MARXISM AND LITERATURE: AN INTERPRETATION OF OSOFISAN’S MOROUNTODUN, ROTIMI’S HOPES OF THE LIVING DEAD AND SOYINKA’S THE BEATIFICATION OF AREA BOY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title page……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. i
Certification………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ii
Dedication…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. iii
Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………………………………. iv
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. v
Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………………………………….. vi
Background to the Study……………………………………………………………………………….. 1
Aims and Objective of the Study……………………………………………………………………. 5
Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………………………………. 6
Research Questions………………………………………………………………………………………. 7
Scope and Limitation of the Study…………………………………………………………………. 7
Significance of the Study………………………………………………………………………………. 7
Research Methodology………………………………………………………………………………….. 8
Organization of the Study……………………………………………………………………………… 8
Literature Review………………………………………………………………………………………… 9
Marxism as a Literary Thought……………………………………………………………………… 9
Review of Class System through the Marxist Perspective…………………………………. 11
Marxism, Drama and African Playwrights…………………………………………………….. 14
The Biography of Ola Rotimi……………………………………………………………………….. 20
Early Life and Theatrical Career…………………………………………………………………… 20
The Reality of the Living, but Dead………………………………………………………………. 21
Ola Rotimi‟s Characters as a Replica of Social Reality…………………………………….. 23
Marxist Alternative Society…………………………………………………………………………… 26
History in the Context of Drama……………………………………………………………………. 27
Significance of the Medically Challenged in HLD……………………………………………. 29
Satirical Depiction of Nigeria‟s Political Disability in HLD………………………………. 31
Motif of the Medically Challenged in Hopes of the Living Dead………………………… 34
Theme of Social Alienation…………………………………………………………………………… 34
Theme of Hope…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 35
Critical analysis of Soyinka‟s of The Beatification of Area Boy………………………… 36
Biography of Wole Soyinka…………………………………………………………………………. 36
The Treatment of the Military in Soyinka‟s The Beatification of Area Boy………… 37
Themes in The Beatification of Area Boy……………………………………………………….. 41
Theme of failed Military Leadership……………………………………………………………… 41
Class Stratification……………………………………………………………………………………… 46
Oppression, Exploitation………………………………………………………………………………. 47
Moral Decadence, Proletariat Revolution………………………………………………………. 48
Religious Concerns, Economic Mortality……………………………………………………….. 49
Critical Analysis of Osofisan‟s Morountodun…………………………………………………. 50
Biography of Femi Osofisan……………………………………………………………………….. 51
Historical Context in Morountodun……………………………………………………………….. 53
Fusion of Myth and History in Morountodun………………………………………………….. 57
Osofisan‟s Marxian Revolutionary Philosophy in Morountodun……………………….. 58
The Disillusionment of Osofisan with Marxist Ideals in Morountodun………………. 61
CHAPTER SIX
Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 68
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………… 68
Work Cited………………………………………………………………………………………………… 71
CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
It is essential to start this research by examining the brief historical account of radical theatre in Nigeria, its patterns and trends, in order to determine the various influences it had on the selected African playwrights‟ works and ideologies. The ideological awareness that has permeated some academic disciplines, particularly the social sciences and the humanities in Nigeria since the civil war (1967-1970) has opened up new vistas in the study and practice of theatre. Since the civil war,
MARXISM AND LITERATURE: AN INTERPRETATION OF OSOFISAN’S MOROUNTODUN, ROTIMI’S HOPES OF THE LIVING DEAD AND SOYINKA’S THE BEATIFICATION OF AREA BOY
