CXC ENGLISH

Hello there! This week, for our English B candidates, we take a look at Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel. And to help you revise for English A, we take a look at plot construction in short story writing. Read on, and enjoy!

THE LION AND THE JEWEL

The ‘lion’ referred to in this title is Baroka, the 62-year-old Bale (chief) of the village of Ilujinle in rural Nigeria. The ‘jewel’ referred to is Sidi, the 16-year-old beauty of the village. The plot of the play shows the tricky process by which Baroka succeeds in winning Sidi to become his newest wife.

Structurally the play covers just one day, and it falls into three Acts: Morning, Noon and Night.

Today we take a look at the first Act. We will meet the main contenders in the drama, and we will learn the events that led up to Baroka casting his eye on Sidi.

Stage setting, costumes and props Look first at the stage directions. What EFFECT will the and the props have on the audience?

The audience will learn that the action takes place in a rural village, evidently somewhat backward, because Sidi has to fetch water in a bucket. Her traditional clothing also tells us that this is not a modern, westernized place.

The school building prepares us for the fact that the schoolmaster is involved in the Sidi story. The chanted arithmetic times would be a tedious sound for the audience to hear, and that is appropriate because Lakunle, too, is a tedious fellow.

The wolf whistles of the boys creates an atmosphere of sexual desire—which is appropriate since the play will be about the rivals who want to win Sidi.

Humour is injected into the play right from the start, first with the schoolmaster whacking the boys on the head, and then his own appearance. His costume tells us much about him: his admiration for Western ways, but his pathetic attempts to imitate the white man. When he finally speaks, we are not surprised that his speech is full of quotations from Western culture and sprinkled with long words!

stage setting, the costumes

The encounter between Lakunle and Sidi This encounter shows us the following: Lakunle aspires to imitate Western ways (eating with knife and fork, kissing, wooing his lady like a courtly lover from the 16th century, etc). Lakunle does not want to pay the bride price—required by tradition.

Sidi holds to tradition and rejects Western ways. She insists on the bride price because otherwise people would think she was not a virgin.

Their language reflects their difference: Lakunle’s language is influenced by the Western literature he has read, while Sidi’s language is full of proverbs and folk sayings.

There is much humour in this encounter.

The dramatized flashback The conversation between Lakunle and Sidi is interrupted when villagers come with the news that they have seen the pictures of Sidi. Their excited report leads to an impromptu re-enactment of the arrival in Ilujinli of the photographer from Lagos—a flashback to let us know what went on weeks before.

Lakunle is chosen to act the part of the photographer, four girls act the wheels of the photographer’s car, and other parts are shared out. They act the incident, showing how the photographer’s car broke down, how he stumbled through the forest, getting drunk on the way, and how he fell into the river while trying to get a photograph of Sidi bathing.

At this point, the actors take on new roles as the villagers who angrily escort the visitor to the Bale, reporting him for insulting one of their girls.

Drama becomes reality Just then, the drama becomes reality as the Bale appears in person. His attitude to Lakunle is mocking, and he enjoys humiliating the schoolteacher further by insisting that the play continue.

In this continuation of the dramatized flashback, we learn that the Bale had given the photographer permission to take photographs of Sidi before he leaves, chased by the village women.

As the noisy crowd disappears, the Bale is left, looking at the magazine that he has just received—the same magazine with pictures of Sidi. He speaks his thoughts aloud: it’s time, he says, that he took a new wife!

The audience now knows that there will be rivalry between Lakunle and the Bale for Sidi’s hand.

But the audience also knows that Sidi now has a new sense of her own importance: she was special enough to have her picture on the centre spread of a Lagos magazine. The world now lies at her feet. Will she give herself to a foolish village school-master? Will she agree to marry a man old enough to be her grandfather? The first Act ends, leaving the audience in suspense, amused and titillated by the sexual innuendoes they have heard and witnessed.

For you to do At what points in this first Act do you think the audience will laugh at what is SAID? At what points will they laugh at what they SEE on the stage? Where can you see conflict between local and foreign? Between traditional and modern?

What do the costumes tell you about the three main characters: Lakunle in his wide-bottomed pants, his sneakers and his narrow tie; Sidi, barefoot and wearing her broad-cloth; the Bale in his grand agbada?

What effect does the magazine have on Sidi? On the Bale?

SAMPLE SHORT STORY

Here we have re-written Olive Senior’s short story, Cream, limiting the story to under 600 words.

The Boy Who Loved Ice

The boy stood, sucking his thumb as his sister roughly scrubbed his skin and sloshed water to rinse off the soap. “And don’t you move,” she had threatened, “or there’ll be no ice cream for you.” He stifled a sob as the caustic soap burnt the sore spot on his shin. At last the ordeal was over, and he quickly dried himself and pulled on his clothes. Mum had mended his pants and put a couple of buttons on his shirt. The collar was ragged at the edges, but the boy didn’t mind. Today was the Big Day. The day of the Harvest Fair.

He’d never been to the fair. He’d never tasted ice cream. But the big attraction of the fair was the pink ice cream you could get. He imagined the soft, pink, milky treat, and his eyes lit up.

(Introduction of the boy, the sister and the longed for ice cream) “Do you think Dad will be in a good mood?” he asked, tentatively. So often his Dad was so vexed and grumpy. He couldn’t have told you why his Dad seemed so angry with him all the time, but instinct told him to keep out of the way. One time Dad had mad Mum cry when he said, “That boy ain’t my son—and that’s for sure”.

The unhappy thoughts fled as he heard his Mum calling. It was time for them to set off across the hill to the church. Dad stomped along in front, then Mum in her pretty mauve dress and the hat she’d decorated with felt flowers, then Big Sister, and then the Boy. No one spoke, except to return greetings from neighbours.

(Introduction of the conflict between the parents)

The boy’s legs were tired by the time they reached, but he eagerly trotted behind Big Sister to look at the goodies on one stall after another. A couple of ladies even handed him treats—which was nice, except that Big Sister slapped him for not remembering to say thanks.

At the end of the line of stalls was the man selling ice cream. The boy’s eyes opened in wonder as he watched him spooning big helpings of pink delight into the cones. “How wonderful that stuff must taste,” he whispered.

“Come now,” muttered Big Sister. “The ice cream will all be finished soon. Let’s find Dad.”

(Build-up to climax—longing for ice cream)

But Dad was in a foul mood when they reached him. Every minute he was looking around to check up on Mum. She was standing with two ladies from the Episcopal church, but somehow Dad was uneasy. He’d seen her earlier with a goodlooking town-fellow…

Seeing the two children he grudgingly pulled some coins from his pocket, looking over his shoulder all the time to check up on Mum.

Almost all the ice cream was gone, but the man kindly piled up the pink cream into the cones and handed one to Big Sister and one to the boy. Big Sister licked hers straight away, but the boy just looked at his, savouring the moment.

(Further build-up to climax—foreshadowing of Dad’s rage) Then suddenly Dad scooped the boy up, and dashed across the field. Try as he might, the boy could not save the ice cream. It slid out of the cone and onto the ground.

Dad was grabbing Mum by the arm. Mum was trying to explain something. Big Sister was yanking at the boy’s shirt to get him out of the way. The boy looked at the soggy, empty cone in his hand. A big tear rolled down his cheek.

(Climax over. We began with the boy and we end with the boy)

For you to do. Identify the climax. Ask yourself if all the events in the story lead up to that climax.

Does the writer help you see how special the ice cream is to the boy? How early in the story does the writer suggest that the father believes that the mother is unfaithful to him? Is the boy’s unhappiness increased by the sister’s behaviour? Does that make you sympathetic? Did we include dialogue and description?