A DECONSTRUCTIVE READING OF WOLE SOYINKA'S DEATH AND THE KING'S HORSEMAN AND THE ROAD
ABSTRACT
African literary elites have responded to the call by Africans to free the continent from all forms of colonial and slave mentality. While others have responded overtly, Soyinka does so covertly. As a result, over time, critical commentaries on his works have been on the mythical presentation of the Yoruba world as a microcosm of the entire African continent and the post-colonial experience. While these commentaries cannot be totally erased, this research exposes the pitfalls, the blind spots and the aporias that characterize most African writings. Consequently, this research discusses Soyinka’s two plays; Death and the King’s Horseman and The Road as Soyinka’s unconscious hatred for the West. Clearly, African writers in an attempt to counter Western perception of Africa as being uncultured unwittingly enter the same conceptual web. To foreground such instances this research deploys deconstructive method of reading to bring to the fore some of the biased presentation of the Western world in all its fauna and flora.
Although, deconstructive approach is “esoteric”, it is distinct in pointing out binary oppositions and how such binaries work to undo any artistic creation. Consequently, this research is premised on the following assumptions; that there is a biased portraiture of the Western world; that Africa’s position as the Other in Western metaphysics has been reversed to take the privileged position while the West becomes a negation. What Derrida calls supplementation. This research stresses the creative freedom of the reader as well as the attempt to participate in and observe the play of possible meanings to which the texts give access.
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
1.0 Background Of The Study
This thesis espouses and identifies gaps in critical comments made about the subject matter of Death and the King's Horseman and The Road. Consequently, the study analyses the various positions taken by critics concerning Soyinka's Death and the King's Horseman and The Road. Most importantly, the study sought out the binaries that operate throughout the plays so as to unequivocally bring to the fore some of the prejudices that informed these plays. While the world view that Soyinka presents in these plays gives us a better understanding of the trilogic „essence‟ of Yoruba culture (the world of the living, the death and the unborn) − what most critics believe to be his underlying thesis, this tripartite relationship works as a form of higher truth (transcendental signified); the philosophy that unsettles the Western view of Africa as the other.
Therefore, in order to achieve the set objective this research evaluates Wole Soyinka's two plays; Death and the King's Horseman (1975) and The Road (1965) from a deconstructive standpoint. Precisely, the research pits these plays against Soyinka's submissions in his polemics i.e Myth, Literature and the African World. The polemics presents Africa as a fount-head of all its culture. Besides, the study looks out for instances where Soyinka's language occasionally spills or slips from his control. To this end therefore, this study evaluates the typologies enunciated in these works. It therefore follows that the main trajectory of the discourse in this study is not simply what Soyinka says but how he uses the same tool of the “adversary” as Professor Yakubu Nasidi (2002:7) would say, to create a supposedly African world where African plays reflect an ontologically African reality different from the West.
CHAPTER TWO
2.0 Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
The review of relevant literature is the main topic of this chapter. A literature review covers theoretical and methodological contributions to a certain issue in addition to the state of knowledge at the time of writing. It provides information about the state of the art in relation to the subject you are writing about. It examines the body of work on the chosen subject. The literature evaluation in this study comprises the …
Procedure for Downloading the PDF (Docx) Material
A Deconstructive Reading of Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman and the Road can be downloaded by requesting the full set of materials at the project or seminar cost. The document will be sent via Microsoft Word (MS-Word) format via WhatsApp (e-mail) following payment confirmation.
| Seminar Material Cost ₦3,000 | Project Material Cost ₦5,000 |
Request Complete Material
 | Click here to request the Complete Material via WhatsApp including;
|
Disclaimer for Complete Material Utilization
The displayed research work titled "A Deconstructive Reading of Wole Soyinka's Death and the King's Horseman and the Road" is stated as a research guideline towards accomplishing your assigned project / seminar research work. All the research materials on this website are ONLY for research purposes and should be used as a guideline in developing your research work. For no reason should you copy word for word as projectlist.com.ng will not be liable for any who copied the material. By ordering the complete research guideline, it signifies that you've accepted our terms of service.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can the material for “The Role of Commercial Bank in Small Scale Business Financing” be used as a guide for Banking and Finance (BF) Project?
Yes it can be used — This study is aimed at finding out the role of commercial banks play over the small scale industries and the problem the small scale industries encounter. This study, has been divided into five (5) chapters thus: Chapter one is the introduction sitting out the background of the study, the research highlighted that the performance of small scale industries are financed by commercial banks and other financial institution this study is paramount importance because it helps to discover the problem facing the small scale industries in the course of financing themselves. Chapter two is a review of related literatures, it started by the definition of the small scale industries the definition by the small scale, the institution involved assistance provided by …
Can this topic “Impact of Capital Market on Nigerian Economy” be used for Economics Project?
Yes it can be utilized for research — The effectiveness and growth of capital market in Nigeria economy is a problem that has assumed of recent an intractable dimension. The concept market is one of the compartments of financial system that promotes harm and investment in an economy. The stock exchange market is one of the key institutions of the capital market, a network or individuals, institution and instrument involved in the effective channeling of funds from the surplus to deficit economic unit. The question whether a market undergone growth and development or not cannot be adequately answered by simply ‘Yes or No’ there are some issues to be addressed. The main purpose of this study is to show how investors can dissever when a market has attained growth and …
Can the material for “Knowledge and Practice of Family Planning among Women of Child Bearing Age” be used as a guide for Midwifery Project?
Yes it can be used — Family planning is the process of controlling the number of children wanted in a marriage using contraceptive method, often known as birth control measure. The study was carried out to examine the Knowledge and Practice of Family Planning among Women of Child Bearing Age in Ardo-kola Local Government Area, Taraba State. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out to determine the level of knowledge of family planning among women of child-bearing age and the factors associated with utilization of family planning services among women of child-bearing age. Investigation revealed that women do not relate the issues of contraceptive or family planning to spouse or husband until its result in an unwanted pregnancy. Depreciating standard of living, …
Can the material for “The Potentials of the Mini-grid as a Driver of the Nigerian Economy” be used as a guide for Electrical / Electronics Engineering (EE) Project?
Yes it can be used — The study examines the Potentials of the Mini-grid as a Driver of the Nigerian Economy. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out to examine the impact of mini-grid in Nigerian economy, presents the opportunities that have been used in mini-grid in Nigeria, determine the challenges of implementing mini-grids in Nigerian economy systems, and find out how government financing mini-grids Nigeria. Nigeria is a country with a population of over 170 million; it is rightly the most populous country in Africa and the eighth most populous country in the world. According to the United Nations, one in six Africans is Nigerian. It is a regional power, listed among the “Next Eleven” economies, and a member of the …
Can the material for “Influence of Social Networking on Academic Adjustment of In-School Adolescents in Enugu Education Zone of Enugu State” be used as a guide for Social Work Project?
Yes it can be used — This ex-post facto research study determined the influence of social networking on academic adjustment of in- school adolescents in Enugu Education Zone of Enugu State. Four research questions and four null hypotheses guided the study. A total of 32396 students in all the public secondary schools in Enugu Education zone were used as population size. Out of this, sample size of 607 was randomly selected using multi-stage sampling technique. Social Networking and Academic Adjustment of Adolescents Questionnaire (SNAAAQ) was used as an instrument for data collection. The instrument was face validated by three experts. It was trial tested using 30 students and its internal consistency was ascertained using Cronbach Alpha co-efficient statistical method. The result gave overall Alpha- co-efficient value of …
Is the topic “Knowledge and Attitude of Nurses Towards Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Sores” recommended for Nursing (Science) Project?
Yes it is highly recommended — Pressure Sores is a worldwide health concern that contributes to mortality among bedridden patients, when present, can cause chronic, infected and hard to treat wounds. The study ascertained the Knowledge and Attitude of Nurses towards Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Sores in Hospitalized Patients. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out to assess nurses’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs towards pressure sores prevention and measure the public knowledge and identify their attitudes and practices on medication use and safety towards the treatment of Pressure Sores. The research design used in this report is descriptive design, utilizing questionnaire method to obtain information from the respondents for this project. A total of 250 (two hundred and fifty) respondents were …
Can the material for “The Effects of Poor Records Management in an Office Organization in Federal Polytechnic, Oko” be used as a guide for Public Administration (PA) Project?
Yes it can be used — This study is on the effects of poor records management in an office organization. The purpose of the study is to find the effect of poor records management in an office organization. To find out the importance of records management in an office organization, to know the problems associated with poor records management. The population of the study consists from federal polytechnic, oko; the data collected for the study is by study means of literature review and questionnaire which the researcher administered personally. The research used percentages in analysis the data, this is to make for easier understanding of the findings. The conclusions based on the findings are records management is the key to success in any business organization, it …
Is the topic “Conventional and Islamic Mortgage Financing; A Legal Comparison” recommended for Law Project?
Yes it is highly recommended — Home ownership has been a problem to many people in Nigeria. This is the more reason why efforts are being made from all quarters to alleviate this problem. The two most prominent of these efforts are the Home Financing Schemes, otherwise known as Mortgage Financing, which are made by the public corporations and private institution. The effort of the public corporations is known as Conventional Mortgage Financing while a part of the private institution is that of the Islamic Economic System known Islamic Mortgage Financing. The focus of this research study is to compare the legal frameworks of these two opposite mortgage financing schemes. This is to be able to balance the regulatory issues that generate from the acceptability of these …
Can the material for “Impact Assessment of Employee Motivation on Workers Performance” be used as a guide for Public Administration (PA) Project?
Yes it can be used — This study assessed the impact of employee motivation on workers performance in Nigeria Communications Commission. The objectives of the study were to examine the relationship between training and increased competence for staff of Nigeria Communications Commission, examine the relationship between financial incentives and work habits for staff of Nigeria Communications Commission and determine the effects of recognition on successful completion of task. The survey research design was used as the methodology. The sample size of the study consisted of one hundred (100) respondents representing 64% of the population of the study. Data for the study were obtained with the aid of self designed questionnaires. Simple percentage was used in the analyses of data obtained. The hypotheses were tested with the aid …
Can the material for “The Effects of Blending Cow Milk with Soymilk on Yoghurt Quality” be used as a guide for Food Science and Technology (FT) Project?
Yes it can be used — This investigation was carried out to study the effects of blending cow milk with soymilk on yoghurt quality. Yoghurt was made from fresh cow’s milk supplemented with soymilk (10, 15 and 20%), mixed with Gum Arabic (0.5 and 0.7%). Sugar (6%) and juices of banana (90 mg/100 ml water), mango (50 mg/ml water) and guava (100 mg/100 ml water). The results showed that fat, protein, ash contents and acidity were high in the plain yoghurt, while the highest value of total solids was obtained in yoghurt supplemented with 10% soymilk. The highest scores of color, flavor, consistency and overall acceptability were obtained in the plain yoghurt, while the highest score of taste was obtained in yoghurt supplemented with 15% soymilk. …