HERE IN THIS PRESENTATION YOU WILL FIND THE INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE AUTHOR, NAME OF THE MAJOR CHARACTERS, RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CHARACTERS AND DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTERS.

1. Character Study of The Swamp
Dweller
Divya Choudhary
Roll No :- 07 M.A. Sem :- 04
Paper :- 14 The African Literature
Submitted to :-
Smt.S.B. Gardi
Department of English
M.K.Bhav.University

2. Wole Soyinka is a Nigerian playwright,
poet, author, teacher and political
activist who received the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1986.
Wole Soyinka was born on July 13, 1934,
in Nigeria and educated in England. In
1986, the playwright and political
activist became the first African to
receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.
He dedicated his Nobel acceptance
speech to Nelson Mandela. Soyinka has
published hundreds of works, including
drama, novels, essays and poetry, and
colleges all over the world seek him out
as a visiting professor.

3. Characters
Alu
Awchike
Desala
Igwezu
Kadiye
Makuri
The Beggar

4. Wife
Desala(Earlier) Desala(Later)
Children
Igwezu Awchike
Husband Wife/ Parents
Makuri Alu

7. Traditional
• Alu
• Makuri
Individual
• Igwezu
• The Beggar
Modernity
• Desala
• Awchike

8. Alu
Alu is the wife of Makuri. She is the mother of
Igwezu and Awuchike. She is aged about sixty. She
believes in the custom of the swamps. She thinks
that the river bed is the ideal bridal bed. She has
more concern for Awuchike who is in the city. She
has anxiety for his safety.
Her anxiety makes her shoot questions. Her
questions make Makuri think of her as a fussy
neurotic wife. She is hospitable like Makuri. Her
reaction to the words of Kadiye shows her to be a
traditionalist.
Though she is outspoken, she is not for change.
Alu’s understanding of the world is very limited.
Igwezu’s words about his brother Awuchike set her
anxiety at rest. All said, Alu is a loving and a
loveable mother.

9. Makuri
Makuri is the father of Igwezu and Awuchike. He is the
husband of Alu. As a husband he is conceited. He is fond of
teasing his wife. His continuous bickering with his wife is
only a show. He has perfect mutual understanding with his
wife. He is a good host. He offers canebrew to the beggar.
He gives himself totally to the serpent cult. Though he is
seemingly angry he has consideration for his fussy wife Alu.
He represents the note of tradition in the play. His affection
for his wife is unsentimental. He is more intelligent than his
wife. Igwezu exposes Kadiye’s corrupt practice. Makuri feels
offended over it.
He is afraid of facing the wrath of the villagers. Soyinka
through Makuri emphasizes the importance and the value of
marital ties between husband and wife. He does not have
delusions about the character of Awuchike. Nor does he have
it in him to console Igwezu who has come back betrayed by
his wife Desala.

10. Igwezu
Igwezu is the son of Alu and Makuri. He is twin with
Awuchike. He is the centre of the play. The Swamp
Dwellers is a drama of revelation and Igwezu gets
education through experience both in the city and in
the swamp.
Igwezu’s discovery of the deficiencies of the village
life and the city life constitutes the primary thematic
content of the play. Igwezu plays a pivotal role in the
play as a truth teller. He is a character in the play
who has tasted the ups and downs of life both in the
village and in the city.
As a swamp dweller he knows how life goes in the
southern part of Nigeria. It is through him Soyinka
criticizes the corrupt religious practices of Kadiye.
Familial ties have meaning for him. In that aspect,
Igwezu is unlike his brother Awuchike, a city
dweller.

11. As a city dweller for eight months, Igwezu knows the break and bounce of city
life. He knows how people like Awuchike are ruthless in making money. He is
a broke in business. He comes back home. His land is flooded. His hope of
getting a good harvest is blasted. He is betrayed by his own brother. Desala,
his wife betrays him. She changes hand.
Igwezu has a frank talk with Kadiye. The talk exposes the serpent cult as a
sham. Igwezu welcomes modernization to the swamp. He is ready for a change
of mind. For all his thinking in terms of modernization, Igwezu does not have
the grit to reclaim the land from the swamp.
Igwezu’s experience of life, both in the city and in the village disillusions him.
He reflects critically on his situation. He doubts the value system cherished by
the community. Returning to the city again is like returning to one slough from
another. He decides to entrust the land to the beggar. He rejects the
Beggar’s help because he does not like one blind man leading another.

12. Desala
Desala does not appear in the play as a
character. But, she is spoken off. Desala is
the embodiment of the corrupt nature of
the city life.
Thecharacter also echoes the materialistic
attitude of city dwellers. Desala marries
Igwezu. Igwezu later becomes poor owing
to bad returns from his business.
Desala found Awuchike prospering in his
business. So, Desala leaves Igwezu and
marries Awuchike. It shows how city life
has become morally void.

13. Awuchike
Awuchike is the twin brother of Igwezu. He
does not appear as a character in the play. It is
through telling Soyinka portrays the character
of Awuchike.
Ten years ago he left the swamp. The glamour of
city life has changed his character. He has
become a total city dweller. He is in
timber business. Money making carries him off
his feet. He has snapped ties with the kinsmen
in the swamp. He is not a man of fair dealing.
Doing business in city has made him ruthless
and heartless. He goes to the extent of taking
Desala from his brother Igwezu. He is a
betrayer. He exemplifies the statement “city
turns brother against brother”.

14. Kadiye
In physical appearance Kadiye is a contrast to the
beggar. He is bulky. His fingers are heavily ringed.
He is prosperous in the midst of poverty.
He is a man of self‐importance. As the priest of the
serpent he fleeces the swamp dwellers. He betrays
the trust of the villagers. He encourages the serpent
cult.
He has set his eye on Igwezu’s money. As a priest he
is not bothered about Igwezu’s lot. He exploits the
villagers knowing full well they are in straits. Soyinka
satirizes the corrupt practices ail the society living in
superstition living in superstition through Kadiye.

15. The Beggar
The Beggar comes from Bukanji in North Nigeria. He is
tall and straight. His bearing is dignified. He is a devout
Muslim. He is a man of independence. He is resolute in
supporting himself. Though he is blind he is a very good
judge of other characters in the play.
Soyinka has drawn him as a contrast to Kadiye. Though he
has seen adversity it has not shaken his spirits. He is full
of hope. He shores up the sagging spirit of Igwezu by
offering him hope. He is for redeeming a piece of land for
cultivation from the swamp.
He is a man of quick intelligence. He analyzes the ills of
the swamp dwellers. He is ready to cast his lot with them.
He braces himself to fight against those who exploit
them. It is an irony that the man from the north is termed
as beggar. He may be a beggar because he does not have
means to support him. But his intention is to work and
earn his livelihood. He is against getting alms. His
self‐esteem does not allow him to beg. The Beggar is a
man of self‐esteem.