Satire in J.P. Clark’s the Wives Revolt and Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again
ABSTRACT
The main thrust of this study was a critical study of satire in J. P. Clark’s The Wives Revolt and Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again. The theoretical framework was done using the post colonial theory as the two authors’ backgrounds were examined. The concept of satire was clearly reviewed. In this regard, satire is seen as a literary composition in prose or drama intending to expose, ridicule, criticize or hold up to scorn the follies, abuse of vice of a person. It was discovered that satire has satisfied the popular need to debunk and ridicule the leading figures in politics, economy, religion and other prominent realm of power. Since the two texts were analyzed critically, showing some element of satire. Recommendations were also made such as: satirist should write and convince the people especially the youths in the society, that the use of satire and understanding satire is a sign of intelligence and urging better behaviour in the society.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
There is no general accepted definition of satire. It signifies at one level, a kind of literature and on the other, a satire or tone which clearly expresses itself in many literary genres. Abraham (1981:167) however defines satire as the literary art of diminishing a subject by making it ridiculous and evoking towards it, an attitude of amusement, contempt, indignation or scorn. It differs from the comic in that comedy evokes laughter mainly as an end in itself, while satire derides, that is, it uses laughter as a weapon and against a butt existing outside the work itself. Moody on his part defines a satire as any form or piece of writing which is deliberately and humorously critical in intention (moody 1968:208) while Barnet and co. (1976:2669) contend that ‘ satire is a work ridiculing aspects of human behaviour and seeking to arouse in the audience contempt for its object”. In the same vein Charles E. May says that satire is a work which ridicules or holds up to scorn the vices, crimes and absurdities of men and individuals, of class and organizations. The above definitions of “satire” are by no means exhaustive since different writers continue to define it the way it suits their purpose.
Satire in J.P. Clark’s the Wives Revolt and Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again
In a society, satire is a form of writing which makes fun of the evil of foolish behaviour of people, institutions or society in general. The literary artist is known to have satire from the beginning to shape and influence the minds of contemporary satirists. Apart from the Greeks and Romans, we also had great in criticizing the actions of men and the shortcomings in the society as a whole, a good example is Chaucer. From the 18th century to the present, such names as pope, Spencer, Swift, Soyinka and Ola Rotimi including J. P. Clarke readily come to mind when we consider artists who have used their creative works to expose the ills in their respective societies. Satire usage are not confined to contemporary writers alone. In a Traditional African Societies, the people used satire to attack people who show negative tendencies in their characters.
Satire in J.P. Clark’s the Wives Revolt and Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again
Societies as a whole ridicule people through songs, proverbs, folktales and other verbal arts. Rotimi and J.P. Clarke are using satire as an artistic mode of expressing the social reality in contemporary Nigeria. The Nigerian society for them is obviously a chaotic one where dreams and aspirations of people remain unrealized. They have all seen with shock and unbelief the endemic corruption, moral decay and political morass, that have become part and parcel of the society. Their main aim in writing these satiric plays therefore, is to attack the aforementioned ills in the society. They have committed themselves as writers who are to restore order in the society which is so much engulfed in a mirage of socio-political, cultural and economic problems.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Satire as a vehicle for literary expression is a social art. It concerns itself with attacking the ills in society, in order to sanitize it. The use of satire as an artistic weapon is an age-old phenomenon, because the ancient Greeks employed it in deriding unwholesome tendencies in humans.
Though, Lejoka-Brown and Okoro as well as Okoko are used as object of satire in their respective plays, through the deliberate portrayal of facial, naïve, idiotic and sometimes erratic personalities in making us laugh not only at those ridiculous personalities, but also at their actions, deeds, ideas as well as the society which they personify. Laughter is not only a feature in satiric works, but also a means to resolving issues. In this regard, Rotimi and J.P. Clarke could be said to have succeeded in exposing the idiocy, ignorance and naivety of our leaders, in order to ridicule them.
Finally, it is observed that Rotimi and J.P. Clarke have presented a bitter but unavoidable truth about ourselves and about our social, political, economic and cultural problems. It is against this background that these two writers opt to expose and try to solve these ills in our society.
1.3 Purpose of the study
The main aim of this study is to study critically the satire in J.P. Clarke’s The Wives Revolt and Ola Rotimi’s our husband has gone mad again. The study will also examine the concept of satire and its effects in the society.
1.4 Significance of the study
The study will be significant in the following ways:
The work of satire will be beneficial to students of English and literary studies by exposing the concept of satire to the entire students.
Through a critical study of satire, the behaviour of some people who do not take things seriously will be reshaped.
The study will also serve as a spring board and reference point to other researchers who will find it necessary.
The study will also open peoples’ minds to ideas they might otherwise reject outright, using the emotional lever of humour, therein lies tremendous value.
1.5 Scope of the study
The scope of this study is limited to the critical study of satire using J.P. Clarke’s The Wives Revolt and Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again as a case studies.
The scope of this study is not extended to other areas; as a result, the limitation will not affect the result of the findings.
1.6 Research Methodology
The researcher will use the novels The Wives Revolt and Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again as it primary sources. Materials from the library will serve as the secondary sources of information. Other sources such as internet may be employed for more information.