THE USE OF SATIRE FOR SOCIAL REFORMATION IN AFRICAN LITERATURE; A STUDY OF OLA ROTIMI’S OUR HUSBAND HAS GONE MAD AGAIN AND WOLE SOYINKA’S A PLAY OF GIANTS.
ABSTRACT
The Use of Satire for Social Reformation in African
Literature; A Study of Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again and Wole Soyinka’s A Play of
Giants.” Is the topic of this research work. It focuses on how the two writers
uses Satire to remold society. The study discusses the social and
political ills prevalent in African societies with the view of correcting
them thus, making the contemporary society a better place to live. In the two
texts from the renowned Nigerian writers we discovered the economics, social
and political evils which morally degraded our society and the community at
large. These evils are being satirized to bring about reformation. The study
brings out the evil inherent in African socio-political system and calls for a
change especially in society
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background
to the Study
It is generally conceived by many
scholars, that literature mirrors the society. However, literature goes beyond
just mirroring society, it depicts various aspects of human life. The
social, political, economical, religious and historical aspects of human
lives are portrayed through literature. Basically, there are three major genres
of literature, poetry, prose, and drama. For the sake of this study, more
emphasis shall be laid on the dramatics generic form of literature and the
dramatic information. Drama represents life in a more distinctive way. It
educates entertains, oriented and satirizes. Drama originates from the Greek
worship of gods in the classical period as a form of ritual. This research
concentrates on the concept of satire used by African playwrights using Wole Soyinka and Ola Rotimi as case
studies) to effect societal reformation.
Satire as the act of using humor or
exaggeration to speak against societal ills has always been related to
literature. It is seen directly in literacy works which satirize particular social vices and is present in all forms of African literature. G. G. Darah opines that norms and virtues”.
This image of the satirist has led some students of the genre to discriminate
between satire proper; on the one hand and pseudo satire or Lampoon, on the other hands. According to this view, a Lampoon is a descriptive portrait that
relies on inventive rather than objective and sophisticated analysis. By
contrast, it is argued that satire avoid opprobrious terms and achieves its aim
through what the eighteen-century English satirist, john Drilen, called “ the fineness of a stroke that separates the head from the body and leaves it
standing in its place” (Darah, 2005. PP. 22-23) Ngugiwa Thiongo has, also noted
that satire takes for its province a whole society and for its purpose,
criticism, he stresses further that, the satirist sets himself certain
standards and criticizes society when
and where it departs from this
norms. He invites us to assume his standards and share the moral indignation
which moves him to pour division and ridicules on society’s failings, he
corrects through painful, sometimes, malicious laughers, Wa Thiongo, (1972,
P.55).
Due to the manner of its emergence
against the background of European colonialism, satire has always been present
to a significant extent in Nigerian literature. Even during the colonial era,
leaders of nationalist and independence movements used literature to satirize
the injustice of foreign domination and explanation. Thus, individuals such as
Nnamdi Azikiwe, Dennis Osadebey, and others, used literate expressions couched
in satire to advocate essentially ideas. Their themes often centre upon the
historical greatness of Nigeria and the way in which colonial rule and
debilitated it.
Therefore, satire is employed to
mock or censor the actions of a man or his belief. It is used to assess the state
of man in his society and to create a difference between the present situation
and the ideal situation. The best satire is concerned with the nature of
reality and unlike other arts which emphasizes what appears to be real but is not. It always pretends to be something other
than what it really is. It is a fundamental and basics fact that satire entails
more than exposing societal ills and vices. Satire is a literary response to
life in the society, its basic cynicism and especially its political nature is seen to require an urban culture to spoken and thrives.
However, this work focuses on the
societal ills in Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband has gone mad again and Wole Soyinka’s;
A play of giants: revealing “Satire” as a tool for correcting those ills
prevalent in society.
1.2
Statement
of the problem
After the departure of the colonial
masters, Africans have faced a lot of problems as a result of foreign culture
they left behind corruption, exploitation; class struggle etc has been the
order of the day. All these societal ills have hindered growth in African
society. This socio-political and economic disorder committed playwrights
towards restoring order to their communities which have been engulfed in a
myriad of ills. The playwrights discovered that this ill prevalent in African
could be best eradicated through the application of satire. This really helps
to ridicule the activities of people that do not bring growth to African
society.
1.3
Objectives
of the Study
Generally, This study reveals the Use
Of Satire For Social Reformation Tool in African Literature through Ola
Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again
and Wole Soyinka’s A Play Of Giant. Specifically, this study is meant to expose
the socio-political ills of the contemporary Nigeria society as represented in
the two literary work s used for this study. This research work shall also
address the imbalances in society and how the writer views these differences.
This study reveals the salient ideas behind these writers’ use of satire as it
affects the life of Nigerian citizens.
1.4 Significance of the Study
This study adds flavor to the
already existing established scholarly opinions that satire as a literary genre
has gone a long way not only to attack the assumed unutterable ills and vices in
human life which is mostly blinded by emotional instinct; but also as no other the literary application brought reformation to all its ills and vices in terms of
political and economic ways.
This study helps to correct the impression that in as
much as man exists as a social being, it intermittently meaning that existence
of satire would not only continue to complete with the age of man but would
remain firmly abated.
This essay is also meant to add
useful literary contribution and to serve as useful consultation in this field for
future researchers.
1.4
Scope
and Delimitation
This works shall focus on the use of
satire for social reformation with chose reference to the works of Ola Rotimi
(our Husband has Gone Mad Against).
This research shall focus on the
analysis and justification of satire in the selected texts to expose the
socio-political and economic ills prevalent in Nigeria.
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