The Character of the Swamp Dweller All important character in this work give information

1. The African
Literature
Name: Dhapa Jetal A.
M.A.Sem -4
Paper No. : The African Literature
Unit no : 1 (The Swamp Dweller –Wole Soyinka)
Topic: Character study in The Swamp Dweller
Year: 2018/20
Roll no. 11
Email: jetaldhapa@gmail.com
Enrolment no: 2069108420190012
Submit: S.B. Gardi Department of English
Maharaja Krishanakumarsinhji
Bhavnagar University
- Presented by Jetal Dhapa

2. About the Wole Soyinka :
 Wole Soyinka was is a well known Nigerian Playwright,
poet and essay writer.He also won the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1986.
 Soyinka has been a strong critic of successive Nigerian
governments, especially the country's many military
dictators, as well as other political tyrannies, including
the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe.
 He took an active role in Nigeria's political history and its
struggle for independence from Great Britain.
 He sometimes wrote of modern West Africa in a satirical
style, but his serious intent and his belief in the
evils inherent in the exercise of power usually was
evident in his work as well.

3. About the Play :
– The Swamp Dwellers is a play that was written by Wole
Soyinka and was published in 1958.
– The Swamp Dwellers, the main conflict is between the old and the
new way of life in the Nigerian society, and Africa in general.
– In The Swamp Dwellers, Soyinka explores the controversial
themes of power, social injustice, hypocrisy, tyranny, and balance
for a functional society.
– In Southern Nigeria, the individual was tightly bound to his
society, and with the introduction of more modern ideas, this
relationship was not quite as cohesive as it used to be.
– There are three main categories of characters: parents, corrupt
priests and their followers, and individuals who are always moving
and changing.

4. The Major Character in ‘The Swamp Dweller:
 His best works exhibit humour
and fine poetic style as well as a
gift for irony and satire and for
accurately matching
the language of his complex
characters to their social position
and moral qualities.
Alu
Desala
AwuchikeIgwezu
The
Beggar
Makuri

5. 1.Alu :
– Alu is the wife of Mukuri.She is a mother of Awuchike and
Igwezu.She is in aged sixty year.
– In the novel we can see that she is very loving and loveable
mother.
– She is also hospitable like Makuri.
– She has more concern for Awuchike who is in the city.She has
anxiety for his safety.
– Though she is outspoken ,she is not for change.Alu’s
understanding of the world is very limited.

6. 2.Makuri :
– Makuri is the father of the Igwezu and the Awuchike. He is the
husband of Alu.
– He has a perfect understanding with his wife Alu.
– He representing the note of tradition in the novel.
– His affection for his wife is unsentimental. He is more intelligent than
his wife.
– He afraid of facing the wrath of the villagers.
– Soyinka through Makuri emphesize the importance and the value of
marital ties between husband and wife.

7. 3.Igwezu
– Igwezu is the son of the Alu and Makuri.He was a twins of the Awuchike.
– He discovery of the deficiencies of the village life and the city life constitutes the
primary thematical content of the play.
– He reflects critically on his situation.
– He debut the value system cherished by the community.
– He welcomes to modernization to the Swamp.
– Igwezu plays the pivotal role in the play as a truth teller.

8. 4.Desala:
– She is the wife of the Igwezu.
– This is a hidden character in the play.
– Desala is the embodiment of the corrupt nature of the city life.
5.Kediye :
 He is a man of self-importance.He betrays the trust of the villagers.
Soyinka satirizing the corrupt practices all the society living in the
superstations through Kadiye.
He encourage the serpent cult.

9. 6.Awuchike :
– Awuchike was the twin brother of Igwezu. He also the hidden character in the play.
– It is Through telling Soyinka portrays the character of Awuchike.
– He has snapped ties with the kinsmen in the Swamp.He is not man of fair dealing.
– He exemplifies the statements “city turns brother against brother.
7.The Beggar:
 The Beggar come from Bukanji in North Nigeria. He is a man of independence.
 He is resolute in supporting himself. He is blind but he is very good judge of other
characters in the play.
 He is man of Quick intelligence.
 The bagger is a man of self-esteem.

10. Conclusion:
 We read the play, character and many interesting things in the
Wole Soyinkas’s Play ‘The Swamp Dweller.
 Ths full novel gives idea about the journey of old to new
generation.
 Many of the character also give the idea about the concept.

11. – Working cites :
– Britanica, The Editor of Encyclopedia. Wole Soyinka. 27 November 2019.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/ 22 February 2020.
– C, Sonia, et al. "The Swamp Dwellers Background". GradeSaver, 25
November 2018 Web. 22 February 2020.
– Galtharia , Hitesh. Character Study of The Swamp Dweller. 23 March 2016.
https://www.slideshare.net. 22 February 2020.