Take a story's temperature by studying its tone. Is it hopeful? Cynical? Snarky? Playful?
Clear, Descriptive, Sympathetic toward the Umuofia
Achebe narrates events pretty objectively, without many embellishments. Readers are left largely to impose emotion on the text and decide for themselves whether characters are admirable or justified in their behaviors. However, towards the end, Achebe begins showing sympathy towards the Umuofia by describing the brutalities inflicted on the people by the white government. The last paragraph of the book in particular shows a purely pretentious and self-satisfied District Commissioner with an inflated sense of Western superiority.