essay on tradition vs modernity

Modernity vs. Tradition

What's the difference.

Modernity and Tradition are two contrasting concepts that often coexist in society. Modernity represents progress, innovation, and change, while Tradition embodies customs, beliefs, and practices passed down through generations. While Modernity pushes for advancement and adaptation to new technologies and ideas, Tradition provides stability, continuity, and a sense of identity. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, with Modernity often leading to rapid change and disruption, while Tradition can sometimes hinder progress and limit individual freedom. Finding a balance between these two forces is essential for a society to thrive and evolve while still honoring its roots and heritage.

Further Detail

Introduction.

Modernity and tradition are two contrasting concepts that have shaped societies and cultures throughout history. While tradition represents the customs, beliefs, and practices that have been passed down through generations, modernity signifies the new, innovative, and progressive ideas that challenge the status quo. In this article, we will explore the attributes of modernity and tradition and examine how they influence various aspects of society.

Tradition is often associated with values such as respect for authority, loyalty to family and community, and adherence to established norms and customs. These values provide a sense of stability and continuity in society, ensuring that individuals have a strong foundation to guide their actions and decisions. On the other hand, modernity values individualism, freedom of expression, and the pursuit of personal fulfillment. These values prioritize autonomy and self-determination, encouraging individuals to question traditional beliefs and explore new possibilities.

One of the key attributes of modernity is its embrace of technology and innovation. Modern societies are characterized by rapid advancements in science, technology, and industry, leading to increased efficiency, convenience, and connectivity. From smartphones to artificial intelligence, modern technology has revolutionized the way we live, work, and communicate. In contrast, tradition tends to be more cautious and conservative when it comes to adopting new technologies. Traditional societies may prioritize preserving cultural practices and values over embracing technological advancements.

Social Structure

Tradition often dictates strict social hierarchies and roles based on factors such as gender, age, and social status. These hierarchies provide a sense of order and predictability in society, ensuring that individuals know their place and responsibilities. In contrast, modernity challenges traditional social structures by promoting equality, diversity, and inclusivity. Modern societies strive to create a more egalitarian and meritocratic system where individuals are judged based on their abilities and contributions rather than their background or identity.

Traditional economies are often based on agriculture, craftsmanship, and small-scale production, with a focus on preserving local customs and traditions. These economies tend to be more self-sufficient and sustainable, relying on traditional knowledge and practices to meet the needs of the community. In contrast, modern economies are characterized by globalization, industrialization, and technological innovation. Modern economies are interconnected on a global scale, with a focus on efficiency, growth, and competition in the pursuit of economic prosperity.

Traditionally, education was focused on transmitting cultural knowledge, values, and skills from one generation to the next. Education was often limited to a select few individuals who had access to formal schooling or apprenticeships. In modern societies, education is seen as a fundamental right and a key driver of social mobility and economic development. Modern education systems prioritize universal access to quality education, lifelong learning, and the acquisition of critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Art and Culture

Traditional art and culture are often rooted in religious, mythological, or historical themes, reflecting the values and beliefs of a particular community or society. Traditional art forms such as folk music, dance, and storytelling are passed down through generations as a way of preserving cultural heritage. In contrast, modern art and culture are characterized by experimentation, innovation, and diversity. Modern artists and creators push boundaries, challenge conventions, and explore new forms of expression that reflect the complexities of contemporary society.

In conclusion, modernity and tradition represent two distinct approaches to society and culture, each with its own set of attributes and values. While tradition provides a sense of continuity, stability, and identity, modernity offers innovation, progress, and individual freedom. Both modernity and tradition have shaped the world we live in today, influencing everything from social norms to economic systems to artistic expression. By understanding the attributes of modernity and tradition, we can appreciate the rich tapestry of human experience and the dynamic interplay between the old and the new.

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Tradition and Modernity: Philosophical Reflections on the African Experience

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8 Tradition and Modernity

Published: November 1997
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From the conventional definition of tradition as any cultural behavioral pattern or belief that has been passed on from one generation to another, the author attempts to formulate a new understanding of the word. In the course of this endeavor is the difficulty in delineating tradition from modernity since there are several past components that are carried on to the present. The chapter ignores the perspective that tradition has a natural legitimating structure and the notion that there is an “invented” customary practice. Although the “primitive” rituals and principles have positive features, wholesale acceptance of these is not necessarily true. With rational thinking, individuals in the “modern” or present setting should evaluate the applicability of what have been transmitted unto them prior to reception and application. Valuation of these practices, values and even institutions reflect the community's stand regarding advancement of technology, inherited systems and moral considerations.

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Tradition and Modernity

Tradition and modernity – two terms that one living and growing up in the Mediterranean cannot escape. One of these is mentioned every time a new project is announced by the government or when someone is describing their moral code. As a result they look at the one or the other of the terms in disdain in conversation.

Table of Contents

The aim of this essay is to discuss the complex relationship between tradition and modernity while also conveying that these terms have a different impact on different Mediterranean cases. In order to illustrate the discussion, Caroline Oliver’s(2002) ethnography Killing the Golden Goose? Debates About Tradition in an Andalucían Village and Matt Hodges’ (2002) ethnography Time and Modernity in the Mediterranean: A Case Study from Languedoc, will be used.

Tradition as a product of Modernity

Tradition is the product of modernity. This is because, as Argyrou (2002) conveys, the people of Mediterranean cultures did not view themselves as traditional until they realised that people from Northern Europe held their cultures to be second-rate.

As a reaction to this, Mediterranean societies reinforced the ‘traditional’ aspects of their culture in order to validate and endorse themselves as first-rate (Argyrou, 2002). Argyrou (2002) relates that tradition and modernity have been created and used by Northern Europeans as theoretical devices so as to project themselves as superior in battle.

He continues that this European idea of modernity could have been created with the cultures they considered to be simple in mind and that it spread throughout the world due to Europe’s success in colonising other nations (Argyrou, 2002).

Interestingly, Argyrou (2002) points out that due to the fact that tradition is the reaction to modernity, Mediterranean countries cannot take the full credit for their ‘tradition’ as it was partly constructed by Western influence.

He also states that something is not ‘traditional’ until it is singled out or adopted by a culture to signify it (Argyrou, 2002). In a way, this idea of tradition and/versus modernity also generated a divide of ‘us’ versus ‘them’.

That being said, it follows that the concepts of tradition and modernity depend on one another to have significance.

Tradition and Modernity in Andalucía

This is seen in Oliver’s (2002) ethnography set in a village in Andalucía, Spain. Her fieldwork was set at a time where there was tension between the locals who welcomed new projects for modernization of the village and the migrants who were very opposed to them (Oliver, 2002).

The migrants, who most often hailed from Northern Europe, had relocated to this village for its ‘traditional’ aspects (Oliver, 2002). They claimed that it was a nice change of pace from living in an urban modernized area and that the renovations would destroy the reason they went to live there (Oliver, 2002).

Moreover, Oliver (2002) maintains that these migrants felt that they were standing up for the locals through their anti-modern protests. Therefore, in a sense, the notion or need for tradition was only as significant as the impact that modernity left on individuals (Oliver, 2002).

The reason the locals in Andalucía were open to modernity in their ‘traditional’ village was due to economic advantages (Oliver, 2002). In the past, the Spanish villagers had to carry out manual labour to make ends meet and their lives was characterised by poverty (Oliver, 2002).

As a result, these villagers did not reminisce about the past and they saw these modifications to their village as a means of economic influx and new job opportunities through which they will be able to construct their own path in life in which they will no longer have to suffer. However, not all Mediterranean modern advancements boded well for the financial situation of the locals as can be seen in Hodges (2002).

Tradition and Modernity in the South of France

Hodges’ (2002) ethnography was set in a village of about 500 locals in the South of France. The village had two (formerly) common occupations: fishing and viticulture (Hodges, 2002).

He claims that the village lacked the feeling of a local community since only 1/3 of the locals claimed to be indigenous of the area while the others were only second or third generation inhabitants or new immigrants (Hodges, 2002).

As a result, viticulture and fishing were no longer the most popular occupations as more people were working in the city which was only a short drive away (Hodges, 2002).

During the 1960s and 1970s, the state ordered for a lot of coastal renovations to accommodate for the new influx of tourists and in the 1980s and 1990s the locals began to see some economic revenue (Hodges, 2002). Therefore, the village and its community had gone through a lot of transitions in a short span of time (Hodges, 2002).

The activity of viticulture had been progressing from the 19 th century, however, in the 1950s with the advent of mechanisation the people needed to work in the wine production reduced as new technologies were being implemented (Hodges, 2002).

Naturally this had a negative impact on the people who had been working there as they found themselves working alone on machines which they also needed to figure out how to use (Hodges, 2002). This is further exemplified by one of Hodges (2002) informants, a manager on a wine producing estate.

The estate, Hodges (2002) relates, was one of the two wine producers left in the village and it had not been in the position to acquire new technologies for viticulture due to financial limitations. This did not bother the manager at all, as he related that he had enjoyed making wine like his father did (Hodges, 2002).

However, this changed in 1997 when the estate could no longer stay afloat due to financial pressures (Hodges, 2002). The landlady of the estate decided to join a wine co-operative that made use of advanced technologies, rendering the manager’s old techniques obsolete.

As previously mentioned, fishing was also a means of income. In the 1960s a new technique was adopted in fishing which allowed fisherman to catch more fish and therefore sell more and make more money (Hodges, 2002). This was a shift from the previous mentality of production, as older fisherman were not after working to earn more than they need (Hodges, 2002).

Fishing provided a stable and lucrative income since fisherman also had the option of selling to other nearby villages (Hodges, 2002). However, in time, due to overfishing, especially that of younger eels, there was a lack in the supply of fish and therefore they were now facing a different problem (Hodges, 2002). It is therefore evident that in the case of Languedoc the effects of modernity have not been as advantageous for the locals as in Spain.

Hodges (2002) also comments on the social reproduction of values. He states that many young people no longer sought instruction from their parents on how they should live their life as they did not deem the experiences of the older generation to be relevant to theirs (Hodges, 2002). As a result the youth did not put much emphasis on the reproduction of ‘tradition’ and had a different outlook to that of the older generation (Hodges, 2002).

A Comparison of the Ethnographies

In contrast to this, Oliver (2002) conveys how in the Andalusian village modernity simply altered ‘traditional’ ways but did not abolish them. She conveys how the last few decades saw economic growth in the village and the locals have been ambitious in placing themselves and their families in a better position (Oliver, 2002).

Similarly to Hodges (2002) article, she also conveys that the locals had adopted mass consumption, which she refers to as “a practice almost emblematic of modernity itself” (Oliver, 2002, pp. 181).

In Andalucía, locals invested in their families especially when it came to certain religious occasions like weddings and baptisms. Oliver (2002) relates, that some of these spectacles were due to the desire to keep up appearances which was of great importance in the village (echoing the idea the Mediterranean honour and shame paradigm).

This is where, for Oliver (2002), the fabricated divide between ‘tradition’ and ‘modernity’ shows its complexity since some values are not left in the past but shifted to fit into the modern present.

The Impact of Tourism

The feature that benefits the Mediterranean most among all the debates that come with modernity and tradition, is tourism. More specifically heritage tourism which can be seen in both of the mentioned cases.

Hodges (2002) reflects on how images are printed to portray Languedoc as a place of nostalgia in order to attract tourists interested in history. In the villages they also catered to these tourists by showcasing artisanal work and other practices that characterised a ‘traditional’ village (Hodges, 2002).

The search for heritage is not only for tourists however, Hodges (2002) relates. He conveyed that the indigenous community looked at it as a means through which they could connect while long-term inhabitants it was the desire to be part of a “shared history” (pp. 211) or simply a keen interest in history (Hodges, 2002).

Notably, he points out that this heritage for some may also serve as reassurance against the uncertainties and anxieties of the future. In the Andalusian village, the authorities also went a step further and opened a public swimming pool and sports stadium among other facilities in order to further accommodate tourists (Oliver, 2002).

Conclusion on Tradition and Modernity

This shows how ‘tradition’ is not only a concept or reaction to modernity but also an economic driving force by attracting tourists. Oliver (2002) has this to say about the matter: “tradition becomes manifested within, entangled with, or even produced by modernity itself” (pp. 173).

Interestingly, Oliver (2002) points out how ‘traditional’ parades and feasts have become even more elaborate and fun than they ever were in the past in order to gain tourists.

Both Hodges’ (2002) and Oliver’s (2002) ethnographies are cases in which the Mediterranean villages were experiencing the consequences of modernity. Contrary to what one might expect, whilst keeping in mind that these were only two of many cases, the locals of both villages were mostly concerned with the situation regarding economic growth rather than the destruction or the reinforcing of tradition.

This makes one ponder if the concept of ‘tradition’ has been highly romanticized. It is also interesting to note that while Northern European societies are the ones who implemented the idea of ‘modernity’, they are the ones that seek it the most as in Oliver (2002). This makes the idea of modernity even more dimensional.

In conclusion, there is no doubt that the relationship between traditional and modernity is complex. Whist seemingly being antonyms and supposedly reflecting two different time periods, it seems that both were created with the advent of the other.

The Mediterranean is often characterised by the label ‘traditional’ which is why it is an ideal location from which this concept can be examined. Due to its intricacies and the fact that every society is different, it is clear that when it comes to the case of tradition and modernity each case needs to be analysed independently in order to truly grasp its effect on a society as in the cases of Hodges (2002) and Oliver (2002).

Bibliography

Argyrou, V., 2002. Tradition, Modernity and European Hegemony in the Mediterranean. Journal of Mediterranean Studies . Malta: Mediterranean Institute, University of Malta, 12 (1), pp. 23-42. URL accessed 07/06/2021: *Tradition, Modernity and European Hegemony in the Mediterranean (um.edu.mt)

Hodges, M., 2002. Time and Modernity in the Mediterranean: A Case Study from Languedoc. Journal of Mediterranean Studies . Malta: Mediterranean Institute, University of Malta, 12 (1), pp. 191-221. URL accessed 07/06/2021: *Time and Modernity in the Mediterranean: A Case Study from Languedoc (um.edu.mt)

Oliver, C., 2002. Killing the Golden Goose? Debates About Tradition in an Andalucían Village. Journal of Mediterranean Studies . Malta: Mediterranean Institute, University of Malta, 12 (1), pp. 169-189. URL accessed 07/06/2021: *Killing the Golden Goose? Debates About Tradition in an Andalucían Village (um.edu.mt)

Panopoulos, P., 1996. Revitalizing the Past, Contextualizing the Present: Cultural Responses to the Tradition of Improvised Singing in Aegean Greece. Journal of Mediterranean Studies . Malta: Mediterranean Institute, University of Malta, 6 (10), pp. 56 -69. URL accessed 08/06/2021: *Revitalizing the Past, Contextualizing the Present: Cultural Responses to the Tradition of Improvised Singing in Aegean Greece (um.edu.mt)

Welz, G., 2000. Multiple Modernities and Reflexive Traditionalisation: A Mediterranean Case Study. Ethnologia Europaea . Amsterdam: SIEF, 30, pp. 5-14. URL accessed 07/06/2021: *Multiple_Modernities_and_Reflexive_Traditionalisat.pdf

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The Lion and the Jewel

Wole soyinka, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

The Lion and the Jewel was written and first performed the year before Nigeria was granted its independence from Great Britain, and the script was published two years after independence. As such, one of the primary conflicts of the play pits traditional Yoruba customs against a western conception of progress and modernity, as represented by the conflict between Baroka and Lakunle for Sidi 's hand in marriage.

Lakunle represents the modern Nigerian man. He wears western clothing, has been educated in a presumably British school, and wants to turn his village into a modern paradise like the city of Lagos. Lakunle doesn't just admire and idolize western society; he actively and loudly despises the traditional customs of his village and the people who support them. This is best illustrated by Lakunle's refusal to pay Sidi's bride price. Sidi indicates that she'd marry Lakunle any time if he'd only pay the price and observe local custom. Lakunle's refusal shows that it's more important to him to convert Sidi to his way of thinking and turn her into a "modern wife" than it is for him to marry her in the first place.

For much of the play, other characters describe Baroka as being directly opposed to modernity and extremely concerned with preserving his village's traditional way of life. Lakunle, in particular, finds Baroka's lifestyle abhorrent. He describes how Baroka paid off a surveyor to not route train tracks through the outskirts of Ilujinle, thereby robbing the village of a link to the modern world that would modernize the village. However, when Baroka himself speaks, it becomes apparent that he doesn't actually hate modernity or progress. While he obviously delights in the joys and customs of village life, when it comes to modernity he simply hates having it forced upon him. He sees more value in bringing modern customs to the village on his own terms. For example, he argues that creating a postal system for the village will begin to bring it into the modern world without entirely upending the village's way of life. Further, when he does talk about modern ideas that were forced upon him, such as his servants forming a union and taking Sundays off, his tone is resigned rather than angry—he sees it as inevitable and annoying, but not bad.

The competition between Baroka and Lakunle for Sidi’s hand in marriage brings the conflict between tradition and modernity to life. Baroka wishes to add Sidi to his harem of wives, while Lakunle dreams of having one wife who, in theory at least, is his equal. Both men promise Sidi a different version of power and fulfillment. When Baroka dies, Sidi will become the head wife of the new Bale, a position that would make her one of the most powerful women in the village. Lakunle, on the other hand, offers Sidi the possibility of an equal partnership in which she's not required to serve her husband as is traditional. However, the way Lakunle talks to and about Sidi indicates that agreeing to marry Lakunle and embracing modernity won't necessarily be better for her, as modern science provides Lakunle specious evidence that women are weaker and less intelligent than men. Sidi recognizes that Lakunle's idea of modernity might not improve her life; in fact, it might mean that she would have less power and fewer rights than she would have in a traditional marriage.

Baroka's actions (and the fact that he triumphs in the fight for Sidi's hand) suggest that while Lakunle may be right that Ilujinle will indeed need to join the modern world, modernization and the outright rejection of local custom simply for the sake of doing so are foolish goals that benefit nobody. Instead, Baroka's triumph suggests that progress must be made when and where it truly benefits the village and its inhabitants.

Tradition vs. Modernity ThemeTracker

Tradition vs. Modernity Quotes in The Lion and the Jewel

Lakunle: You could wear something. Most modest women do. But you, no. You must run around naked in the streets. Does it not worry you... the bad names, The lewd jokes, the tongue-licking noises Which girls, uncovered like you, Draw after them? Sidi: ...Is it Sidi who makes the men choke In their cups, or you, with your big loud words And no meaning?

For that, what is a jewel to pigs? If now I am misunderstood by you And your race of savages, I rise above taunts And remain unruffled.

Well go there. Go to these places where Women would understand you If you told them of your plans with which You oppress me daily.

Wasted! Wasted! Sidi, my heart Bursts into flowers with my love. But you, you and the dead of this village Trample it with feet of ignorance.

A savage custom, barbaric, out-dated, Rejected, denounced, accursed, Excommunicated, archaic, degrading, Humiliating, unspeakable, redundant. Retrogressive, remarkable, unpalatable.

Ignorant girl, can you not understand? To pay the price would be To buy a heifer off the market stall.

Pride, Vanity, and the Power of Images Theme Icon

It's never any use. Bush-girl you are, bush-girl you'll always be. Uncivilized and primitive—bush-girl!

You are dressed like him You look like him You speak his tongue You think like him You're just as clumsy In your Lagos ways— You'll do for him!

Voluptuous beast! He loves this life too well To bear to part from it. And motor roads And railways would do just that, forcing Civilization at his door.

For though you're nearly seventy, Your mind is simple and unformed. Have you no shame that at your age, You neither read nor write nor think?

Ah, I forget. This is the price I pay Once every week, for being progressive. Prompted by the school teacher, my servants Were prevailed upon to form something they call The Palace Workers' Union. And in keeping With the habits—I am told—of modern towns, This is their day off.

I do not hate progress, only its nature Which makes all roofs and faces look the same.

The old must flow into the new, Sidi, Not blind itself or stand foolishly Apart. A girl like you must inherit Miracles which age alone reveals.

Dear Sidi, we shall forget the past. This great misfortune touches not The treasury of my love. But you will agree, it is only fair That we forget the bride-price totally Since you no longer can be called a maid.

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Tradition vs. Modernity: Wole Soyinka's The Lion and the Jewel

Related Papers

Culture and Literature: Convergence and Divergence

Dr.Jeya Santhi.V, PGDELT, Ph.D., PGCTE.

Wole Soyinka (Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka), Africa’s most distinguished playwright, was a Nobel Prize winner for his accomplishment in literature. He writes primarily for Nigerian audience, and his writings may be best appreciated with the region’s politics and religion. He blends modern European dramatic form with such African elements as Yoruba tribal myth, folklore, dance, and music. His views are artistic hybrids of mixed Yoruba and European parentage, blending African themes, imagery and performance, idioms with Western techniques and stylistic influences. One of the most predominant themes of commonwealth Literature is the interaction between the forces of tradition and modernity. The meeting of East and West is a normal off shoot of the intermingling of culture due to the effect of colonization. His The Lion and the Jewel explores the value of traditional Yoruba ways and European innovations. This paper is an attempt to highlight the change in the lives of the people when civilization erupts into their lives as well as their resistance to modernization and colonization. Key words: Yoruba tribal myth, European innovations, resistance to modernization and colonization, traditional Yoruba ways

Martin Ogbonnaya

International Refereed Research Journal ■ w ww ww w. .r re es se ea ar rc ch he er rs sw wo or rl ld d. .c co om m ABSTRACT Wole Soyinka is a renowned Nigerian dramatist, who was awarded Nobel Prize in 1986, for his accomplishment in the field of literature. He is a prolific writer and versatile genius of Africa. His works are based on society, culture, tradition and politics of Africa. The dramatic environment that Soyinka creates has been enriched with variegated realistic scenes portraying African life very exactly and fashions and characters holding a mirror up to nature and presenting life as it is. The traditions and customs of Yoruba are typically presented in the play. Some of the customs like, bride-price, polygamy, wife wooing girls for her husband, are emphasised much and challenged these outdated customs and traditions. Apart from that, the playwright sheds light on some of the indigenous customs like, marriage, songs, dance, mimes, etc. Songs, dance and mimes are the major components in the play. Soyinka has made use of these elements to forward the action of the play. Through the play, playwright brings out the native tradition, livelihood of the people, politics, moreover, role of women is emphasised much.

Lorelly Cocom

Dr. Hussain A H M E D Liton

IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science

Amechi Akwanya

Khaleel Rahman

Abstract Khaleelul Rahman KP Nature as Culture; The Afro- Centric Paradigm in Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel Nature is the aboriginal beliefs, customs and tradition of a particular ethnic group. Whereas culture is the external forces that try to alter the nature of a particular community. Nature of a society is its most valuable social possession. Literature protects cultures. A good number of literary works embodies the passions and trends of the land from which it sprouted. The trend of a post colonial society is naturally to retrieve its pantheon of traditional norms lost by the colonial invasions. Wole Soyinka and all other major literati of the African continent try to restore the richness of their heritage through their works. This dissertation is meant at reading of Soyinka’s plays especially The Lion and the Jewel from an Afro-Centric paradigm in an Introduction followed by three chapters and a Conclusion. Introduction : Soyinka can be regarded as the best writer of Africanness. He explores the cultural ruptures in the Yoruba society affected by various colonial conquests. His themes are mainly the pathetic condition of African society. Though as Chinua Achebe, Soyinka does not counter the ‘culture’ directly, he works as a prophet of Africa. He preaches the affluence of African mythology and culture deliberately. His works are not a mere attacks but they are retaliations against the cultural lose of his native country. Chapter I : Yoruba is the society where all the plays of Soyinka are set in. He portrays the Yoruba and its people as it is the prototype of Africa. It embraces typical features of a traditional African village. Yoruba people are mostly inhabited in the village of Ilunjile. Ogun and Oyo are the chief deities of the villagers. They depend gods now and then. In the play he brings out many of the regional and clannish terminologies and events prevalent in the village. Chapter II : The Lion and the Jewel is a cultural work of art. It emphasises on the central character, Sidi. She chooses everything African and nothing western. Soyinka employs a chance for an analogy between the self of Africa and the colonial self. Lakunle, a primary school teacher of the village, Ilunjile, represents the western culture. Sidi and the Bale Baroka are obviously the epitome of Africanness. The two sides fetch instability in the life a common man. Chapter III: The Lion and the Jewel is a discussion of the bifurcated selves of the natives of Africa. Other plays are also expressions of African trends and culture. The Trail of Brother Jero tells the religious and social tension of an African hamlet. Death and the Kings’s Horseman involves the African tribal superstitions that clash with the modern notions of an officer. A Dance of the Forest is an attempt to rework the Euripides’s play Alcestis , in which Soyinka equates the significance of the Greek god Dionysus with Yoruba god Ogun. Again in The Swamp Dwellers and in The Road Soyinka tells of the post colonial trauma and African folk tradition respectively. Conclusion: Soyinka is a committed post colonial writer against the Euro-centric hysteria in the post colonial countries especially Africa. He exhorts each African to rescue their nature from the pollution of the West.

Temitope Adekunle

This research attempts to examine how Wole Soyinka's The Lion and the Jewel relates to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (that languages have special impacts on native speakers, in such a way that they are confined to express their beliefs and concepts by means of certain exclusive and restricted styles that are unlike those exhibited by speakers of other different languages (3); and how it translates in the context of contemporary the Yoruba society. A comprehensive study of the use of language and cultural tenets used in the book, (as well as the use of questionnaires), is studied to ascertain the context, culture, and language of the dramatic text so as to arrive at conclusions on the validity of the hypothesis, and to make recommendations as to different views which might not fully communicate the author's intended cultural nuances to participants that comprise the native language speakers of the language community portrayed in the dramatic text (Yoruba language). This attempt ...

International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature

adaoma igwedibia

There would be no communication, business transactions or propagation of culture and beliefs but for the existence of language. Language is the most important tool for communication. The utterances human beings make are being governed by situation, event or occurrences at a given point in time. Meaning is derived based on the context in which the utterances occur and this is the essence of pragmatics. This paper seeks to carry out an analysis of some extracts in Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel using the relevance theory in pragmatics. Relevance theory as propounded by Sperber and Wilson (1986) claims to provide a logical and cognitive account of relevance in communication. The theory tends to explain communication that takes into account implicit inference. It argues that the hearer or reader will search for meaning in any given communication situation and having found meaning that fits his expectation of relevance meaning, he will stop processing. This is in effect is what th...

Mustafa KARA

Feminism, as a social and political phenomenon, has been controversial in all terms, for there are various types of it and each type is associated with a certain group of people, culture, or society. While the first wave and second wave feminism types are totally Eurocentric and are concerned with the emancipation of the white middle class women in Europe and in the USA, the third wave feminism has based its arguments on the emancipation of the women in the Third World countries since they are abused twice as much as those in the First World countries by the political and patriarchal system, which, apparently, is an unstraightforward definition of double colonization. It would not be right to underestimate the discrimination which women are exposed to in the First World countries, because they are also ill-treated by the system through double standards which are inclusive of womanhood, working conditions, body and sexuality, motherhood, wifehood, and so on. However, women in the Third World countries are overwhelmed both by these components and by the white way of the patriarchal system, which is established by the white colonizers and practiced by the black people in these countries. Third World countries have always been attractive for the Europeans and for the Americans since there are abundant resources to be exploited, which have contributed to the welfare of the First World countries. Colonization has resulted in assimilation of the people in the Third World countries; while the black patriarchal system has found a new definition through whitish way of life; women have suffered from both colonialism and the new patriarchal system, which is why they have been overwhelmed twice as much as the white middle class women in Europe and in the USA. In the light of these arguments, this article aims to analyse Wole Soyinka’s play, The Lion and the Jewel, with reference to Third World feminism, which is a harsh protest against the colonial political design on the underdeveloped countries. As a matter of fact, Soyinka has been critical of both the colonizers and the colonized people in the Third World countries since he believes that while the colonizers are liable to benefit from the virgin and wealthy sources of the colonized territories, the colonized are entrapped in their dreams of the manipulations of welfare, modernization and the Westernization processes, which are believed to have been brought by the colonizers who pretend to be well-intentioned. The play is considerably significant for the analysis of the Third World feminist theory, for it is a life-like and concrete exemplification of cultural differences between the Western countries and Nigeria. Besides, the vicious circle which encompasses the Third World women within gender roles and the patriarchal system is clearly emphasized by Soyinka in a very straightforward and realistic way. Key Words: Third World Feminism, Gender Discrimination, Patriarchal Society, Gender Roles, Wole Soyinka, The Lion and the Jewel.

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Traditional Society

Modern society, bibliography.

Essay on My Ideal Society. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.bartleby.com/essay/My-Ideal-Society-F3J3G6GYTC.
Retrieved from https://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/engl_258/Lecture Notes/modernism_vs_postmodernism.htm.

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