StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

The Lion and the Jewel by Wole Soyinka - Book Report/Review Example

Cite this document
Summary
The author of the paper "The Lion and the Jewel by Wole Soyinka" will begin with the statement that the Nobel Prize-winning playwright and novelist Wole Soyinka was born in 1934 into, within the context of Nigerian society, an elite family that spoke English and was Christian…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER92.7% of users find it useful
The Lion and the Jewel by Wole Soyinka
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Lion and the Jewel by Wole Soyinka"

Download file to see previous pages

It would be easy to approach the play as an allegory of traditional Nigeria's encounter with modern Western culture. Speaking of the three main characters of the play, Andrew Walser comments: "One could reduce Soyinka's The Lion and the Jewel to an allegory in which Baroka represents African tradition, Lakunle stands for the temptation to mimic the West, and Sidi represents beauty and art" (Walser, 284). But Walser concludes that this is wrong-headed because the characters are developed beyond being such ciphers.

Indeed, if one followed the implications of such an allegorical reading of the play, then Soyinka would be arguing against his own life. With a series of academic posts in Britain and the United States and his defense of Western ideals of freedom and justice in the face of Nigeria's dictators, Soyinka is very Westernized indeed. Lakunle fails in his imitation of the West, presenting an appearance in the stage directions that begin the play (Soyinka 1), that a Westerner would find comic, and humiliating himself as an imperfect mimic of the West even in the eyes of a simple village girl (which is at least as Lakunle wishes her to be) such as Sidi:   …the whole world knows of the madmanOf Ilujinle, who calls himself a teacher!

Is it SIDI who makes the men chokeIn their cups, or you, with your big loud wordsAnd no meaning?. (Soyinka 3).   Similarly, it is the village Bale of chief Baroka who triumphs in the seduction of Sidi. This would suggest, if one followed the allegory, that art ought to become the property of Nigerian tradition. But, on the one hand, it is hardly allowable that art could be won by tradition through, "the fear of impotence, and woman's sexual malice" (Laurence 24), while on the other it is obvious that Soyinka's own art belongs to the West.

His form is completely Western: the text is even written in iambic pentameter (though Soyinka has a rather dead ear for it). It is true that the play has many Yorbuan elements with its mimes and dances, but it is almost as though these are exotic elements brought in to provide 'local color' to a Western text.             The possibility of allegorical reading of the play cannot be dismissed. It is inevitably called into being by the text and cannot be easily sent away from the reader's or the viewer's mind.

But the contrast between the message of any allegorical interpretation of the play and the audience's expectation, or indeed with Soyinka's own art and artistic ideals, denies the validity of the obvious allegory. Rather, the allegorical expectations of the audience are purposefully subverted. This subversion is ultimately the source of the play's comedy. In so Western a work, the representation of the West is a clownish buffoon, whose attempt to oust Baroka and the tradition he represents from his position of dominance fails utterly.

Baroka turns out to be far more sophisticated and subtle than his mock-Western opponent, as well as more successful. Perhaps Soyinka is exploring a different path his life might have taken. This tension within the play overturns the expectation of the play's audience. The play was written in English and so could have an audience only of Westerners or of heavily Westernized Nigerians who most likely would expect the West to triumph in the name of 'Modernization' or some such ideological goal. Perhaps they are instead made to see their pretensions in a new light by a satire that instead sees the triumph of tradition.

But the viciousness inherent in satire is softened in that it seems to be directed most at Soyinka himself as a Westernized creator of art.  

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“The Lion and the Jewel by Wole Soyinka Book Report/Review”, n.d.)
The Lion and the Jewel by Wole Soyinka Book Report/Review. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1507244-wole-soyinka-the-lion-and-the-jewel
(The Lion and the Jewel by Wole Soyinka Book Report/Review)
The Lion and the Jewel by Wole Soyinka Book Report/Review. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1507244-wole-soyinka-the-lion-and-the-jewel.
“The Lion and the Jewel by Wole Soyinka Book Report/Review”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1507244-wole-soyinka-the-lion-and-the-jewel.
  • Cited: 6 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Lion and the Jewel by Wole Soyinka

The Trials of Brother Jero

Although the play The Trials of Brother Jero by wole soyinka is widely recognized as a successful comedy, relatively little attention has been given to this short comedy and it is usually dismissed as a rather conventional farce, saved fairly by the effective interplay of pidgin and conventional speech, but ruined by a weak ending.... (Killam and Kerfoot, 299) Therefore, a reflective exploration of the play The Trials of Brother Jero by the celebrated Nigerian playwright wole soyinka confirms that it is an important satire that presents one day in the eventful life of Brother Jeroboam, and it is a significant example of Soyinka's satirical skills....
4 Pages (1000 words) Book Report/Review

Why Do I Fast by Wole Soyinka

The author of the paper will begin with the statement that “Why Do I fast” was written by wole soyinka, a Nigerian playwright, and poet, during the Nigerian civil war.... hellip; It would appear though that in writing “Why Do I fast” wole soyinka not only seeks to explain it to the reader, but he experienced the conflict (of fasting or not)as he is writing.... nbsp; Thus we have a marvelous window into the inner workings of soyinka's mind....
3 Pages (750 words) Book Report/Review

Linguistic Analysis of Wole Soyinka's Poem The Telephone Conversation

The author of the essay states that the poem 'The Telephone Conversation' written by wole soyinka'stethers on the paradoxical linguistic proclivities that hide and release racist preoccupations and the aggressive responses to it by an educated black man.... wole soyinka's poem ‘The Telephone Conversation' tethers on the paradoxical linguistic proclivities that hide and release racist preoccupations and the aggressive responses to it by an educated black man....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

African Theater in Postcolonial Politics

African theater is divided into three groups named after the different periods in the continent's political history: pre-colonial; colonial, and; post-colonial which is also called anti-colonial.... Although the categories were largely affected by the periods they were named… , they oftentimes overlap because performances which thrived in one period were often carried over to the next, like for example; indigenous performances which continued to thrive even after colonization....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

Coercive Power in the Lion King Movie

In the paper “Coercive Power in the lion King Movie,” the author analyzes the film the lion King, which is replete with scenes that exhibit the use of coercive power.... This is evident in the way Simba forcefully grabs the throne of Pride Lands and uses coercive power in his rule....
2 Pages (500 words) Movie Review

The Analysis of Food Lion from a Human Resources Perspective

Founded in 1953, Food lion is a joint of Belgian – American grocer that has specifically integrated and grown within the southeastern market over the past several decades.... Currently, Food lion exhibits over 1117 different stores and has a combined yearly revenue in excess of… Additionally, as a result of this size, the brand employees 73,000 employees and is represented in 15 states in the “mid Atlantic region (Food lion, 2014)....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper

Lion and the Jewel byWole Soyinka

In most of his works, Soyinka has focused on society, tradition, culture and modernism, fusing these with the politics around… In his play the lion and the jewel, the conflict between tradition and modernism is well captured.... In his play the lion and the jewel, the conflict between tradition and modernism is well captured.... Through the Lecturer Essay # lion and the jewel The Nigerian Wole Soyinka is among the most talented worldwide....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

The Sea Lions: Gregarious, Vocal and Intelligent

Similarly, the Galapagos and the Australian sea lions with decreasing population trends are placed in the Endangered list while the New Zealand sea lion, also with a decreasing population is placed in the 'vulnerable' list.... They are one of the rarest species of sea lion in the world and, also due to their restricted breeding range, perhaps the most threatened.... The following sections discuss the patterns of behavior of California sea lion in some detail....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us