Ben Okri: The Mysterious Anxiety of Them and Us
An allegory of history: Novelist Ben Okri was awarded the Booker Prize in 1991 for The Famished Road. In 2001 he was awarded an OBE. Here, we post the famous: “The Mysterious Anxiety of Them and Us“.
Or read the full poem below, or read the summary here or read the analysis here and the FAQ here.
The Mysterious Anxiety of Them and Us
We had gone visiting friends on a dreamy day of rich sunlight. We were at table outside. My wife was sitting next to me. The host had served up a feast. It was on the table. There were many of us. Some were already seated. Some were standing behind those seated. In a way there were too many of us for the food served. Or it felt like that. For a moment it seemed there would be chaos. It seemed that everyone would rush at the food and it would all be spilt and we’d have to be a bit barbaric and eat with our hands, fighting and squabbling for the feast laid out on the lovely trestle table. This moment of tension lasted a long while.
No-one was sure what to do. Insurrection brooded in the wind. The host did nothing, said nothing. Then something interesting happened. It appeared that those who found themselves at table were the ones at table. Those who were at table ate. We just began eating. We served ourselves, and we ate, and ate. We ate calmly. The food was wonderful. We ate with some awareness of those behind us, who were not eating, and did not move. They merely watched us eating. Did we who were eating feel guilty? It was a complex feeling. There was no way of resolving it as such. Those who were at table ate. That’s it. That’s all.
We ate a while. Then the people behind us began to murmur. One of them said, in a low voice: “The first person who offers us some food I’d give…” I was tempted to stop and offer them some food. But how could I? Where would I start? The situation was impossible. If you turned around, you’d see them all. Then your situation would be polarized. It would be you and them. But it was never that way to begin with. Just that you found yourself at table, and you began to eat. They weren’t at table, and they didn’t eat. They did nothing. They didn’t even come over, take a plate, and serve themselves. No-one told them to just stand there watching us eat. They did it to themselves. So to turn round and offer them food would automatically see them and treat them as inferior. When in fact they behaved in a manner that made things as they turned out.
And so we ate on, and ignored the murmurs. Then we found that we had finished eating. We were satisfied. The host got up and led the way to other parts of the grounds, for a post-prandial stroll. There was still some food left. Enough, it turned out.
My wife and I were almost the last to leave the table, because we sat on the long bench backing those that were standing. As we got up, and were leaving, I looked behind us. I saw there were only three people there. Two men and a woman. Was that all? They had seemed like more. Also they were further back than one had felt at first. They were close to the wall, almost leaning against it. One of them looked like someone a little famous, from a privileged race. Maybe there had been more of them, but they had drifted off, gone away. While we had been eating it often occurred to me that there was nothing to stop those behind us, who weren’t eating, from sticking knives into our backs. Anyway, I looked, and saw the three. They were talking among themselves. Had they got used to the fact that they weren’t eating, or would they settle for what we had left behind? I didn’t know. My wife and I filed out with the others, towards the garden, in the sumptuous grounds of the country estate.
Listen to Ben Okri read The Mysterious Anxiety of Them and Us
Summary of The Mysterious Anxiety of Them and Us
The narrator and their wife visit friends for an outdoor feast. There are too many guests for the available food, and some stand behind the seated guests. Tension arises, but those seated begin to eat without addressing the situation. The standing guests murmur, but never attempt to serve themselves or ask for food. After finishing their meal, the seated guests go for a stroll, leaving some food behind. The narrator wonders if the standing guests, now reduced to three, will eat the leftovers or if they have accepted their situation.
Summary of The Mysterious Anxiety of Them Analysis
In “The Mysterious Anxiety Of Them And Us,” Okri adeptly employs the contrasting power of haiku within his compressed short story format. A group gathers at a lavish estate for an outdoor banquet. However, the host fails to invite them to sit, and an uneasy tension emerges. The narrator ends up among those who decide to eat, stating, “Those who were at table, ate. That’s it. That’s all.” Meanwhile, a crowd forms behind these diners, passively waiting for their circumstances to change.
A vivid contrast is presented between those seated at the bountiful table and the murmuring onlookers. To justify this disparity and alleviate the guilt it produces, the narrator develops a moral rationale: “So to turn round and offer them food would automatically see them as inferior. When in fact they behaved in a manner that made things as they turned out.” Thus, the haiku’s contrasting element effectively conveys the complicated attitudes people hold regarding injustice and human suffering, and it is through this form that the theme becomes powerfully expressed.
FAQ
What is the genre of “The Mysterious Anxiety of Them and Us”?
Allegory / Symbolism (representing one situation through another), a moral tale (narrative imparting ethical teachings), and a “stoku” (fusion of a concise narrative and a haiku) embody the literary concepts under discussion.
Why is “The Mysterious Anxiety of Them and Us” an allegory?
In a literal sense, the narrative depicts individuals attending a banquet where insufficient room exists for everyone to partake. Conversely, it symbolises the feast of existence, where a select few relish in abundance, while others face starvation or even meet their demise. This also answers what is the mysterious anxiety of them and us about.
Ben Okri
Novelist Ben Okri was awarded the Booker Prize in 1991 for The Famished Road. In 2001 he was awarded an OBE or the “The Mysterious Anxiety of Them and Us”.
In times of turmoil, Ben Okri was asked about the role of poetry. His response: poetry unearths the truth while captivating the heart and mind with its rhythmic elegance and profound gravity.
Okri’s passion for words has driven him to produce plays, film scripts, 10 novels, four sets of essays, four poetry collections, and four short story compilations. His accolades include the prestigious 1991 Man Booker Prize for The Famished Road.
Born during the Biafran War to an Urhobo father and an Igbo mother in Nigeria, Okri’s life was almost cut short due to his limited understanding of his father’s language, having spent much of his early life in London.
The Cosmic Destiny, originally published as Tales of Freedom in 2009, was re-released this year. The book demonstrates how intellect and talent can challenge conformity and expand boundaries.
Okri interweaves storytelling, poetry, and scriptwriting in the book, blending them into a singular form that even non-poetry enthusiasts can enjoy. Thirteen meticulously crafted stories, symbolising freedom in Okri’s belief, fill the pages.
In one tale, The Mysterious Anxiety of Them and Us, guests attend a feast with insufficient food. Okri’s poignant reflection on inequality emerges as guests dine under the watchful eyes of those without food.
Belonging, another story, explores the distressing loss of identity and belonging: the protagonist fears being exposed as an imposter and longs to fit in.
The Cosmic Destiny is filled with captivating stories that evoke a range of emotions, such as guilt, sorrow, and curiosity. Okri urges readers to join him on a journey of introspection regarding human behaviour. The book delves into themes of good versus evil, love against hate, freedom opposing bondage, peace in contrast to war, and silence juxtaposed with noise.