TOPIC: Who is , Elesin Oba or Olunde? Please give reasons for your answer in a carefully written essay. Please use “Being, the Will, and the Semantics of Death” by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (Criticism 155-164) and “Tragedy, Mimicry, and the African World” by Olakunle George (Criticism 207-222) in your essay. The Real Tragic Hero Of The Nation
The drama “Death and the King’s Horseman” written by Wole Soyinka tells a story that relates to the burial of the dead king of the Oyo, which is held by the ancient Yoruba in Africa. According to the tradition of the Yoruba, after thirty-day of the king’s death, his horseman Elesin must commit suicide in the rite in order to accompany the king passing through the holy passage towards
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That is the most contrasting concept under a common society. For some degree, it is reliable that this colonial factor is catalytic merely, but leading to the final conclusion, it is an indispensable element which embodies the spirit of resisting of Yoruba through their metaphysics against the ideology control from the western. The traditional Yoruba people believe in their own collective culture and fight against the conflict western perception unswervingly. Accounted for this, Elesin’s fail becomes more unacceptable for the sake of the racial conscious, in other words, it is a kind of betraying of the public towards his fail and hesitation. This insults in his miserable condition ultimately-to be humiliated and despised by the public.
On the other hand, the main part of Elesin’s tragic fate originates from his own flaws. Elesin is just an ordinary person who has the pursuit of various things such as food and wine, dance and women. However, everyone believes that Elesin is the hero born with his mission to lead them peace and also with no selfish motives. When he is in the market with women and Praise-singer, he indicates that the others compare his eyes into a hawk in perpetual hunger. “Split an iroko tree in two, hide a woman’s beauty in its heartwood and seal it up again-Elesin, journeying by, would make his camp beside that tree of all the shades in the forest.”(14) This is a vivid description of Elesin’s desire of the living world. Even in the farewell, he
Chinua Achebe was educated in the West, though he hails from an African tribe. His exposure to both African and Western thinking gives him a unique perspective on the colonization of Africa, which is argued to be barbaric by some, but beneficial and necessary by others. In “Things Fall Apart,” Achebe perspective comes through as he masterfully describes a pre-colonization African tribe, and how colonization percolated through it. His authentic accounts of the positives and negatives of both tribal society and colonization leave the reader to answer the question of whether imperialism was morally justifiable or not.
Traditionally, women have been known as the less dominant sex. They have been stereotyped as being only housewives and bearers of the children. Many interesting characters in literature are conceived from the tension women have faced with men. This tension is derived from men; society, in general; and within a woman herself. Kate Chopin‘s short story, “The Story of an Hour”, focus on a woman’s dilemma near the turn of the 19th century. Contradicting the “normal” or sad assumption of death, “The Story of an Hour” illustrates the significance of death representing freedom. The Story narrates about an hour of Louise Mallard’s life, as she tries to understand, and deal with her feelings of her husbands death.
Day after day, year after year he said nothing of his affection. “I am in love with you,” he whispered to the headstone before him. A tear trickled down his wrinkled cheek, and a muffled sob escaped him. He covered his face with his free hand while he clutched the dozen, red roses tighter with the other. As dusk drew near and wrapped her arms around the land, fireflies drifted out of wherever they hide during the hours of the day. The moon began to glow behind the distant horizon, and the first star appeared suddenly in the middle of the sky, but the man took no notice. He gently laid the roses on the ground in front of him and for the thousandth time, reread the simple words on the stone. “Marie Sutton,” it read, “1920-1980”. No one had ever known of any relatives, and she had died penniless, forcing the town to pay for the cost of her burial. After the slightly awkward funeral, someone had placed a tiny
In many, a tragedy do the tragic heroes have flaws that lead themselves to their own demise. The main character always acts exactly on his or her own emotions; thus aiding their tragic flaw and leading to their own demise without giving them the time to stop the repercussions of their emotion driven actions. In the play “Antigone” by Sophocles many of the characters are simply too headstrong and passionate about their beliefs to realize that they would greatly regret the decisions they are making. All of the characters share this characteristic; it is alluded to in the play that this is caused by their blood relation to Oedipus and how they are too cursed.
Elesin is supposed to commit spiritual suicide by means of dance and music with the assistance of the Praise Singer, the drummers and the women who sing a dirge. Elesin is going to undergo a trance in which he will quietly kill himself. The Praise Singer helps him on:
Hannah Sousa H English 10 Ms. Murphy 10/30/15 Second Quarter Essay In the late 1800’s, the Igbo society was located in Nigeria. This was the time period of Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart.
In Shakespeare's Henry IV Part One, the characters' many different conceptions of honor govern how they respond to situations. Each character's conception of honor has a great impact on the character's standing after the play. For instance, Falstaff survived because he dishonorably faked his own death, and his untrue claim that he was the one who killed Hotspur may get him a title and land. On the other hand, Hotspur lies dead after losing a duel for honor. Hotspur, who is in many ways the ideal man by the standards of his time, is killed by his lust for honor. In creating Hotspur, Shakespeare has created a variation on the tragic hero of other works: the stubborn tragic hero, who, dying
In his play, Death and the King's Horseman, Wole Soyinka would have us examine every clash and conflict, save for the one involving culture. Certainly this may seem the most obvious part of the play, but we would do the general understanding of Death a disservice if we ignored one of the central conflicts in the play. Every element of the play is placed in terms of two extremes, and the cultures must be considered one of those pairs. Suicide is no exception to this examination; it must be seen in the conflicting lights that Soyinka gives us: British vs. Yoruban, physical vs. metaphysical, personal vs. social; and an expression of failure vs. a form of redemption. In examining how the play
Every culture has its own belief systems, values, and traditions that are important and related to the history of its people. The Yoruban Culture is one that is close to nature and believes that life, death, and ancestry are closely linked. The concept of life, death, and family plays a big role in the play Death of the King’s Horsemen, by Wole Soyinka. It starts when the king dies and Elesin Oba has to sacrifice himself to fulfill his duties as the king’s horseman. The Pilkings, a European family living in Africa, are ignorant of the Yoruban cultural practices. Due to their ignorance, Elesin is kept alive, and instead his son, Olunde, dies. The indigenous tribe failed to maintain their values, thus weakening their cultural identity. Through the failure to maintain the tribe’s cultural identity, Soyinka proves that some cultures might not understand the traditions from other cultures because not everyone knows the importance of maintaining cultural values
The title itself already makes reference to a Nigerian ritual in which the horseman of a king must kill himself after the death of the king (McNulty, 2011:2). The biggest event of cultural misunderstanding is evident in Act II when the British Officer, Pilkings, orders that Elesin Oba (the horseman) be arrested. Joseph (the stableboy) tells the Pilkingses how it is tradition for the king to be burried a month after his death but, before he can be burried, his dog, his steed and his horseman must die to be able to accompany him to heaven. For long this tradition is questioned and contested by the Pilkingses because how can something like that make sense to anybody? It is only once Olunde shows up in Act IV that the playwright changes the context. Olunde compares the suicide of the horseman to the mass killing of soldiers. He judges the Western customs of war in the same way the Westerners criticized his traditions and people. And when Simon manages to stop Elesin from killing himself, Olunde turns his back on his father at first, after which all the people from the market insults Elesin. His failure in the task is seen as a weak will.
Elesin begs Olunde to acknowledge him but in vain; Olunde, who has respected his tradition, disowns his father. It is noteworthy that initially Elesin disowned Olunde because of abandoning his tradition and leaving for England. The situation is reversed; ' ' Olunde now casts off his father who has failed in the central duty and meaning of his life ' ' ( Plastow, ' 'Notes ' ' 88 ). Olunde, who has realized the greatness of his culture, sticks firmly to it and decides to take his father 's place by committing the ritual suicide so as
Death and the King’s Horseman by Wole Soyinka establishes a strong sense of community from the beginning of the play. Elesin, the horseman, is going to commit a ritualistic suicide in order to lead the king into the afterlife. According to Yoruban culture the entire world is interconnected and every action has an impact on everything. This is why the entire community is very attentive to the ritual that is going to happen. Elesin’s suicide is a communal act not a personal one. His actions will affect everyone, dead or alive, which demonstrates how connected the community is. In the story, we are continuously shown that the colonist see suicide as a personal experience and cannot understand the community’s ritual. This is clearly shown when Olunde tells Jane Pilkings, “you have no respect for what you do not understand” (Soyinka, Wole). Olunde is also a clear representation of a strong sense of community within the play because he has studied in England, but maintains his
This paper reflects the novel “Things Fall Apart” written by Chinua Achebe in 1958. Achebe gives an overview of pre-colonialism and post-colonialism on Igbo, detailing how local traditions and cultural practices can “fall apart” in some scenarios through some introduced, externally created hassles elevated because of colonization. The protagonist named Okonkwo mentioned in the story is a proof showing the lifestyle of the tribe. My main objective and focus is to lay emphasis on Africa specifically the Igbo society, before and after the arrival of the Europeans in Umuofia community; the results of their arrival concerning Igbo culture, thus leading to the clash of cultures between the two categories. I will also draw on post-colonialism with respect to globalization.
Elesin Oba, a man of “enormous vitality,” was the chief horseman of the dead king. As the king’s companion, Elesin enjoyed a luxurious life of rich food and fine clothing, the rewards of a man of his position. He enjoyed that life, and now that the king has been dead for a month and is ready for burial Elesin is expected to complete the horseman’s duty and commit ritual suicide. The play opens on the evening of Elesin’s last day of life; at midnight he will die. He says repeatedly that he is ready to give his life, and he knows the importance of fulfilling his responsibility. But Elesin, well known for his many sexual conquests, sees a young woman of great beauty and demands that he be allowed to take
In order to keep balance and harmony in Yoruba world, some pre-eminent people, usually leaders or rulers have to sacrifice themselves on behalf of the community. This notion is reflected in Death and the King 's Horseman; Elesin Oba, the King 's Horseman, who has been extremely honoured as a great chief as well as the King 's close friend, has to join the dead king in his journey to the world of the ancestors; by so doing, he brings the world of gods and ancestors closer to that of the living. Consequently, he maintains balance and harmony in the Yoruba world and thus makes for its well-being. Elesin adopts all Yoruba beliefs and has faith in all its values and duties. He is ' 'the embodiment of the culture of his people and as such he has an awful responsibility. It is quite simply that on him depends the future, on him depends the existence itself ' ' (Bowman 89). Elesin has to play the heroic role played by Ogun in order to bridge the gap between man and the gods. He has to cross the dangerous abyss between the world of the living and that of the ancestors but this demands a strong will as that of Ogun. Elesin has the desire to make this journey but his attachment to worldly pleasures damages his will; his love of women comes in the way of fulfilling his ' ' sacred duty. ' '