LEC052041- SANDHIYA - J - Post Colonial Theory on the play '' THE LION AND THE JEWEL''

 

Sandhiya J

Dr. Joesph Koyipally

LEC052041

                          Post Colonial elements on the play "The Lion and The Jewel" 

         The play "The Lion and the Jewel"by Wole Soyinka exhibits Post Colonial elements through out. The play throws a light upon Male Chauvinism. It depicts how people see a women as a object and to fulfill the needs of  the man.

     Here in this play 2 male are fighting for Sidi's hand. They see Sidi as a beautiful prize to be won. Baroka and Lakunle value Sidi for no more than her beauty and virginity. They both saw Sidi as their social status not as partner not even as another sex. Both didn't ask about her feelings and opinions about them. In those period  girls feelings doesn't taken into consideration. This shows the male dominant society.

     Baroka had many wives, male was allowed to marry many women but female had to be virgin and had so many restrictions. He seeks for virginity though he had many wives. He mistreats his wives like he asked his wife to wax his armpits. This shows a cruel Male chauvinism.

     Cultural Materialism is one of the theory in this play. The writer showed the culture and tradition of the country through characters. This play was written just 2 years before independence, so there was clash between own traditions and customs and westernization concepts.

     Sidi asked for bride prize to lakunle, this shows the system and customs of the african people. Male needs to pay some amount to marry a women like in Indians follows Dowry system.

     Baroka character had many wives and he treats them as a sex object and baby giving machine. Here the writer not only showed the character of a single person but also the community's tradition.

     Lakunle character depicts the western concepts and influence on the other country. He asked Sidi to wear High heels and Lipstick . Here we can interpret that wearing heels and lipstick are western concept not originated in Africa.

     Starting from the slave- history, Indian and Nigerian colonial experience have considerable similarities. The tall British claims, the ruthlessness of the operators were all alike: only Britain was establishing herself in Nigeria as colonial master when India had already initiated her freedom struggle. The Indian experience being behind them, the British evolved a colonial strategy in Nigeria that has been termed as "Indirect rule", which was to prove extremely rewarding and less taxing for them. Britain ruled the country, using the influence and the institution of the chief's  for their own ends. Turing the traditional leaders loose on their own people by catering to their greed, ego, and Jealousies was a well thought out British play.

Works Cited:

Soyinka, W. (n.d.). The Lion and the Jewel by Wole Soyinka Plot Summary. LitCharts. https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-lion-and-the-jewel/summary

WOLE SOYINKA’S THE LION AND THE JEWEL Like India, Nigeria has a unique cultu - PDF Drive. (n.d.). Pdfdrive.Net. https://www.pdfdrive.com/wole-soyinkas-the-lion-and-the-jewel-like-india-nigeria-has-a-unique-cultu-e58337381.html



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