Fascination Towards City is Expressed In ‘ The Swamp Dwellers’.

Name:-Hitaxi H Bhatt.

Roll No:- 03.

Email Id:- hitaxidave81@gmail.com

Enrolment No:- PG15101004

Paper No:- 14 ( The African Literature.)

Submitted to:- Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University.

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Topic - Fascination Towards City is Expressed In ‘ The Swamp Dwellers’.

 The city is a centre of attraction even in our society also from its very inception the city has been attracting a large number of people especially from the rural areas. This is also happens with the character of ‘The Swamp Dweller’. The city is tempting the rural people with its employment opportunities; they are likely to develop rosy imaginations of the luxuries of the city life. They have come to believe that money-making is easier in the city. But at last they meet with bitter side of the city life and realized that money making is not an easy task in the city. And they also realized that in the process of making money in the city they went far from their culture and family.

Fascination Towards City is described:-

The Swamp Dwellers by 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. Typical to the people of a poverty ridden village, the town is a place of money, and luxury to the Swamp dwellers. To the older generation of the swamp dwellers however, the town is the symbol of corruption. 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 two sons- Awuhike and Igwezu. Both of their sons went to the city for better prospects.

But Awuchike attracted by city cuts of all his relation with his parents. This ungratefulness even more consolidates Alu and Makuri’s prejudice against the city. In the opening scene of the play Makuri says to Alu that Awuchike went to the city because he had go sick of the Swam. Moreover, Makuri says that the young men go to the big town in order to make money. But most of them forget their folk and cut their relation with the roots, says Makuri. To Makuri the city is the place of immortality and corruption. Some of the events confirm Makuri’s views. For example, Desala who had gone to the city with her husband Igwezu left him and went with Auchike who had more money. Gonushi’s son is another example of the victim of city. He also went to the city and cut off his relation with wife and children.

All the Swamp Dwellers consider city as the place to make money. This view is expressed through the Kadiye. As soon as Igwezu returns home from the city the Kadiye visits Igwezu’s house. But Igwezu is still outside. The Kadiye wants to know from Makuri if Igwezu had made a fortune in the city. According to Kadiye all can make money “in the city”. In his conversation with Igwezu, the Kadiye asks Igwezu repeatedly about how much money he did make in the town. The Kadiye thinks that Igwezu had made enough money to buy the whole village. When Igwezu talks about his final restrain, the Kadiye doesn’t believe it. To him it is impossible for a man who went to city to be in debt or financial constrain.

But the real picture of city is expressed by Igwezu. In his conversation with Makuri, Igwezu says that the city is the place where only money matters. Money makes a man important and big in the city. On the other hand people without money have no place in a city. Thus we see that the Swamp Dwellers have mixed feelings about the city. To most of the Swamp Dwellers city is the place of comfort, money and luxury. But there are also some people who have a very negative view towards the city life. Still there are men like Igwezu who hate the city life but is forced to go to the city.

Traditional Vs Modernity.

Here, I would like to connect Tradition and Modernity that is one theme of ‘The Swamp Dwellers’ both are opposite from each others. It was very difficult to tell that which path that we want to followed.

 Which one is good Traditional or Modernity ..??

Tradition and Modernity issue is not new for us because we are facing this issue in our society also. With the development of human being this problem was comes into  exist. In the play also we can find the same problem. Igwezu and Awuchike they both are twins. One is representing Tradition and another is representing modernity.

The older generations’ views towards the city are expressed through Alu and Makuri.  Alu and Makuri have two sons of Awuhike and Igwezu. Both of their sons went to the city for better prospects. But Awuchike attracted by city  and cuts off  all his realtion with his parents. This ungratefulness even more consolidates Alu and Makuri’s prejudice against the city because he had got sick of the Swam. 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 cut their relation with the roots, says Makuri.

To Makuri the city is the place of immorality and corruption. Some of the events confirm Makuri’s views. For example, Desala who had gone the city with her husband Igwezu left him and went with Awuchike who had more money.  Gonushi’s son is another example of the victim of city. He also went to the city and cut off his relation with wife and children. All the Swamp Dwellers believes in that  city is the  right  place to make money. Then  Igwezu returns from city and meets Kadiye. He asks him about how much money you got  from city.?? Kadiye has one false perception in his mind that Igwezu has enough money to buy entire village. But Igwezu says that he is in financial constrain and by saying this he shows the bitter side of city life. He also talks about the reality that in the city only money that is matter.

Thus we see that the Swamp Dweller have mixed feeling about the city. To most of the Swamp Dwellers city is the place of comfort, money and luxury. But there are also some people who hate the city life but is forced to go to the city to make money. ‘The Swamp Dwellers’ focuses the struggle between the old and the new ways of life in Africa. It also gives us a picture of the cohesion that existed between the individual and southern Nigerian society. The play mirrors the socio-cultural pattern, the pang and the sufferings of the swamp dwellers and underlines the need for absorbing new ideas. The struggle between human being and unfavorable forces of nature is also captured in the play. Soyinka presents us the picture of modern Africa where the wind of change started blowing.

‘The Swamp Dwellers’ reflects the life of the people of southern Nigeria. Their vacation mainly is agro based. They weave baskets, till in cultivate land. They believe in serpent cult. They perform death rites. They offer gain, bull goat to appease the serpent of the swamp. Traders from city come there for crocodile skins. They lure young woman with money. Alu withstands their temptation. Young men go to the cities to make money, to drink bottled beer. In fact the city ruins them. ‘The Swamp Dwellers’ consummate their wedding at the bed where the rivers meet. They consider the river bed itself as the perfect bridal bed. Sudden flood ruin the crops throwing life out of gear.

Wole Soyinka’s play The Swamp Dwellers, The Swamp itself is the physical image of spiritual death. The spiritual death by which the young server all family and human ties with the village and indulge in a new kind of life in the towns is one of the main threats to the society of the village. The tone of despair which has been noticeable. And  “Is it of any earthly use to change one slough for another?”asks Igwezu, in The Swamp Dwellers, the city also is a swamp. And yet each must be experienced, they offer challenge not refuge. Igwezu returns to his destiny in the town. And in the end we find in the background that there is flood  and drought.  Igwezu leaves the  village, but the Beggar beckons him back, “the swallows find their nest again when the cold in over”.

Conclusion.-

We can see conflict of tradition and modernity in the play. Village is representing tradition and city as modernity. They both are different from each others. This play is representing those different very well. And The Swamp Dwellers makes use of contrast, parallelism, humor and irony in a suitable manner. Soyinka focuses the plight of the swamp dwellers in the play realistically. The swamp dwellers are at the mercy of furious nature unless they compromise tradition with modernity, embrace modern technology they wouldn’t have a bright future.

Reference:-

http://www.literary-articles.com/2012/10/the-swamp-dwellers-attitude-to-city-as.html

http://studyhelpctgbd.blogspot.in/2017/01/the-swamp-dwellers.html

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