IN THE SHADOW OF WAR was one of the greatest short stories in Africa written by

Ben Okri that mainly tackles the happenings during the Nigerian Civil War (1967 – 1970), often

called as Biafran War. This story is set in a village in the heart of Nigeria. The information was

not given by the story itself, however, because the story was narrated through the eyes of a

child. What we are given instead is a vivid picture of what the child named “Omovo”, perceives

immediately around him. Way back then, Ben Okri was only eight years old when the Nigerian

Civil War broke out. In this story, it’s not surprising that the main character (Omovo) is a child.

Okri uses the limited third-person point of view to tell the story from the perspective of Omovo.

Magic realism was used in this story. It is a genre of literature that includes both realistic and

magical elements. Unlike fantasy writing, literature written in this genre is not wholly fantastical.

Instead, the world in which stories unfold is both fantasy and reality. In this story, war is a

frightening scene, and a confusing time for children. Are the soldiers good or evil? Is the veiled

woman that Omovo sees has supernatural powers? Or she’s just a mortal? Omovo’s point of

view is just limited, his kind of understanding helps us to know and to realize the enigmas of

war perceived by an eight year old kid.

Omovo is the main character of "In the Shadow of War." He is a young Urhobo boy. In

the story, he acts primarily as an observer. He quietly observe the people surrounding him,
including the soldiers, his father, and the strange woman with a black veil over her head that

has been going past the house, went up to village path, and vanishes through the forest.

People had said that the woman had no shadow; they had said that her feet never touched the

ground. While Omovo continues to watch for the woman, the war news finishes and the radio

broadcaster announces that there will be an eclipse of the moon that night. Omovo's father

chides bitterly, "As if an eclipse will stop this war." An exchange ensues in which the father tells

Omovo that an eclipse is "when the world goes dark and strange things happen." He warns

Omovo not to stay out late because "Heclipses hate children" and that "they eat them." Omovo

does not believe his father, who smiles and gives him his allowance of ten kobo. Before

leaving, Omovo's father instructs him to turn off the radio because "it's bad for a child to listen

to news of war." After taking a drink and praying to his ancestors, Omovo's father picks up his

briefcase and departs. He was intrigued by the three soldiers who have newly arrived in town,

talk to the village children and give them money; Omovo invites an exchange with the soldiers

by walking past them. After telling them that his name is Heclipse, the soldier laughed at his

reply, sprays spit on Omovo's face. The other soldiers appear not to be interested in Omovo as

they continue to play their game. Standing so close to the soldiers, Omovo sees their guns and

the numbers that appear on them. One of the soldiers asks Omovo about the name Heclipse,

wondering if his father gave him that name because he had big lips. The other soldiers laugh

at this inquiry and Omovo nods. The soldier then asks Omovo if he has seen the woman who

wears the black veil. When Omovo replies that he has not, they tell him that she is an

enemy-helping spy. Giving Omovo ten kobo, the soldier tells Omovo to tell them if he sees her.

He turns down the ten kobo that they offer him in exchange for information about the woman in

the veil. He lies to the soldiers, telling them that he has not seen her. Omovo then returns to
his home to watch for the woman in the veil again. After the woman passes, Omovo dashes off

to the forest, Omovo hurried to keep the woman in view. He followed the woman till they came

to a rough camp on the plain below. The woman went to a group of people. The figures

surrounded her and led her inside the cave. He heard weary voices thanking the woman. He

watches the woman give a basket of goods to some women and children. When the woman

then sets off again, Omovo continues to follow her. Ultimately, the soldiers also catch up with

the woman and murder her. While this happens, Omovo hides in the shadow of a tree.

Horrified by what has transpired, Omovo attempts to run out of the forest, but he falls and

blacks out. He awakes to find himself at home, where just below his window; he sees his father

drinking palm-wine with the soldiers. Omovo tries to tell his father what happened in the forest,

but his father smiled apologetically and simply asks him to thank the soldiers for bringing him

home and takes Omovo off to bed.

Psychoanalytic Approach of the Story

“Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.”

-Ernest Hemingway, 20th-century novelist

The level of understanding that an ordinary kid has, is same as a puddle of water,

and as he grow older, it turns into an iceberg. The story was perceived through the eyes of

Omovo. As a kid, he sees things in a much literal way. But sometimes, a kid turns into a cat

with much curiousity, composing pile of questions in his head as his mind wanders the cruelty

of this world. Ben Okri incorporates the realm of the imagination and the fantastic. By

incorporating fantastical elements into the work, Okri opens the story to a myriad of

interpretations, all of which conspire to fortify his theme that, in the face of war, the distinctions
between right and wrong become unclear. Although the narrator at one point mentions that

Omovo does not understand the news of war that he hears on the Grundig radio, Omovo

seems to have an instinctive humanitarian side that prompts him not to disclose information

about the woman in the veil to the soldiers involved in the war time. When he tries to tell his

father what the soldiers have done, Omovo divulged an allegiance to the woman in the veil

rather than to the soldiers, who claimed that she was a spy who was helping their enemies. As

a young boy, Omovo may not understand the implications of his loyalty; however, for readers,

such fidelity points out how war makes human beings do terrible things to each other like what

he witnessed when the soldiers murdered the woman. It is inconsequential to Omovo whether

the woman in the veil is a spy—or a supernatural entity for that matter. Omovo’s Id was the

belief he holds about the strange character of the woman, his ego came out suddenly as he

thought of who really is the woman. When he saw her doing a good deed with the poor people,

like the kids with Kwashiorkor, he tried to weigh things out through wondering the reality behind

the veil of the woman and with what the soldiers have thought of her as a spy. Lastly, Omovo’s

superego was his mere realization that the woman isn’t a spy at all; he believed that the

woman is not what people thinks of what she ought to be, for him, her murder is wrong

because it is a crime against another human being. Having seen the woman give her basket of

goods to starving children and obviously needy women, Omovo likely feels even more strongly

that the soldiers' actions are wrong. Omovo's youthful perspective confirms Okri's belief that, in

war, morality and ethical behavior are not the norm. It is neither a standard nor an acceptable

behavior. Okri explores morality and the ways in which war breaks down the usually clear

distinctions between what constitutes moral behavior and what does not. An act of honesty is

first introduced in the story when Omovo's father tells him that "Heclipses hate children. They
eat them." The father's smile suggests that he does not intend for Omovo to believe this

statement, which Omovo indeed does not. At the same time, Omovo's father's statement that

an eclipse is "when the world goes dark" shows readers that some information can actually be

true. In addition to suggesting that honesty and dishonesty often go hand in hand, this opening

scene prompts readers to be mindful that some factual elements of the story may be true,

whereas others may not. That’s why, it is necessary to know anything more than the story tells

us about its context. A form of dishonesty shapes the Id of the characters, the thought of what

they’ve done, just like when Omovo lied when he told the soldiers that he has not seen the

woman in the veil, the fact that Omovo has the propensity to lie and that his initial perceptions

are sometimes proved wrong. The narrator in the story makes the claim that Omovo is listening

to things on the radio about the war that he does not necessarily understand; however,

Omovo's dishonesty suggests that there are some aspects of war that are not lost on him. He

seems to understand that telling the soldiers about the woman would place her in danger.

Somehow, Omovo put a balance on how he sees things through his observations during the

war to abandon the ignorance and innocence of a child like him with such violence.

By showing how telling a lie can be seen as a moral act, Okri points out one of the ways

in which war creates ambiguities in issues of what’s right and what’s wrong.

The Biographical and Historical Approach of

the Story
Ben Okri grew up in the delta area of southern Nigeria. Although, he later moved to

London, his stories are set in Nigeria. Okri seems especially haunted by remembrances of the

Nigerian Cilvil War, also known as the Biafran War. This war began when the Ibo people tried
to secede from Nigeria and form their own state, called the Republic of Biafra. Thousands of

people were killed in the civil war that ensued, and many more died of starvation. In fact, the

very word Biafra today suggests images of swollen-bellied children holding up bowls and

begging for food. The image of the starving child in Okri’s story is a stark reminder of the horror

resulted by the war. Omovo’s character reflects Okri’s memories during the war. He remained

deeply connected with his country's ongoing political and social struggles. Okri belongs to the

second generation of African writers. As a group, these writers have focused not only on the

social, cultural, and political ramifications of colonization but also on post-independence

challenges, failures, and opportunities for change throughout the continent.

The Sociological Approach of the

Story
The people of Nigeria were oppressed by the dark reigns of the war. During this time,

several cases of nutrient deficiency like malnutrition exist. Sadly, lots of kids died because of

hunger and due to the persistence of poverty. Africans during this time experiences the darkest

day of their lives wherein they already beg for food at the streets, children suffering with

Kwashiorkor, children letting themselves do an immoral work at a young age, and people dying

because of war and political implications.

 John Henry
BY ANONYMOUS
When John Henry was a little tiny baby
Sitting on his mama's knee,
He picked up a hammer and a little piece of
steel
Saying, "Hammer's going to be the death of me,
Lord, Lord,
Hammer's going to be the death of me."
John Henry was a man just six feet high,
Nearly two feet and a half across his breast.
He'd hammer with a nine-pound hammer all day
And never get tired and want to rest, Lord, Lord,
And never get tired and want to rest.
John Henry went up on the mountain
And he looked one eye straight up its side.
The mountain was so tall and John Henry was
so small,
He laid down his hammer and he cried, "Lord,
Lord,"
He laid down his hammer and he cried.
John Henry said to his captain,
"Captain, you go to town,
Bring me back a TWELVE-pound hammer,
please,
And I'll beat that steam drill down, Lord, Lord,
I'll beat that steam drill down."
The captain said to John Henry,
"I believe this mountain's sinking in."
But John Henry said, "Captain, just you stand
aside--
It's nothing but my hammer catching wind, Lord,
Lord,
It's nothing but my hammer catching wind."
John Henry said to his shaker,
"Shaker, boy, you better start to pray,
'Cause if my TWELVE-pound hammer miss that
little piece of steel,
Tomorrow'll be your burying day, Lord, Lord,
Tomorrow'll be your burying day."
John Henry said to his captain,
"A man is nothing but a man,
But before I let your steam drill beat me down,
I'd die with a hammer in my hand, Lord, Lord,
I'd die with a hammer in my hand."
The man that invented the steam drill,
He figured he was mighty high and fine,
But John Henry sunk the steel down fourteen
feet
While the steam drill only made nine, Lord,
Lord,
The steam drill only made nine.
John Henry hammered on the right-hand side.
 Steam drill kept driving on the left. Well, they carried John Henry down the tunnel
John Henry beat that steam drill down. And they laid his body in the sand.
But he hammered his poor heart to death, Lord, Now every woman riding on a C and O train
Lord, Says, "There lies my steel-driving man, Lord,
He hammered his poor heart to death. Lord,
There lies my steel-driving man
John Henry is an African poem that reflects the culture, the

tradition, the beliefs and even the way of living of the people in

Africa. The original version of the poem has 60 stanzas that

contain 5 lines. The persona used in this poem was in a narrative of a third person. The poem

started by the younger days of John Henry with his hammer and his life as an adult with his

hammer. Nobody knows for sure if John Henry, the hero of this song was a real person, but

people began singing about him in the early 1870’s. He was said to be an African laborer in the

construction crew working on the Big Bend Tunnel of the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad.

According to the legend, someone set up a contest between John Henry and a steam drill, if

you can listen to a recording of the song “John Henry”. The dominant imagery used in the song

was the sense of sight like in stanza #40: “John Henry hammered the mountain… His hammer

was striking fire…”; It also used the sense of hearing at the end of the song: “Well, every

Monday morning… When the bluebirds began to sing… You can hear John Henry a mile more

or more… You can hear John Henry’s hammer ring…” The theme of the song was all about

undying determination and the hard labor of man. In terms of its elements, the most obvious

sound effect used in this song wss “refrain”. The refrain has been part of poems and songs. It

is consist of a few words, a line, or a whole stanza repeated at intervals (the wording of some

refrains varies from time to time). Through repetition, a certain point from the poem will be

emphasized. John Henry’s song is in free verse, it has various forms of rhyming like the

repeated vowels or assonance and each stanza has a different rhyme scheme and the number
of syllables varies in every line. In this poem, the figurative language of Apostrophe was used

to address a dead person, an un-existing entity, or an abstract noun.

John Henry is a song that mirrors the life of Africans before, and how it shapes the

literature of the country nowadays.

“A Bookworm Approach”
(Reader’s response approach)
I don’t really have any idea who exactly is John Henry and why was he holding his

hammer all the time. On the first stanza a line there once said that “John Henry was about

three days old… Sittin’ on his papa’s knee… He picked up a hammer and a little piece of

steel…” Just imagine, a three-day-old kid holding a hammer (as if its weightless for that very

young age) and singing sounds (While me, at the age of three, I’m still in the process of having

a masteral of my baby language), it’s just very funny… and I think that it’s just so impossible. In

lines 6-10, I’m not sure what the captain is telling Henry to do so. I think John Henry was

supposed to do something. In lines 11-15, what captured me the most was when John Henry

said that “I’d die with a hammer in my hand, Lord, Lord!” Why does John Henry want to die

with a hammer in his hand? Does it have to do when he was a baby?

The next lines was all about the nerve-cracking moment of the drilling with the shaker (worker

who hols the drll). On the last stanza, I keep on wondering why is that, even if John Henry’s

dead already, why do they still keep on hearing the hammer ringing. Morbid indeed.

The whole story is in a narrative third person, wherein, the persona tells every detail

about the main character of John Henry as an all knowing presence in the song. The story

could be like this: Because of the hard labor that was shown in this poem. Before, a lot of

laborers lose their jobs because a newly invented steam drill could work faster and more
cheaply than the workers. It was expressed in lines 16-40 how important the hammer is with

Mr. Henry. John Henry could have shown more trust using his hammer due to his everglow

attachment with the hammer, that instead of using the steam drill. Mr. Henry challenged the

powers of the stem drill at work.