In Chinua Achebe's Arrow of God, tragedy is the driving force of the plot and Ezeulu's character development. Contrary to the popular saying “what doesn't kill you makes you stronger,” the subsequent and increasingly personal tragedies that befall Ezeulu fuel his descent from a wise and highly respected high priest of his people to a petty and spiteful man, perfectly willing to starve his people for a perceived slight. Ezeulu is corrupted by power, and as his family and village pay less and less attention to his advice, he wields more and more power to influence them until he nearly brings his people to catastrophe. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the beginning, Ezeulu is indeed a wise man and his advice on the conflict between Umuaro and Okperi is part of Ezeulu's poor leadership appears through the entire novel. Not only does Ezeulu show integrity in his advice not to go to war over the land that rightfully belongs to Okperi (Achebe 26), but Ezeulu also correctly predicts that Akukalia is too impulsive to be sent as a diplomat in the land dispute. When Akukalia and the other diplomats arrive in Okperi, they reject all friendly rituals in favor of simply requesting an audience with the elders. Their hosts are understandably offended by this and an insult to Akukalia's manhood sends Akukalia into a rage, ending with a destroyed Okperi idol and Akukalia dead. This first tragedy precipitates the chain that will lead to Ezeulu's final fall. Because this tragedy starts the war between Umuaro and Okperi, and Ezeulu and Nwaka's different opinions on the war put their villages (Umuachala and Umunneora respectively) at odds. It is this conflict between Nwaka and Ezeulu, and Umuneora and Umuachala that establishes the situation. stage for Ezeulu's final fall. Before this point in the story, Ezeulu was truly a servant of his people. The book describes Ezeulu observing the night sky for days to ensure he sees the new moon and completes the necessary ceremonies (Achebe 1). This conflict is the first time that Ezeulu's word is not obeyed by Umuaro and the first time that Ezeulu is put at odds with any part of the village. At this point the seeds of resentment are planted. Ezeulu now distrusts at least some of his village and thinks less of others for following Nwaka and not his own advice. When Ezeulu leaves for Okperi to meet Winterbottom, his distrust of his village has crystallized. When Winterterbottom falls ill and Clarke makes Ezeulu wait, Ezeulu is already hoping to be held longer so he can plot revenge against the village. On page 161, he thinks to himself, “Let the white man detain him not for a day but for a year so that his deity not seeing him in his place asks questions of Umuaro.” This thought, combined with his previous belief not to seek the new moon while in Okperi (Achebe 159), shows that even before his imprisonment, Ezeulu lost his way and turned against his people. Ezeulu is imprisoned by the British for the "crime" of not accepting the title of Warrant Chief for thirty-two days. Including the four days it took for Clarke to meet Ezeulu, Ezeulu was away from Umuaro for 36 days and two new moons and was therefore unable to eat the sacred sweet potatoes. In this way, the tragedy of Ezeulu's imprisonment allows Ezeulu to take revenge by providing an excuse to delay the harvest and cause famine. Despite realizing that his closest friends and family are not against him or Ulu, Ezeulu carries out his plan and refuses to allowa harvest and insists that the village wait two more moon cycles to harvest to account for the two new moons lost to Okperi. Here, Ezeulu's arrogance and contempt begin Ulu's final downfall, the tradition, and indeed his own final downfall. The death of Ezeulu's son Obika is a final insult before Ezeulu fades into obscurity. Ezeulu's plan for revenge is successful and Umuaro starves for a time, until the villagers slowly convert to Christianity. The local church promises immunity from Ulu's wrath, and the people choose to eat like Christians rather than die following Ulu and Ezeulu. Ezeulu's fears that the entire village would turn against him and Ulu materialized, and the great tragic irony of it all is that Ezeulu's revenge plans to punish the people for disobeying him and Ulu are precisely the which pushed them to convert. In the end not even the book remembers how Ezeulu died, so much had his importance waned. Ezeulu, and Ulu with him, simply vanish into the darkness. Ezeulu's authority as leader was replaced by the English and Ulu's religion replaced by Christianity. Both British political officers of similar rank, Clarke and Winterbottom understandably have similar views on the natives and both have a devotion to their work and a desire for the British to plan to succeed in Nigeria, despite not always agreeing with the directives of the their superiors. The main difference between Clarke and Winterbottom is that, while Clarke believes that native institutions are not all bad, Winterbottom can only see the worst in natives. The first indication of this ideological difference comes early in the book, when Clarke and Winterbottom discuss The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger, which Winterbottom had previously lent to Clarke. On page 35, Clarke indicates that although he enjoyed the book, he felt the author did not give enough credit to Native institutions. Winterbottom immediately responds that Clarke is simply inexperienced and will eventually think like himself and the book's author. He underlines this with an anecdote about finding a man buried alive up to his neck, baited with sweet potatoes and left to the vultures. At this point, Winterbottom credits the French with developing a better approach. While the English granted autonomy to the indigenous people, the French simply took what they wanted by force. Although Clarke quickly changes the subject, he later expresses similar admiration about the French and their more direct methods of colonization (Achebe 106). Despite their shared admiration for the French, they have several underlying reasons for preferring French frankness. In Winterbottom's case, Winterbottom admires the French for their disinterest in the natives. Winterbottom also admires the fact that the French simply take what they want from the natives, who Winterbottom considers savages, by force. However, Clarke admires the French because they have reduced bureaucracy, although the methods used are problematic. On page 106, Clarke thinks to himself, “The French decided what they wanted to do and they did it. The British, on the other hand, never did anything without first sending a commission of inquiry to find out all the facts. “Unlike ideologically and politically motivated officers, Wright is a rough man who enjoys his earthly pleasures. Wright is known to enjoy the company of Native women. Although Clarke is interested, Wright is the only European in the district who openly acts on these desires. This fraternization places Wright and the natives on the same level, at least in some cases. Mr. Wright also whips the natives and his own.