and decides to follow these traditions. Oberika also questions Okonkwo and why the elders and the priestess why decided to kill Ikemefuna; Okonkwo does assure Oberika that Ikemefuna did nothing wrong and they just needed to kill him. This shows that Oberika's questioning of the decision to kill Ikemefuna shows that Oberika does have the willingness to question the elders and their authority, Oberika does recognize that different inherent injustice, Obierika's questioning sets the stage for further exploration of the complexities of Igbo culture and belief systems throughout the