LITERATURE AS A REFLECTION OF THE SOCIETY
That literature is a reflection of the society
is a fact that has been widely acknowledged. Literature indeed reflects the
society, its good values and its ills. In its corrective function, literature
mirrors the ills of the society with a view to making the society realize its
mistakes and make amends. It also projects
the virtues or good values in the society for people to emulate. Literature, as
an imitation of human action, often presents a picture of what people think, say and do in the society.
In literature, we find stories designed to portray human life and action
through some characters who, by their words, action and reaction, convey
certain messages for the
purpose of education, information and entertainment. It is impossible to find a
work of literature that excludes the attitudes, morale and values of the
society, since no writer has been brought up completely unexposed to the world
around him. What writers of literature do is to transport the real-life events
in their society into fiction and present it to the society as a mirror with which people can look at
themselves and make amends where necessary.
Thus, literature is not only a
reflection of the society but also serves as a corrective mirror in which
members of the society can look at themselves and find the need for positive
change.
It is necessary to
take a close look at some works of literature, in order to understand how
literature actually reflects the society. Let’s begin with Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad
Again, a portrayal of the politics of opportunism prevailing in the Nigerian
society. In the play, a former military officer, Major Lejoka-Brown, enters
politics for the purpose of personal enrichment and is bent on using military
tactics to achieve political success.
His egotism, greediness and deceitfulness come to the fore both in his
political and marital life. He lies to Liza, his American wife that she is his
only wife, whereas he already had two wives.
He needs Liza to boost his ego and
his material position. His marriage with Sikira, on the other hand, is a ploy
to win women’s votes through the influence of Sikira’s mother who happens to be
the head of the National Union of Nigerian Market
Women. It means that after achieving his political goal, Sikira
could either be dumped or relegated. Most of the politicians in our society
breathe out lies like Lejoka-Brown! In order to win the people’s votes, a
politician can tell a lot of lies and make promises which he does not intend to
keep. Once he has been voted into power, the people cease to be relevant; the
moment he assumes office, he forgets his campaign promises, becomes despotic,
loots the treasure and
enriches himself. This is exactly what most politicians in our society do.
In Death of a
Salesman, Arthur Miller raises the issue of victimization of workers by the
capitalist employers. The play reflects what happens in the American capitalist
society. The tragic hero, Willy Loman, serves a company for thirty years; he
helps the company to open new grounds in many places but in his old age, they
take his salary away. The play exposes the inhumanity of some employers to
their employees whom they use and dump without regard for their wellbeing. It
is not only in companies that some employees suffer the fate of Willy Loman but
also in the civil service. In Nigeria,
for instance, an uncountable number of pensioners have died of hunger, owing to
non-payment of their pensions.
Some of them, like Willy Loman, have served the big establishment for thirty
years or more, only to retire into penury. It should be noted, however, that
some workers or employees suffer as victims of their own negative attitude and
mediocrity. The pathetic experience of Willy Loman describes the situation of
the common man in the society, whose dreams of successful life are shattered and replaced with
disillusionment and the agonizing sense of futility.
Chinua Achebe’s No
Longer At Ease depicts the problems and challenges that faced the emergent
African administrative class and the factors responsible for the failure of
this irresponsible class of leaders represented by the novel’s central
character, Obi Okonkwo. The novel mirrors the society and shows how the
society’s misconception about the purpose of education, coupled with government
policies, produce intellectually and morally bankrupt leaders. The novel also
shows how both societal and family demands and expectations compel the emergent
elite to live above their personal incomes and to consequently resort to
corrupt means of self-enrichment as exemplified by Obi’s corrupt action. In the
novel, Achebe paints a society where extravagant spending of public funds by
public officers is the norm, and where corruption has been institutionalized.
By taking bribe, Obi Okonkwo has merely done what everyone else does; it is his
weakness and inability to escape being caught that is actually frowned at by
his kinsmen. The novel aptly depicts the situation in our society, where those
who loot the public treasuries, without being caught, are held in very high esteem
and are honoured with chieftaincy titles.
Another example of
literature as a mirror of the society is Wole Soyinka’s The Trial of Brother Jero. This play exposes religious
charlatanism, a prevailing problem in our society. The main character, Brother
Jero, is a typical example of the fake prophets and other religious charlatans
operating in various parts of the society. Like Brother Jero, they pretend to
be what they are not. They use the name of God and his word as ploy to dupe the
unsuspecting seekers of God. They usually pose as miracle workers, lay claim to
supernatural powers and promise their victims instant promotion or prosperity,
even without having to work for it. Like ‘Immaculate’ Jero, many of these
charlatans attach high-sounding titles to their names, such as “Most
Honourable, Reverend X,” “Most Holy Prophet Y,” “Living Perfect Master Z,” and
so forth. Some of them even go to the ridiculous extent of claiming to be God
in order to subjugate their gullible followers. Through false prophecies and
feigned words, they not only extort money
and material things from people but also deceive the ignorant ladies in their
congregation and have carnal knowledge of them. In some cases, they even go to
the extent of snatching people’s wives through false prophecies. One can hardly
distinguish the religious charlatans in our society from the characters in the
Jero plays.
Writen by Abugu Benjamin
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