Ezeulu Character Comparison

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Two main characters share similar traits from respective pieces of literature, one is a quasi-ruler of an African hamlet and the other is a soldier fighting deadly robots. In Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe, Ezeulu is the chief priest of multiple villages in Africa that is slowly being colonized by the British in the early Twentieth Century. Second Variety by Phillip K. Dick is a short science fiction story set in an apocalyptic future about a military officer named Major Joseph Hendricks, who deals with robots killing humans that they were supposed to be protecting (Carrere 20). The two characters both share the same type of conflicts of Person vs. Self and Person vs. Person, as Ezeulu and Hendricks struggle to find resolutions to their problems. They also share similar archetypes that are typical of flawed heroes which are: making the wrong choice, being no longer considered as an authority figure, and having an untimely death …show more content…
The main characters both have to face enemies that are more powerful, while also battling against their own inner conflicts about what to do to stop these adversaries. In Arrow of God Ezeulu has a clear choice of helping the British take control of his ancestral homeland, but only does so to a certain extent which help brings about his ultimate downfall. Major Hendricks makes the more interesting decision between the two characters as he trusts somebody who turns out to be an imposter trying to bring about the extinction of mankind. During the course of their two storylines our heroes underwent a personal journey that led them to their demise, but also led them to harsh truths about what the future held for their respective cultures. The stories in this way represent how mythology can emphasize themes that describe how human relationships evolve and change as time

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