FULL PLOT SUMMARY OF THE LION AND THE JEWEL BY WOLE SOYINKA || LITERATURE IN ENGLISH || WASSCE 2021–2025

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wole Soyinka was born, Akinwande Oluwole "Wole" Babatunde Soyinka on July 13, 1934 in Western Nigeria. His father, Samuel Ayodele Soyinka, was a prominent Anglican Minister and head master and his mother, Grace Eniola Soyinka, a shop keeper and local activist. In 1954 after preparatory University studies at Government college in Ibadan, Soyinka went to the University of Leeds, from where he graduated in 1958 with a Bachelor's degree in English Literature. Soyinka wrote the book The Lion and the Jewel during his time in London. He became the first African to the Noble Prize for Literature in 1986.

PLOT OF THE DRAMA

The plot of the play, Lion and the Jewel, is based on the differing approaches that Baroka and Lakunle use to win Sidi's hand in marriage. Lakunle's approach is shaped by his acceptance of and commitment to Western culture, which is foreign to the villagers and unappreciated. Baroka, on the other hand, uses techniques based on the prevailing culture and tradition.

The lion and the Jewel, a satirical comedy, tells a story reflecting how Bale Baroka (antagonist) is able to seduce and marry Sidi (protagonist), even though she has given strong reasons why he is not her choice as a husband. The tale is set in Ilujinle, a Yoruba village, in Nigeria. The main characters are : Sidi, the village's belle (jewel), Baroka, (the lion)– the rich and powerful chief of Ilujinle ; Lakunle, the village school master and pretensions of western culture, and Sadiku, Baroka's head wife.

The story begins with Lakunle admonishing Sidi for carrying a pail of water on her head, because, as he argues it is, "bad for her spine".

He also expressed frustration that Sidi continues to wear clothing which exposes her shoulders, lamenting that she is making herself a target of lewd comments from the village men. He expresses his love for Sidi and asks her to marry him. She is prepared to do so, on condition that he pays her full bride price, pointing out that, if her bride price is not paid, people will say that she was not a virgin and was forced to sell her shame and marry without a price. Lakunle vehemently refuses the idea of bride price, denouncing it as one of many outdated practices that do not conform to civilized practices. He describes the tradition as

A savage custom, barbaric, outdated, rejected, denounced, accursed, excommunicated, archaic, degrading, humiliating, unspeakable, redundant, retrogressive, remarkable, unpalatable. An ignored custom, infamous, ignominious, shaming our heritage before the world. (page 7)

It is clear for the forgoing exchange between Sidi and Lakunle that their cultural differences are stumbling blocks to the furtherance of their relationship. Though Sidi indicated earlier, in their conversation, that she is willing to marry Lakunle, she begins having reservations after learning later that pictures of her, taken by the village visitor to the village, are featured on the cover and center spread of a Lagos magazine. She consequently starts thinking very highly of herself and starts questioning whether or not Lakunle, an ordinary village teacher, is good enough to be her husband. She says:

In fact, I am not sure I will want to marry you now. Well why should I? Known as I am to the whole wide world, I would demean my worth to wed a mere village teacher.

Baroka after seeing Sidi's pictures in the magazine, and the prominence it gives her, compared to himself, wants to add her to his list of wives/conquests. He asks Sadiku, his head wife, to invite Sidi to visit the palace to have dinner with him one evening, and to covey his desire to marry her. This Sadiku does. Sidi rejects the invitation, telling Sadiku that Baroka is too old and not fit enough to be her husband. On hearing that Sidi rebuffed his dinner invitation and marriage proposal, Baroka draws on another strategy. He circulates a false rumour, through Sadiku, that he is impotent. When Sidi learns of Baroka's purported impotence, she saw an opportunity to challenge his manhood so she could taunt him about his inability to perform sexually. So she decides to visit Baroka, pretending that her initial rejection of his invitation was a mistake. To her dismay, her plans to test Baroka's manhood went contrary to her expectations. She discovered, after she had been seduced, that Baroka had ensnared and outfoxed her.