“The Swamp Dweller” - Wole Soyinka.

The Swamp dweller

            Wole Soyinka was written in great play “The Swamp Dweller” in 1958.  In this play we see that old and young generation gap. How the village people minds are constructed and young are gone to the city. 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. 

                                  

                       We can say that the villages people are leave them. And there are told to his a child was not gone to city. Because of that their religious, politics economy, environment, civilization and reality of society it’s became bad and not cultured one.  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. It is concept of colonial and post colonial thinks. The protagonist of the play in Igwezu was gone to city for his wife Desala. His parent was unhappy and said that to leave in village and caring to their heritage, tradition, culture etc. Makuri was father of twin children Igwezuand Awechike. His both son went to city at only for money and leave there. We see in the play how Igwezu struggle a lot. But in the play how the beggar waits to Igwezu only for one message to their life.  African myth in this play. The beggar was African god. He was talk to the Beggar. Here we see that the blind Beggar was god may be. Moreover, Makuri and Alu go to city and taking to them. Their son thought that city and 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. Alu speaks that “she wants to lose her son in the hell means city”.

                       We see that Awechike also goes that but he was dying. Alu as mother was sad and city effect of their family. So here we can say that colonial people thought that and black as colonizer leave life to city life people.  Makuri and Alu lose their son and how societies represent life of Igwezu family. But Igwezu was seeing in life village bad, struggle and how city as globalized, economy and evil thinks to them. Alu is truth; we except to this truth and fail in her life.  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. A girl always harassment physically and the boy always has to face abusement. So that Alu fears that the city in May she lost her second son. That’s why she anger and sad to her husband.

                          

                         Here we see that city life and village life are different. There leaving life was gap and realities of city people have been different. They are victim of spiritual and also emotional parent. Igwezu was leave to city but not happy. How society has nothing to do in this characters life. Societies remain passive and Soyinka was imagination of Swamp. May be post colonial thinks that Swamp was national disorder and infertile, waste land. There are in nothing should be grown. 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”?  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.

                   Modernity and tradition of both characters life affect them. 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. Here Wole Soyinka says that “Nothing rescues man from loss of self within this abyss but a titanic resolution of the will”. As it is 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.  So we can say that ‘The Swamp’ the city is the result of colonial, capitalism, industrialization the shift from tradition to Modernity.