Table of Contents
What type of drama is The Lion and the Jewel?
The Lion and the Jewel is a comedy that contains elements of Nigerian oral traditions. It is some respects a European comedy of manners, and it is also a satire that mocks social norms and changes. Characters and staging also show connections to West African folk tales and performative style.
What are the major themes in Lion and the Jewel?
The main themes in The Lion and the Jewel are vanity, gender roles, and tradition versus progress. Vanity: Vanity is Sidi’s downfall, as her belief in her own beauty and superiority causes her to underestimate Baroka, which allows him to take advantage of her.
Who is the antagonist in the play The Lion and the Jewel?
Antagonists: Baroka and Lakunle.
What is the settings of The Lion and the Jewel?
The village of Ilujinle, in Nigeria, is the overall setting for all of the action in the play. Ilujinle is defined in comparison to Lagos, the capital city of Nigeria. Ilujinle is physically isolated from Lagos and is therefore also culturally isolated.
What is the conflict in The Lion and the Jewel?
The main conflict in Wole Soyinka’s play The Lion and the Jewel is the competition between Baroka and Lakunle, suitors who are both after Sidi’s hand in marriage. Sidi is a beautiful young woman whose photos were recently in a magazine. She is stubborn, vain, and committed to the traditional ideals of her community.
What is the plot of The Lion and the Jewel by Wole Soyinka?
The Lion and the Jewel by Wole Soyinka tells the story of Sidi, a young woman living in an isolated Nigerian village in the 1960s, as she decides who to marry. Her choices are Lakunle, a schoolteacher, and Baroka, the Bale of the village, meaning its senior authority figure.
How did Baroka get Sidi?
In The Lion and the Jewel, Baroka seduces Sidi by sending out the false rumor that he is impotent, so that she feels safe coming to his room. Once there, he shows his physical strength by flipping a younger man he was wrestling with.
What is the plot summary of The Lion and the Jewel?
The Lion and the Jewel is a play by Wole Soyinka that dramatizes the courtship of a beautiful woman named Sidi by two very different suitors. Sidi has two suitors: Lakunle, a hapless schoolteacher who professes to want a modern marriage, and Baroka, the elderly, polygamist village leader.
How did Baroka seduce Sidi?
In The Lion and the Jewel, Baroka seduces Sidi by sending out the false rumor that he is impotent, so that she feels safe coming to his room. Once there, he shows his physical strength by flipping a younger man he was wrestling with. She finds out that he is not impotent when he rapes her.
How long has it been since the Bale took a wife?
Sidi praises him for his performance. Lakunle runs away, followed by a flock of women. Baroka and the wrestler sit alone. Baroka takes out his book, and muses that it has been five full months since he last took a wife.
Why does Lakunle call bale a fox?
Baroka is the Bale (village chief) of Ilujinle. He’s known as both the “Lion” because of his strength, and the “Fox” because of his cunning tricks. Though Lakunle believes that Baroka is set on preserving his traditional way of life, Baroka believes that progress can be good and necessary.
What subject does Lakunle teach in The Lion and the Jewel?
Lakunle is the village’s school teacher who has an affinity for Western civilization and culture. He wishes to modernize Ilujinle and attempts to marry Sidi without paying the bride-price. He is Baroka’s foil, and his character helps develop the theme of modernity versus traditional African culture.