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As Okonkwo’s closest friend, Obierika serves as a steady presence throughout the novel and offers the reader a more peripheral view of the unfolding events. He is very measured in his thinking, and while he respects the traditions of his culture, he is not afraid to question the morality of certain practices. In a way, this attitude allows Obierika to serve as a voice of reason for Okonkwo. He approaches his friend on numerous occasions and asks him to consider the motivations behind his choices, such as why he chose to murder Ikemefuna despite viewing him as a son. Although Okonkwo largely dismisses his friend’s moral quandaries, the fact that Obierika mentions them at all emphasizes the possibility that change could be beneficial for their culture. Obierika challenges the notion that individuals must behave a certain way because tradition deems it necessary. Unfortunately, this message fails to prevent Okonkwo from going down a path of self-destruction, but Obierika’s open-mindedness allows him to remain by his friend’s side until the end. He helps to sell Okonkwo’s yams during his exile, visits him in Mbanta, supports him as he returns home, and boldly declares him to be “one of the greatest men in Umuofia” in the wake of his suicide. These displays of loyalty reflect the selfless nature of Obierika’s character, a quality which few others in the novel manage to possess. The fact that his capacity for understanding and sympathy is so rare among the novel’s characters calls attention to just how tense the conflict between tradition and change becomes in Umuofia.
