Conflict of Tradition and Modernity in Swamp Dweller

1. Paper : African Literature
Topic: Conflict of Tradition and Modernity in Swamp Dweller
Name; Solanki Pintu
Roll no; 29
M. A. Semester: 4
Email ID ; solankipintu1991@gmail.com
Submitted to:
Department of English
Maharaja Krishnakumar sinhji
Bhavnagar University

2. About Author
• Wole Soyinka, on born July
13, 1934, Abeokuta, Nigeria,
Nigerian playwright and
political activist who received
the Nobel Prize for Literature
in 1986.
• 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
• Soyinka’s drama presents
the post- colonial
Nigerian.
• In the drama he contrasts
rural and Urban areas, he
contrasts tradition and
Modernity.
• The playwright discuss
the Urban area through
implications.

4. Tradition
• Tradition is a belief or
behaviour passed
down within group or
society with symbolic
meaning or special
significance with
origins in the past.
• Makuri, Alu and Igwezu
are representation of
tradition.

5. Modernity
• Modernity typically refers to a
past traditional post medieval,
historical period one marked by
the money from feudalism
toward capitalism, industrialism.
Secularization, rationalization,
the nation state and its
constituent institutions and
forms of surveillance.
• Awuchike and Desala are
representation of modernity.

6. Tradition vs Modernity
• Tradition
• Cultural,
social, conventional
• Nonwestern attitude
• Joint Family
• Village struggles to
connect myth and
actuality
• Modernity
• Encompasses various
elements of the so-called
South African tradition or
any tradition
• A change in society
• Is it all about accepting
western ideas, culture
and forgetting the
tradition of one’s own
Realism in Two Ways
Tradition

7. Tradition vs Modernity
• Tradition and Modernity both are opposite from
each others.
• It was very difficult to tell that which path that we
want to followed.
• Tradition is good or Modernity is good. Tradition
and Modernity is issues is not new but very old.

8. • Play starts with the description of village which
shows traditional side of the play.
• “A village in the swamps. Frogs rain and other
noises. The scan is a hut on stilts, built on one of
the scattered semi-firm island in the swamp. The
walls are marsh stakes plaited with hump ropes.
Near the left down stage are the baskets he makes
from the rushes which are strewn in front of
him.”(1 pg of TSD)

9. Tradition & Modernity Effect
of characters life
• With the development of human being this
problem was comes to in 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

10. • Awuchike and Desala goes to wrong way.
• There are in nothing should be in hand.
• Only for physical, material desire fulfils.
• We can say that city was temptation of younger
people life.
• In city while be not to hand as nothing.

11. • Igwezu as cultured and modern man.
• He should not do any thinks for his brother.
• Because Awuchike was love to Desala and money
is his life.
• That’s why he was dying. Tradition was social,
cultural and conventional them.
• Igwezu was individual and complex phenomenon of
modernity.

12. Conclusion
• There was a complete change in the people of
village once they reach the city.
• Also, the villages started changing ,
• young people don’t allow anyone or anything
blindly as Makuri did because they raise questions
as Igwezu did.

13. • The play shows contrast, parallelism humour, and
irony in a suitable manner,
• Soyinka focuses the plight of the Swamp dwellers
are at the mercy of furious nature until they
compromise tradition with modernity, embrace
modern technology.

14. • http://nimeshdave22.blogspot.in/2016/03/semest
er-4-presentations.html
• http://hetalbagohil122013.blogspot.in/2014/03/dis
cuss-tradition-and-modernity-study.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tradition
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernity