AFRICAN PROSE
ISIDORE OKPEWHO: The Last Duty
With reference to the text, discuss the theme of war
Explanation
War is an important theme in the novel. War is realized in all its devastating effects and forms an important part of the plot. The story focuses on the predicament of Oshevire and his-family but, the reader is never allowed to forget that a war is going on. War forms the background to the events in the novel. Several incidents point to the devastating_effects of a war situation. The war affects everyone involved physically, psychologically and emotionally_and this is quite apparent in the novel. The physical effects of the war are clearly in focus.
Hostilities result in the death of soldiers as well as innocent civilians. In some cases whole families are completely wiped out and valuable property destroyed. As Major All puts it " The war is still on and every moment is pregnant with danger". Ali's effort to "maintain an atmosphere of calm, understanding and mutual respect" do not seem to be having any measure of success. An atmosphere of fear, insecurity and uncertainty pervades the society. The war situation leads to a break-down of law and order. In this situation, a sergeant can shoot and kill a rival over a girl. The sergeant's summary execution can only take place in a situation in which chaos and anarchy rules in spite of the best efforts of the military authorities. The traumatic effects of the war are illustrated in the predicament of Oshevire's family.
The deprivation which Aku suffers makes her an easy target for exploitation by the unscrupulous Toje, who has even used the war to frame Oshevire. Oghenovo, Aku's son suffers terribly. Apart from the fact that he has been deprived of his father's company, his friend Onome taunts him that his father is in the prison because he is a thief. He is thus emotionally traumatized. The injustice of Oshevire's detention on the spurious charges orchestrated byToje clearly shows that in a war situation, no one is safe. From the events in the novel, the general impression one gets is that war is evil and should be avoided.