Name: Dharaba Rayjada
Semester: 4
Roll No.: 8
Paper No.: 14 African Literature
Email id: dharabarayjada021@gmail.com
Year: 2017-19
Submitted to: Department of English, Maharaja Krishnkumarsinhji Bhavnagar University.
“The Swamp Dwellers” is a play written by Wole Soyinka. In this play he has portrayed the conflict between city life and village life and also the generation gap, which we can see in the different thinking of father Makuri and his son Awuchike. Here we are focused on the women characters in this play. There are two female characters in this play. One is Alu, the wife of Makuri and mother of twins Awuchike and Igwezu. The second one is Desala, the wife of Igwezu. Desala is not present on the stage physically but she was present in the talks of Igwezu, Alu and Makuri. On the other hand Alu was present on the stage most of the time.
Alu and Desala both are totally opposite characters from each other. Soyinka has portrayed two opposite point of view of women in one play. Both the characters are different from each other but in some cases both are same. Alu is a woman with traditional thoughts. She likes to stay in village. She found her happiness in her husband’s happiness. With every good and bad behaviour of her husband, she choose to live only with him. While on the other hand Desala is fascinated towards the city. She has demanded on her wedding that Igwezu has to take her to the city after marriage.
“Alu: … she (Desala) made him (Igwezu) promise to take her there (the city) before she would wed him.”
When they were in the city and Igwezu fails to make fortune in the city, she choose his brother Awuchike and left Igwezu. Awuchike was well settled in the city and that is why Desala choose to live with him.
There are some similarities between Alu and Desala. Though Soyinka has portrayed both of them opposite of each other but then even both shares sameness at some extent. Soyinka has portrayed both of the women as pride of their men. Both men, Makuri and Igwezu, take their wives as their property. As on one side Makuri is happy and satisfied because Alu has remain faithful to him and never tried to betray him. She has choice when some men from cities ask her to come with them to city, but Alu rejects all of them. Here is one line which Makuri says about Alu, that...
“Makuri – There wasn’t woman anywhere more faithful than you, Alu; I never had a moment of worry in the whole of my life.”
On the other side Igwezu is not happy because his wife has left him. Igwezu was not able to make money in the city and Desala left him for his twin brother Awuchike, who is wealthy in the city. This Igwezu feels as a attack on his pride. He replied angrily when Kadiye – the priest, ask him about his wife. This shows that both men are taking their women as their pride and their property.
Secondly, both the women characters don’t have their own identity. Both are dependent on men. Makuri is a man, who used to abuse his wife. Some times Alu reacts, she don’t like his way of behaviour but then even she will tolerate everything and will remain with him only. While on the other hand, Desala has choose her happiness but she has to be with some men. When Igwezu failed to sustain in city, she didn’t think to do anything by her self. She just choose the man who is settled already, to fulfil her dreams about city.
Apart from this, there are vast differences in both the women characters. The first difference which as per my point of view, is the major difference. This is what make both of them opposite from each other. It is the difference in their thinking. Alu thinks that, to be loyal to husband, tolerate every insult and don’t wish to go to the city are virtues of woman. While Desala takes her dreams and happiness more in to consideration then anything else. To go in to the city and enjoy the materialistic life was the dream of the Desala, which Igwezu failed to fulfil and that is why she choose to go to Awuchike, to live her dream life.
The thing which make their thinking different from each other is the idea of happiness. Both of them have different idea for happiness. For Alu, happiness is in serving husband and guests and in taking care of home and children. Alu is happy in completing the orders of his husband. She finds her happiness as wife in her husband’s happiness. But the feelings of being a mother will overpower her feelings of being a wife. She readily fights with Makuri for Igwezu. When she comes to know that Igwezu has lost everything in the city, even his wife, she becomes dumb. The problems of her son affects her more than anything else. We can also see her concerns about Awuchike, which she tells everybody in the house that he is dead. She says this frequently that Awuchike is dead but then even she wants to know about him that what is he doing in the city. So ultimately what matters for Alu more is her family. While on the other hand, for Desala wealth is everything which matters. She left her husband because of wealth. She goes to the Awuchike, the twin brother of Igwezu, without thinking about the feelings of Igwezu to get dumped for his own brother. When Igwezu came back to the village, while talking about Desala with Kadiye, he remembers all the oaths which were taken on the wedding day and all the promises which both of them have made for long and happy life with children. These things are remembered by Igwezu, we didn’t find anywhere in the play Desala talks about all these oaths and promises. Wealth is the only thing which make her happy and for that she is ready to left her husband.
As per my opinion the only thing which make both of them different from each other is their generation gap. Both of them belongs to different generation and both of them are behaving in same manner as their generation people would behave. Alu belongs to the older generation, who believes in family values and hate city for its materialistic lifestyle. While Desala belongs to new generation, who believes village as dark side and have no opportunity to grow and city and materialistic life as the best. They also don’t believe in family, wealth is the only thing which is important to them. This is not true only for women characters, it is also true for the men, as they also think in the similar way.
To conclude, we can say that Soyinka has very aptly captured the conflict between the new generation and the old generation, between city and village, between wealth and family. These all conflict we can find in both the women characters, which are discussed here. We can say that by putting two opposite characters Soyinka is trying to create binaries between old and new ways of living life. May be he is favouring the new way of living life, because we did not find anywhere Desala feeling ashamed about her decision or regretting her decision. Also when Igwezu came back to the village he feels that village also can not fulfil his need and it is not cleared whether he committed suicide or went back to the city, but he did not stay in the village. So, we can say that Soyinka is trying to accepting the new ways of living life.
Work Cited
Soyinka, Wole. The Swamp Dwellers. 1958.
Semester: 4
Roll No.: 8
Paper No.: 14 African Literature
Email id: dharabarayjada021@gmail.com
Year: 2017-19
Submitted to: Department of English, Maharaja Krishnkumarsinhji Bhavnagar University.
“The Swamp Dwellers” is a play written by Wole Soyinka. In this play he has portrayed the conflict between city life and village life and also the generation gap, which we can see in the different thinking of father Makuri and his son Awuchike. Here we are focused on the women characters in this play. There are two female characters in this play. One is Alu, the wife of Makuri and mother of twins Awuchike and Igwezu. The second one is Desala, the wife of Igwezu. Desala is not present on the stage physically but she was present in the talks of Igwezu, Alu and Makuri. On the other hand Alu was present on the stage most of the time.
Alu and Desala both are totally opposite characters from each other. Soyinka has portrayed two opposite point of view of women in one play. Both the characters are different from each other but in some cases both are same. Alu is a woman with traditional thoughts. She likes to stay in village. She found her happiness in her husband’s happiness. With every good and bad behaviour of her husband, she choose to live only with him. While on the other hand Desala is fascinated towards the city. She has demanded on her wedding that Igwezu has to take her to the city after marriage.
“Alu: … she (Desala) made him (Igwezu) promise to take her there (the city) before she would wed him.”
When they were in the city and Igwezu fails to make fortune in the city, she choose his brother Awuchike and left Igwezu. Awuchike was well settled in the city and that is why Desala choose to live with him.
There are some similarities between Alu and Desala. Though Soyinka has portrayed both of them opposite of each other but then even both shares sameness at some extent. Soyinka has portrayed both of the women as pride of their men. Both men, Makuri and Igwezu, take their wives as their property. As on one side Makuri is happy and satisfied because Alu has remain faithful to him and never tried to betray him. She has choice when some men from cities ask her to come with them to city, but Alu rejects all of them. Here is one line which Makuri says about Alu, that...
“Makuri – There wasn’t woman anywhere more faithful than you, Alu; I never had a moment of worry in the whole of my life.”
On the other side Igwezu is not happy because his wife has left him. Igwezu was not able to make money in the city and Desala left him for his twin brother Awuchike, who is wealthy in the city. This Igwezu feels as a attack on his pride. He replied angrily when Kadiye – the priest, ask him about his wife. This shows that both men are taking their women as their pride and their property.
Secondly, both the women characters don’t have their own identity. Both are dependent on men. Makuri is a man, who used to abuse his wife. Some times Alu reacts, she don’t like his way of behaviour but then even she will tolerate everything and will remain with him only. While on the other hand, Desala has choose her happiness but she has to be with some men. When Igwezu failed to sustain in city, she didn’t think to do anything by her self. She just choose the man who is settled already, to fulfil her dreams about city.
Apart from this, there are vast differences in both the women characters. The first difference which as per my point of view, is the major difference. This is what make both of them opposite from each other. It is the difference in their thinking. Alu thinks that, to be loyal to husband, tolerate every insult and don’t wish to go to the city are virtues of woman. While Desala takes her dreams and happiness more in to consideration then anything else. To go in to the city and enjoy the materialistic life was the dream of the Desala, which Igwezu failed to fulfil and that is why she choose to go to Awuchike, to live her dream life.
The thing which make their thinking different from each other is the idea of happiness. Both of them have different idea for happiness. For Alu, happiness is in serving husband and guests and in taking care of home and children. Alu is happy in completing the orders of his husband. She finds her happiness as wife in her husband’s happiness. But the feelings of being a mother will overpower her feelings of being a wife. She readily fights with Makuri for Igwezu. When she comes to know that Igwezu has lost everything in the city, even his wife, she becomes dumb. The problems of her son affects her more than anything else. We can also see her concerns about Awuchike, which she tells everybody in the house that he is dead. She says this frequently that Awuchike is dead but then even she wants to know about him that what is he doing in the city. So ultimately what matters for Alu more is her family. While on the other hand, for Desala wealth is everything which matters. She left her husband because of wealth. She goes to the Awuchike, the twin brother of Igwezu, without thinking about the feelings of Igwezu to get dumped for his own brother. When Igwezu came back to the village, while talking about Desala with Kadiye, he remembers all the oaths which were taken on the wedding day and all the promises which both of them have made for long and happy life with children. These things are remembered by Igwezu, we didn’t find anywhere in the play Desala talks about all these oaths and promises. Wealth is the only thing which make her happy and for that she is ready to left her husband.
As per my opinion the only thing which make both of them different from each other is their generation gap. Both of them belongs to different generation and both of them are behaving in same manner as their generation people would behave. Alu belongs to the older generation, who believes in family values and hate city for its materialistic lifestyle. While Desala belongs to new generation, who believes village as dark side and have no opportunity to grow and city and materialistic life as the best. They also don’t believe in family, wealth is the only thing which is important to them. This is not true only for women characters, it is also true for the men, as they also think in the similar way.
To conclude, we can say that Soyinka has very aptly captured the conflict between the new generation and the old generation, between city and village, between wealth and family. These all conflict we can find in both the women characters, which are discussed here. We can say that by putting two opposite characters Soyinka is trying to create binaries between old and new ways of living life. May be he is favouring the new way of living life, because we did not find anywhere Desala feeling ashamed about her decision or regretting her decision. Also when Igwezu came back to the village he feels that village also can not fulfil his need and it is not cleared whether he committed suicide or went back to the city, but he did not stay in the village. So, we can say that Soyinka is trying to accepting the new ways of living life.
Work Cited
Soyinka, Wole. The Swamp Dwellers. 1958.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.