Significance of The Bible

The Bible serves as a symbol of Chike's shifting identity and growth over the course of the novel. He is not a devoutly religious man; his faith is precarious, but that makes his biblical study all the more urgent and thorough. He frequently finds a way to associate stories from the Bible with the situations in which he finds himself, and draws knowledge and moral guidance from these stories. He thinks of stories of slave rebellions just before he deserts from the army, and he quotes the Psalms right after: "Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped" (50). When he is depressed about his life shortly after arriving in Lagos, he takes comfort in poetic lines like "Save me, O God, for the waters are come in unto my soul" (80). The biblical study sessions serve as a symbol of friendship and cohesion among the group, as it is a pleasant nightly ritual for Chike and the others to gather together and read the Bible.