Fluctuating Relationship between Colonizer and Colonized: A Study of Wole Soyinka’s Madmen and Specialists

Abstract

Abstract This research critically analyzes Wole Soyinka's Madmen and Specialists in the light of how westernized people accept the domination of the westerners. The colonial mentality of the characters is the prime focus of the study. Soyinka captures the picture of the Africans who try to adopt the western technologies. Through the protagonist, Dr. Bero, we observe that how the colonial discourses encourage the westerners to colonize the African people. Being victimized by colonial mentality, the protagonist always thinks that European technology is a source of everything. In a colonial society, there is a binary relationship among the people of different cultures, races and languages. The protagonist misrepresents his own traditions and judges his people and culture from the westerner's eyes. He is victimized and exploited by the western hegemony. Moreover, this research analyzes how the native people have expressed their colonial mentality because they assume that western technologies and culture are superior to the non-western.