Question

Difficulty: Very hardMajor Character Identification and Role Analysis

In Isidore Okpewho's prescribed novel *The Last Duty*, match each major character in Column A with their primary narrative role and structural function in Column B.

  • OshevireEmbodies uncompromising moral integrity and dignity while enduring unjust imprisonment on false treason charges.
  • AkuSuccumbs to coercive sexual exploitation primarily due to severe economic starvation and ethnic isolation during wartime.
  • TojeExploits civic prominence and wartime hysteria to mask personal physical decline and assert predatory dominance.
  • OdiboTransitions from a marginalized, physically challenged servant into an active agent whose unexpected virility shatters his master's facade.

Answer

Oshevire matches with the character who embodies moral integrity during unjust imprisonment; Aku matches with the character who succumbs to sexual exploitation due to economic starvation; Toje matches with the character who exploits civic prominence to mask physical decline; and Odibo matches with the physically challenged servant whose virility shatters his master's facade.
In *The Last Duty*, Isidore Okpewho uses character pairings to explore moral contrast during wartime. Oshevire represents unyielding integrity under persecution; Aku represents the extreme vulnerability of helpless non-combatants; Toje demonstrates the corruption of power driven by physical and moral insecurity; and Odibo illustrates how oppression can inadvertently empower the oppressed to overthrow their tormentor.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze Oshevire's narrative role
Identify Oshevire as the tragic hero defined by unbending moral principles and stubborn self-respect.
His refusal to compromise his dignity leads directly to his prolonged detention and eventual tragic end.
2
Analyze Aku's tragic trajectory
Recognize that Aku's actions are driven by basic survival needs under extreme wartime deprivation rather than moral laxity.
As an enemy alien in Zaku, she has no legal protection or economic support while her husband is imprisoned.
3
Analyze Chief Toje's psychological motivation
Connect Toje's villainy to his deep-seated anxiety over loss of physical virility and socio-economic status.
He views Aku as a remedy for his physical impotence and a symbol of conquest over his rival Oshevire.
4
Analyze Odibo's structural function in the climax
Determine how Odibo functions as a key catalyst in the narrative resolution.
His sexual success with Aku thoroughly disproves Toje's psychological dominance, leading to the violent confrontation between them.

Key Concept

Major Character Identification and Role Analysis
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