An analysis of The Righteous Man by Tochi Onyebuchi
The Righteous Man by Tochi Onyebuchi is a short story about an English minister, Nathaniel, who arrives in an African village (the book does not name the place). He faces his presumptions, naïveté, and prejudices in light of the slave trade. The story is formatted in a series of letters Nathaniel writes to his wife, Theresa. Due to the nature of the letters, there is hardly any dialogue as Nathaniel reflects on the days that have passed. Therefore, the story is likely to fail each test (Bechdel-Wallace, Vito Russo, etc.) presented due to the story’s structure and the nature of the time period. Overall, it is a thought-provoking story with Biblical undertones.
| Test | Pass | Fail | Note |
| Bechdel-Wallace | X | There is one woman described who has a conversation with Nathaniel. | |
| POC!Bechdel Test | X | Nathaniel describes his interactions with Solomon, his congregation, and slavers. Nathaniel (being a white man) does not describe any conversations beyond the ones he has. | |
| Native Bechdel Test | X | Setting is in Central or West Africa based on historical information about the slave trade. | |
| DuVernay Test | X | Again, Nathaniel does not note any conversations between two people of color. | |
| Mako Mori Test | X | Only one woman character noted. | |
| The Raleigh Becket Test | X | Although Nathaniel develops as an individual separate from his wife, Theresa, or any women characters, because those characters do not play important roles, The Righteous Man does not pass this test. | |
| The Vito Russo | X | No LGBTQ+ characters | |
| The Ritz | X | Nathaniel is more involved in converting than learning their ideology; therefore, it is unknown. |
Nathaniel portrays the standard superiority of colonizers during that time. Based on his descriptions of his location – “As far as I can tell, this is yet untouched territory, the frontier of the Queen’s dominion” – and his reference to Frederick Schleiermacher (1768-1834), the story is set in Central or West Africa during a time in which slavers and colonizers were told and believed it was their duty to “civilize” Native peoples.
I felt this was a place I would be bringing God to.
page 5, The Righteous Man
In fact, the Catholic Church published the Doctrine of Discovery a year after Christopher Columbus claimed Haiti and other islands for Spain in 1492. The Doctrine of Discovery stated that land not inhabited by Christians should be claimed for the church and its people to convert to “save” souls. This led to forced cultural assimilation for many colonized areas and a condescending, paternalistic attitude toward Native peoples, which continued years after the initial event.
Her words made me think of the unity that seems to underpin the personal philosophy of these villagers. Man and animal and nature, all working in unison for the perpetuation of human life. It is a functional enough status, and they seem content. But it is only because they do not know what it is they are missing.
page 13, The Righteous Man
What could Christianity bring to content peoples? What could Christianity offer to them when their lives are already fulfilled? Nathaniel’s condescension towards his “congregation” reveals his superiority and his delusional righteousness.
To better understand Nathaniel’s viewpoint (though I am a WASP and a colonizer of the United States with ancestors dating back to the mid-1800s), I researched colonialism and the destruction that comes with its namesake. According to Robert Blaumer, colonialism is the tool of imperialism and has four components:
- Forced entry into a territory and population
- Altercation or destruction of the indigenous culture and patterns of social organization
- Domination of the indigenous population by representatives of the invading society
- Justification of aforementioned activities with prejudicial, racist beliefs and stereotypes
Within Nathaniel’s letters, each component of colonialism is described. Additionally, Nathaniel touches on his own prejudice within his first letters to Theresa but does not recognize his prejudice for what it is as he is blinded by his piousness. He thinks of himself as separate, or “other,” compared to the slavers and merchants around him, without realizing that he is another cog in the machine, another player in the game — just wearing a different mask.
I should not be jealous of the slavers or scientists or merchants who can look at what surrounds us, can hear and smell and feel it, and think entirely in terms of dominance.
page 2, The Righteous Man
Sanders Falls is the name given the phenomenon, but I cannot believe it is what the natives call it before our arrival. (I have made a note, upon contact, to ask them its proper name, presuming they are conversant in English.)
page 3, The Righteous Man
Likewise, his presumption that the “natives” speak English serves both definitions of presume. Nathaniel presuming English should be spoken is an over-confident expectation and overstepping what would be considered proper anywhere else— say, a European country. After all, he would not go to France or Germany and presume them to speak English to make up for his inability to communicate. Indeed, Nathaniel’s prejudice increases as he resides in the village as he writes:
Some days, I wake up and see little difference between the people here and animals.
page 6, The Righteous Man
It is only until an indeterminate time passes that he begins to recognize his privilege — how he can preach of God’s love — as a white man, a Christian, and as a European, though he still sees his path as righteous.
I am preaching to a drowning man of our Lord’s miracles from the safety of my boat.
page 9, The Righteous Man
It is ironic that Nathaniel sees himself as righteous, as a worker of God, yet defends slavers and sexual assaulters. Even as slavers are picking over his would-be congregation, even though he knows David (a slaver he journeyed with) assaulted a Black woman — he still stands to defend himself and stands against those who would seek justice for the woman. He thinks of himself as righteous but allows the enslavement and assault of many people, yet defends those who enslave and hurt.
The Europeans of my party are always out, either chasing coin or bludgeoning locals into the enterprise…One of them, in a drunken fit, sought to steal a maiden at dusk, and it was only my swift intervention that kept the village from falling upon the man with their clubs.
page 13, The Righteous Man
But later on, after seeing those shackled and meant for the slave trade, Nathaniel does nothing. He watches their progress and stays silent, only allowing guilt to eat away at him over the seceding days. In the slavers, Nathaniel finally sees himself. In his mind, he realizes that he is judged by his skin color and, later, the smell of death cloaked around him.
Tessa, the wretchedness of it all…My Heart, I wanted so badly to arrest the entire procession, but strength fled me. Not that is not correct. Courage fled me. Am I not made of the same stuff as these horrid men? Is this what my congregation sees when they look at me? When they hear me?
page 15, The Righteous Man
Nathaniel’s redemption is in his acceptance by Solomon, his translator, and his confession regarding David. It was when he recognized his prejudice that he could be righteous:
I bore prejudice. It was— no, is— the prejudice of my time and place. An unspoken thing, like gravity or the sun’s heat. An assumed fact.
page 24, The Righteous Man
Personal thoughts:
I am not a religious woman, and I see Christianity as another form of subjugation and slavery. Although this short story captures an essential and honest telling of history, if not with a positive-ish ending, it was challenging to read because I knew what would follow. If I assumed the year to be in the early 1800s, then millions had crossed the Atlantic in the slave trade. In fact, by 1867, an estimated 12.5 million kidnapped men, women, and children had been transported to the Americas, and roughly 10.7 million survived the journey. Though Nathaniel tries to redeem himself by killing David and by witnessing the atrocities they brought to the village, it is too late and too much for one man. Likewise, we must do the same: face our prejudices and learn to drop them as hateful, unloaded weight.
But I know they see my color, and they see the color of those who have visited such horrors upon them, and they see sameness…I thought that this place had visited madness upon me, but perhaps it is we who have visited madness upon it.
page 19, The Righteous Man
