The Struggle Between Human Beings and Unfavourable Forces of Nature in The Swamp Dwellers

Parth Bhatt
Roll No. 15
Semester IV
Paper –XIV: The African Literature
Submitted to: Ms. Heenaba Zala
Department of English
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University,
Bhavnagar
_________________________________________________________________

The Swamp Dwellers concentrates on the battle between the old and the better approaches for life in Africa. It likewise gives us a picture of the attachment that existed between the single and southern Nigerian social order. The clash between custom and innovation is moreover reflected in the play. The play mirrors the socio-customary design, the string and the sufferings of the marsh occupants and underlines the requirement for retaining new plans. The battle between homo sapiens and unfavourable drives of nature is moreover caught in the play. Soyinka presents us the picture of present day Africa where the wind of progress began blowing.

The Swamp Dwellers is a nearby investigation of the plan of life in the separated villages of the African wide open and an existential investigation of the basic society who confront rigours of life without any trust or succour. Soyinka tears separated social treachery, deception and dictatorship. The Swamp Dwellers communicates the requirement for a parity between the old and the new. Soyinka is not for extreme glorification of the past. In the play we see Soyinka's campaign against tyranny, lack of concern and self hallucination. Additionally, in The Swamp Dwellers Soyinka satirises the selling out of livelihood for the fascination and control in one shape or a different one.

The Swamp Dwellers reflects the life of the individuals of southern Nigeria. Their employment primarily is agro based. They weave crate, till and grow land. They put stock in serpent faction. They perform demise rituals. They offer grain, bull, goat to conciliate the serpent of the marsh. Traders from city come there for crocodile skins. They draw junior ladies with cash. Alu withstands their enticement. Youthful men head off to the urban areas to profit, to drink packaged lager. Actually the city vestiges them. The Swamp Dwellers quintessential their wedding at the bunk where the waterways meet. They think about the waterway cot itself as the ideal wedding bunk. Sudden surge ruin the harvests tossing life out of rigging.

The marsh occupants are friendly. They give stick brew in calabash measures. Fly debilitation blinds them. Joyful making and drumming both go together in their lives. Sheep and goats are nourished on cassava. They have confidence in welcome through drumming. They have confidence in sooth stating. Any endeavor to recover the area from the bog is thought about a skeptical gesture. Companions who meet after an entire season enjoy in drinking sessions. The point when the stream is swollen individuals are carried crosswise over by society like Wazuri. The marsh tenants have confidence in the faultlessness of Kadiye, cleric of the serpent of the bog. Their conviction is abused by Kadiye to the grip. Igwezu inquiries Kadiye and his ways. It lets us know of the crash between custom and innovation in southern Nigeria. Downpour carries them trust. It carries the wonder of new conception to the area. Water plays the part of both the originator and destroyer in the life of the bog occupants. Products are without warning annihilated by the swarming insects.

The Swamp Dwellers makes utilize of differentiation, parallelism, humour and incongruity in a suitable way. Soyinka centers the predicament of the bog tenants in the play sensibly. The marsh inhabitants are at the leniency of enraged nature unless they trade off convention with innovation, grip advanced engineering they wouldn't have a brilliant fate. The Swamp Dwellers by Wole Soyinka is set in a retrograde village of Nigeria in the Delta locale. Yet the characters of the play regularly have critical face to face times with the town life. Common to the individuals of a neediness ridden village, the town is a spot of cash, and sumptuousness to the Swamp tenants. To the more seasoned era of the marsh tenants notwithstanding, the town is the image of pollution. Here the state of mind to the city life are basically communicated by Alu, Makuri, Igwezu, and Kadiye.

The more seasoned eras' perspectives to the city are communicated through Alu and Makuri. Alu and Makuri have two children-Awuhike and Igwezu. Both of their children headed off to the city for better prospects.

Yet Awuchike pulled in by city cuts of all his connection with his folks. This thanklessness considerably more unites Alu and Makuri's preference against the city. In the opening scene of the play Makuri states to Alu that Awuchike headed off to the city in light of the fact that he had go tired of the Swam. In addition, Makuri states that the junior men head off to the huge town to profit. Anyway a large portion of them overlook their society and cut their connection with the roots, states Makuri.

To Makuri the city is the spot of eternality and defilement. A portion of the occasions affirm Makuri's perspectives. Case in point, Desala who had run to the city with her spouse Igwezu left him and ran with Auchike who had more cash. Gonushi's offspring is a different case of the schmuck of city. He moreover headed off to the city and cut off his connection with wife and kids. All the Swamp Dwellers think about city as the spot to profit. This perspective is communicated through the Kadiye. When Igwezu returns home from the city the Kadiye visits Igwezu's house. Anyhow Igwezu is still outside. The Kadiye needs to know from Makuri if Igwezu had made a fortune in the city. Consistent with Kadiye all can profit "in the city".

In his exchange with Igwezu, the Kadiye inquires as to what amount of cash he did make in the town. The Kadiye feels that Igwezu had profited to purchase the entire village. The point when Igwezu discusses his last limit, the Kadiye doesn't accept it. To him it is implausible for a man who headed off to city to be in indebtedness or monetary oblige. Anyway the true picture of city is communicated by Igwezu. In his discussion with Makuri, Igwezu states that the city is the spot where just cash matters. Cash makes a man critical and colossal in the city. Additionally individuals without cash have no spot in a city. In this way we see that the Swamp Dwellers have jumbled emotions about the city. To the vast majority of the Swamp Dwellers city is the spot of solace, cash and richness. Yet there are moreover some individuals who have an extremely negative perspective towards the city life. Still there are men like Igwezu who loathe the city life however is compelled to head off to the city.

The characters in The Swamp Dwellers fell into three gatherings: the folks Makuri and Alo-moderate, the degenerate minister Kadiye, who dumbfounds his superstitious adherents; and the two positive people Igwezu and the Beggar, moving, considering, looking for then after that questionable what they have discovered. It is a play of state of mind and environment, built to give the group of onlookers plentiful chance to make examinations and achieve judgment. Soyinka makes his focuses through suggested differences and illustrations. In the play, there is difference between twin blood mates, father and child, between mother-in –law and little girl in-law, between the Beggar and have, illustration between Igwezu and the Beggar and the last difference between the Beggar and the Priest Kadiye.

Two Brothers

The most evident differentiation is that between the twins siblings, who resemble the other indistinguishable yet carry on distinctively Awuchike has left home for ten years and exists in town. There he bargains in timbers and thrives quick. However he never thinks about his underprivileged old folks. Furthermore, he doesn't even correspond with his folks, subsequently his mother feels that, he expired in marsh suffocating, however his father realizes that he is still vivified in town and procuring cash there. He is dead to his guardians and family authority/ although, Igwezu is truly inverse to him. He moreover runs to town with his wife to look for his fortune. He guaranteed that, with first earned cash, he will send a swivel seat for his father and he fulfills his guarantee. He corresponds with his guardians and takes care of them. All things considered, Awuchike is unfeeling, conceited, egoster, emotionless, oblivious, undutiful promotion rebellious towards guardians yet Igwezu is loyal, loyal towards his folks.

Differentiate between Mother-in–law and Daughter-in-law

There is a differentiation between the ladies in the gang. Igwezu's mother Alu is devoted and devoted to his father Makuri. Alu and Makuri lead their marital life in subsistence level. Makuri makes crate with surges and Alu works at her "adire' fabric. Makuri is additionally an infrequent barer. All the same, they exist from hand to mouth. In youth, Alu was extremely excellent. An aggregation of crocodile traders went by the Swamp and offered Alu to leave for city with them yet Alu checked the enticement and dismissed their offers. All through her life, she imparts the well and trouble of her spouse and remains devoted. Makuri never feels tension for her purpose. Plus, she adores the marsh area and never communicates any wish to leave for city. Be that as it may Igwezu's wife is switched to Alu. Her condition before wedding was that, she must must be taken to town after marriage. She doesn't prefer natural life, reckless about Igwezu's parens. Furthermore, whenever he starts their urban life, Igwezu's wife abandons him for well off Awuchike. The differentiating focus between the aforementioned two ladies is that, one is dependable and dependable to spouse and a different is conflicting and unfaithful, one is materialistic, a different is straightforward and legit.

Homeless person in correlation to Igwezu

The destitute of vision poor person offers an observation to Igwezu. The bum loses his harvests to beetle and leaves his home in Bukanji, strolls to the south passing through the city, looking for area to develop. Igwezu likewise loses his yields to surge leaves his home in Swamp and takes shield in town. That is both experience incident yet both are determined to procure their job by work. They are unlike Awchike and Kadiye.

Differentiate between Makuri and the Beggar

There is a difference between Makuri and the Beggar. In spite of the fact that Makuri has visual perception, he can't locate the secret that his family is being boggled, deluded by the degenerate Priest. Anyway however the bum is denied of visual perception, his otherworldly light is so compelling and penetrative that, he can catch the greater part of the Priest out of his voice. This implies that, he can surmise that the Priest is devouring their brand new trims by method of false customs.

Derelict complexities to the Priest Kadiye

The visually impaired poor person additionally offers a difference to the Priest Kadiye. In spite of the fact that he is viewed as homeless person, truly, he doesn't put stock in entreating. Rather he trusts in the ethicalness of tirelessness-this is the means by which he forgets his home and gets in hunt of a cultivable land. The point when the servant of the cleric gives a coin, the hobo holds his dish upside down. The street dweller is not superstitious. He can't accept that, there is any heavenly being in the name a serpent God, who has land. Anyhow, the minister whose head is striking, skin-delicate, looks like oily porpoises implores his in modern structure. He takes goats, minerals and different relinquishes offered by the senseless villagers. They offer the reparation to mollify the God and need security at their lives and crops. Be that as it may the cleric devours when Igwezu asks," Why are you so large?" He goes out. Notwithstanding, the bum needs to gain his work by work while the minister gains his business by false snare and misleading. The Beggar hoodwinks none rather brings ideal perspectives up in Igwezu however he minister bamboozles all.

Differentiate between town and nation

Irrevocably there is a difference between town and nation. Life in town is wellspring of agony, dissatisfaction and thwarted expectation. It is an eagerness ruled spot and just hard-hearted individuals succeed. Anyhow life in nation is mix & distress and joy. In village, the family is mixed, individuals are silly, accommodating, equipped for being bamboozled quite effortlessly. Also, the nation individuals are the manikin at the hand of nature. Nature shatter their trust again offers the chump a hope.

To sum up, through the ordinary characterization Wole Soyika carries to our notice the disposition, society and life style of Nigerian individuals. Also he indicates how the generally speaking budgetary development influences the subsistence economy of Nigeria.
Posted 7th April 2013 by Parth Bhatt