Traditional v/s Modernity in “The Swamp Dweller”.

Name: Vaja   Deepika Bhupatbhai.

Course: The African literature

Professor’s name: Heenaba

Roll no: 04.

Topic: Traditional v/s Modernity in “The Swamp Dweller”.

Submitted by: Department of English M .K. Bhavnagar University.

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Traditional v/s Modernity in “The Swamp Dweller”.

·       Introduction

 Wole Soyinka’s play “The Swamp Dweller” was written in 1957. The Nigerian playwright Wole Soyinka was born in 1934.  Soyinka was one of the few African writers to denounce the slogan of Negritude as a tool of autocracy. Soyinka also enjoys the rank as the first black African to be awarded the Nobel Prize in literature. His works are like:

§  The Invention

§  The Lion and the Jewel

§  A Dance in the Forest

§  The Swamp Dweller

In this work we found to African religious, rules. Life style, morality and how white people ruling of them. The Swamp dweller in generation gap and how father & son relationship in this play.

·       About author and His styles of writing.

                          Soyinka presented Nigeria as a country in tradition, attempting to mold itself out of a variety of tribal cultures and a turbulent Europe colonization. He was willing to charge Nigerian politicians and bureaucrats with barbarity and corruption. As he was to condemn the greed and materialism of the Europeans. Wole Soyinka has an instinct for the stage and the dramatic situation. Soyinka’s life has been so full of intrigue and accomplishment that he has published several memoirs in which the hardships of the African nation overlap with Soyinka’s own personal evolution. He can create convincing characters and he has a superb sense of humors. Some of his works took on a darker and angrier tone.  The play “The swamp dweller” in African society image and how young generation has leave life. Wole Soyinka was imagine of African youngster are intelligent but at that level their struggle to modern world.   The Swamp Dwellers was performed by students at Ibadan in 1960. Wole Soyinka is placed in a backward village of Nigeria in the Delta region. But the characters of the play often have important interactions with the town life. Wole Soyinka’s styles of writing in African religious, politics economy, environment, civilization and reality of society it’s become bad and not cultured one. So now we explain to ‘The Swamp dweller’ in traditional and modernity.

·       Tradition v/s modernity in the play.

                                        “The swamp dweller” is traditional and modern play. We see that in the play generation gap and view of post colonial thinks.  Tradition and Modernity both are opposite from each others. It was very difficult to tell that which path that we want to followed. The swamp Dweller in the word ‘Swamp’ was may be mud and village area. The Swamp was ‘loss of self’. The swamp as land. It is connected to native land. There are want way to other land. So now we first explain what is tradition and modernity? “Tradition is a belief or behavior passed down within group or society with symbolic meaning or special significant with origin in the past”. Here ‘The Swamp Dwellers’ in Alu, Makuri represented tradition. “Modernity is something such as a system or a factory means to change it by replacing old equipment or methods with new ones”. In the play we see that Desala, Awuchike, Kadiye are represented modernity. But Igwezu was individual, he was in both side. We found to African people life and think about to city life style.

                It is concept of colonial and post colonial thinks. The protagonist of the play in Igwezu was gone to city for his wife Desala. the play identify that It talks about distant rural and urban society, family life, conflict of old and new society, psychological conflicts between old and young generations, love for modernity and love for the swamp, the supernatural, unfavorable forces of nature and so many problems. Makuri was father of twin children Igwezu and Awechike. His both son went to city at only for money. One is representing Tradition and another is representing modernity. Makuri and his wife Alu is unhappy that. Because of their son goes to city, they think that it is evil and bad for his son. How they represented that typical people of a poverty, ridden village. The town is a place of money, and luxury to the Swamp dwellers. Here we see that Alu and Makuri talk about to their culture.

“Alu: If you had any good at all in you, you’d go and look for him.

Makuri: And catch my death of cramp? … What’s preventing you from going?”

In this conversation we can say that parents should not be happy. Because of that his son goes to city. They never came to village. It they go Makuri and Alu talk that our tradition, rules, religious never forget them. Here the attitudes to the city life are mainly expressed by Alu, Makuri, Igwezu, and Kadiye. The older generations’ views to the city are expressed through Alu and Makuri. Alu and Makuri have rigid person. Parents lost his son Awuchike. Both think that their sons went to the city for better prospects.

        We see that play in Igwezu is all-rounder person and he know about his life. Whenever he goes to the village happy but so kind of fear and backwardness in his mind. He accepted luxury, money and town life, something missing of them.  Moreover, Makuri says that young men go to the city because he had got sick of the money. But most of them forget their folk and culture their relation with the roots, says Makuri. We see that those sons are goes to city and his behaves like this twin. Awuchike is callous, self centered, egoistic, nonchalant, unmindful, undutiful ad disobedient towards parents. Awuchike is also a highly ambitious young man. He is fed up with the swamp life and hardship. But Igwezu is obedient, dutiful towards his parents. Igwezu is individual and thought to his parents. He is always meeting his parents but in other side Awuchike love money.

§  Portrayed of women in “The Swamp Dweller”

             Igwezu wife Desala was want to Awuchike. Only for city development, luxury, home, materialistic, richness, wealthy cloths, cultured one etc. Desala love to Awuchike only for money. She is anticipation from her, would be husband of thriving urban life. Here we see both women are different. Desala love to city & urban life. But Alu as mother and wife, she strongly believes that leave in village. Alu thinks about her family and child.  But Desala might have love for an urban life but her love for Awuchike is exposed. We see that Makuri thought that the city is the place of immorality and corruption. Awuchike love for Desala and dream for living together in private away from his root is more active than his fortune-seeking. His family tie with Desala is so strong that he even leaves his Instances of powerful family bond in Soyinka’s The Swamp Dwellers.

“Alu: … she (Desala) made him (Awuchike) promise to take her there (the city) before she would wed him.”

We see that Alu said to Makuri that his son love to Desala and want city. It may be their son shows their love for extended family with sons and Daughters-in-law.

§  Tradition & Modernity Effect of  characters life

                                   Makuri and Alu thought that their son goes to city only for industrial life was good and development of his economy.  Alu thought that her son came back to village just only for wish; she was nagging woman only for her husband goes to swamp. While arguing with her husband. Makuri and Alu express their deep concern for their son, Awuchike. They have a continuous argument over his disappearance from home. No one knows about his existence. But a true mother in Alu is in action. She thinks her son is no more, but she is constantly pressing an earnest request to Makuri to find out Awuchike. Alu speaks that “she wants to lose her son in the hell means city”. Alu as mother was sad and city effect of their family. Here we found to colonial effect. As black Negro are attracted to the white people life, wealth, religious, richness, money etc.

               The black parent Alu and Makuri thought that how city as globalized, economy, corrupted and evil thinks. Alu except to this truth, lost her son Awuchike and fail in her life. We see him speaking of Awuchike’s life and death.  It says to Awuchike and Desala goes to wrong way. There are in nothing should be in hand. Only for physical, material desire fulfils. We can say that city was temptation of younger people life. In city while be not to hand as nothing. There is a different standard for harassment of boy and girl. In the village, it should be not in village. It is only for culture, relationships, work and morality. A village in the swamps. Frogs rain and other noises. The walls are marsh stakes plaited with hump ropes. Near the left down stage are the baskets he makes from the rushes which are strewn in front of him.

      We see both ideas in the play. Parents leave life Traditional way and other side Awuchike & Desala leaves modern way. But here Igwezu becomes shocked to see himself in a dilemma of two cultures- the city one and the rural one. the beggar meet Igwezu. Only for help them and the village should be developing and culture.  At that time the Blind beggar thought in end to meet Igwezu. And how they represent god and help them to Igwezu. We see that Igwezu should continue to depend on the serpent for salvation in spite of the interminable calamites that contort. Two cultures have made him a union chamber causing deep frustration to him. We see this effect of Igwezu’s life and the beggar as help them. But we see society remain present, no choice of them. Igwezu as cultured and modern man. He should not do any thinks for his brother. Because Awuchike was love to Desala and money is his life. That’s why he was dying. Tradition was social, cultural and conventional them. Igwezu was individual and complex phenomenon of modernity. Awechike was thought to modern thinks. But in other side we see that Igwezu was both tradition and modernity in his behaves. It is harmful to people. There leave in the village and only ideas about leave native land as ‘Swamp’. In the play we see that Death of Awechike. It was symbol of society and city life affects them. Wole Soyinka asks to question that actually where is swamp?  We personalize the modernity and tradition the where is “Swamp”? 

·       Conclusion

       So we see that our culture is hybrid, and city in globalization, industries, development corruptions and family relations are broken down. Modernity was connected to city, and tradition was connected to village. So we can say that ‘The Swamp’ the city is the result of colonial, capitalism, industrialization the shift from tradition to Modernity.

Wole Soyinka says that “Nothing rescues man from loss of self within this abyss but a titanic resolution of the will”.

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Work cited: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka
http://www.gradesaver.com/the-swamp-dwellers/shop
http://www.slideshare.net/maitrimunjpara/realism-in-the-swamp-dwellers