1. The document discusses Wole Soyinka's play "The Swamp Dwellers" and analyzes several of the main characters. 2. It provides background on Soyinka and explains the play explores the conflict between traditional and modern ways of life in Nigerian society. 3. The major characters discussed include Alu, Makuri, Igwezu, Desala, Kediye, Awuchike, and The Beggar. Each character represents different perspectives in the conflict between old and new.

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.