Eman as Nietzsche's superman in Soyinka's The strong breed
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Authors
Pandey, Ranju
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Department of English
Abstract
The present paper analyzes an African drama entitled The Strong Breed authored by prominent African dramatist, Wole Soyinka. It argues that Soyinka’s protagonist, Eman embodies Nietzschean concept of ‘will to power’ in order to challenge the contradictions and hypocrisy prevalent in the post-independent Nigerian society. It further explores how Soyinka frames his central character as a tragic optimist who fights constantly in the face of harsh circumstances and brings about a change in Nigerian cultural system. Soyinka has been widely celebrated as a postcolonial writer for his works deal with the issue of colonialism and the struggles of colonized for the preservation of their cultural identity. However, there has not been much inquiry between Nietzschean philosophy and its influence in Soyinka’s progressive characterization. The drama presents the conflict between the new generation, as represented by Eman and the old generation as represented by Oroge and Jaguna. With modern values, knowledge and lifestyle, Eman displays passionate willingness and determination to claim his freedom and opposes anything imposed from outside. In doing so, he becomes an agent for change in the traditional fabric of Nigerian culture. In order to consolidate the argument, the researcher borrows the theoretical insights from Nietzsche’s idea of ‘will to power’ followed by Michel Foucault’s theory of resistance. In the philosophical language of Nietzsche, Soyinka frames Eman as a superman who has a will to influence the lives of other and stands able to affect others thoughts, minds and values of men. The research concludes with the findings that the African postcolonial literature has an influence from western aesthetics and philosophy.
Key Word: Will to power, tragic optimism, resistance, transformation
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Keywords
Will to power, Tragic optimism, Resistance, Transformation