Examkin

Question

Difficulty: Very hardMajor Character Identification and Role Analysis

In Isidore Okpewho's prescribed novel *The Last Duty*, Major Ali's administrative authority and personal restraint regarding Aku's predicament primarily serve which narrative function in relation to the central conflict involving Toje and Mukoro Oshevire?

  1. He functions as an objective institutional foil whose moral integrity and impartial duty highlight Toje's corrupt opportunism during Oshevire's incarceration.Answer
  2. B
    He functions as a malicious antagonist who actively conspires with Toje to fabricate evidence ensuring Oshevire's permanent imprisonment.
  3. C
    He functions as an entirely detached observer whose indifference directly causes the tragic downfall of Mukoro Oshevire's household.
  4. D
    He functions as a revolutionary protagonist who mobilizes the townspeople to rebel against wartime corruption and military occupation.

Answer

Major Ali serves as an objective institutional foil whose ethical conduct underscores Chief Toje's corrupt abuse of power during Mukoro Oshevire's unjust detention.
Major Ali represents institutional authority balanced with personal ethics. By offering protection and assistance to Aku without taking selfish advantage of her, his character structurally illuminates and intensifies Chief Toje's depravity and betrayal of his fellow townsman, Mukoro Oshevire.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze Major Ali's character position and actions in *The Last Duty*.
Major Ali is the military commander of Zaku who strives to remain impartial, maintain law and order, and uphold moral integrity despite the ethnic tensions surrounding the Nigerian Civil War.
Character role analysis requires evaluating how a figure's choices interact with the plot's central antagonist and protagonist.
2
Contrast Major Ali's behavior with Chief Toje's behavior towards Aku and Oshevire.
Toje exploits Oshevire's detention to sexually and economically exploit Oshevire's wife, Aku. In contrast, Major Ali acts strictly out of duty and compassion without exploiting her vulnerability.
A foil character highlights the traits of another character—Ali's restraint and honour highlight Toje's moral decay.
3
Synthesize the narrative function of Major Ali in the structural architecture of the novel.
Ali embodies the ideal, untainted execution of 'the last duty' of leadership and moral responsibility, serving as a foil to Toje's self-centered malice.
This establishes the precise thematic and structural role requested by the question.

Key Concept

Structural Foil and Moral Characterization in Narrative Drama/Prose
Estimated Time:2m 0s
Rate this question

Topics

Major Character Identification and Role Analysis

More questions from this topic