AFRICAN PROSE ISIDORE OKPEWHO: The Last Duty Discuss the view that Aku is a tragic character.

Answer Details

In Isidore Okpewho's The Last Duty, Aku, the wife of the detained Oshevire, can rightly be seen as a tragic character. Set during the Nigerian Civil War, the novel places her in an impossible situation in which loyalty, survival and the pressures of war combine to destroy her peace and reputation.

Her situation invites tragedy

• Aku is left alone and vulnerable when her husband, Oshevire, is imprisoned on a false accusation of collaborating with the enemy. As a member of the minority Igabo group in Urukpe, she is exposed and defenceless.
• She must struggle to protect her young son, Oghenevwoke, and to keep the family together in a hostile, war-torn town.

The forces that trap her

• Toga Ekeh Medozor's / Toje's exploitation. The wealthy Toje uses his position to prey on her, offering "protection" and material help while pursuing her sexually, turning her dependence into a trap.
• Betrayal and manipulation. Toje's impotence and the involvement of the soldier Ali complicate her plight, and she is drawn into a relationship that ruins her name though it springs from vulnerability, not desire.
• Loss of dignity. Her fidelity and honour are compromised by circumstances beyond her control, and the community's suspicion isolates her further.

The tragic outcome

• Despite her efforts to remain loyal to her imprisoned husband, Aku loses her innocence, her reputation and ultimately her stable place in the world.
• The novel's grim conclusion, with the family's destruction, seals the sense of waste and suffering that defines tragedy.

A balanced view

• Aku is not flawless, and some of her choices deepen her ruin, which fits the tragic pattern of a sympathetic figure partly undone by circumstance and partly by human weakness.
• Yet her suffering is disproportionate to any fault, and she is more victim than agent, caught in the machinery of war and male exploitation.

Conclusion. Aku is a tragic character because a decent woman, striving to protect her family and remain faithful, is crushed by war, poverty and the predatory power of men. Her downfall arouses the pity and waste that mark true tragedy.