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The Lion and the jewel [Book Review]

The Lion and the Jewel is, by all means, an evergreen classic which holds the fondness of readers.

The lion and the jewel

Sidi is the village belle, pretty and wanted by Lakunle, who is a teacher taken by Western ideals and believe in cultures such as eating with cutlery, kissing and bogus dressing fascinated with an elaborate vocabulary of the English Language.

Sidi, though impressed with the flamboyance, she does not understand it. A classic case was when she was carrying water on her head and Lakunle offers to help Sidi which she declines as it is not the place of a man to carry water.

Still, Sidi is a vain woman who is enjoying the attention showered on her by Lakunle. He even shows her a magazine filled with her pictures. He paints a picture for Sidi in which she sees herself with beauty powerful enough to conquer kings. She is clearly smitten with affection for Lakunle.

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Lakunle loves Sidi dearly but considers it archaic to pay a bride price as it means, to him, objectifying a woman. Sidi does not understand Lakunle’s logic no matter how much he explains but continues to revel in the attention from him.

Baroka, an elderly chief is also besotted with having Sidi as his wife. He is old fashioned deeply embedded in the traditions of their culture. He is portrayed as the crude version of Lakunle. He takes pride in his virility which he boasts about to Sidi in hopes that she will find him attractive.

He sends his wife, Sadiku, to go after Sidi on his behalf and bring her home as a wife. Sidi blatantly refused, because she felt Baroka was too old for her. This made Sadiku very happy; happy enough for a momentary celebration.

Baroka’s pride was hurt and decided to go in person to woo Sidi, before long he read her for what she liked and then appealed to Sidi’s mundane desires. He promised her fortune and fame which crumbled the walls of defense she built against Baroka.

She smiled, then placed her head on his shoulder, consequently losing her virginity to him.

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Lakunle and Sadiku meet Sidi crying over the loss of her virginity. This makes Lakunle cross but still promised to marry her. Sidi, upset and helpless, decided to pack to her husband’s house. Lakunle then worried about being rushed for an impromptu wedding.

To this he laments - "The very spirits of the partial air have all conspired to blow me, willy-nilly down the slippery slope of grim matrimony" only to find to his surprise that Sidi was moving into Baroka’s house as his wife. Lakunle is disappointed but quickly follows the next hot belle in the quest for romance.

Lion and the Jewel was first performed in 1959. This playwright received critical acclaims from renowned publications including ‘The Times Literary Supplement’. Since then the play has been featured on radio dramas and given as a recommended text for high schoolers who study literature.

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Firstly, it is obvious that most people who claim to be modern or civilized actually do not understand the fundamentals of things. Like Lakunle for example, believed that traditional bride price is a thing that objectifies the woman into a property of the man; and with that notion, the opportunity of having Sidi as a wife was never utilized.

As a matter of fact, it is not wrong to affirm that foolishness has been instilled into the consciousness of most Africans with the crusade of modernization. And obviously, Lakunle represents one of those.

Secondly, the misfortune that is most likely to embrace those that places vanity before integrity was portrayed. And this one here is with regards to Sidi.

Undoubtedly, if not for the fact that Sidi’s vanity was played on, she wouldn't have been a victim of rape. If integrity was actually one of those principles guarding the sanctum of her mind, she would have repelled the enticement of Baroka. However, this was not the case.

Lastly, it was made known to understand that due to circumstances, the majority of people don’t usually end up with their intended. And disappointment often drives them into the arms of another. As this was the case with both Lakunle and Sidi.

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In the final analysis, the Lion and the Jewel is, by all means, an evergreen classic which holds the fondness of readers and lovers of literature as one of the most popular works of Wole Soyinka.

Indeed, the lion and the jewel is a unique expression of art.

I rate 'The Lion and the Jewel' by Wole Soyinka 8/10. It is one of Africa's most popular work of literature.

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