Book Review: The Snuff Snub In Sonmazhi.
GENRE: DRAMA
AUTHOR:
JIBRIN
BALA JIBRIN
PUBLISHER:
IMAGE
PUBLISHERS
REVIEWER:
TUNJI
OLADIRAN
The play, The
Snuff Snub in Somanzhi, shows that the Nigerian landscape where writers
live is naturally prone to various problems ranging from socio-cultural,
political, moral, divorce and extra-marital affairs. Therefore, playwrights are
extrinsically motivated to transcribe their visual shorthand into dramatic
forms and this they do because they are products of the contemporary ‘sins’ of
their immediate environments. In effect, their credo or artistic consciousness
reflects the experiences in human life.
In the play, the theme
of forced marriage continues to fester like a sore and this reveals the
socio-cultural and immoral behavioral practices in the larger society. The
mentality of those forced into marriage becomes severed, their perception of
marriage suffers and in many cases, they flee from their husbands or remain
without experiencing another marriage. These are some of the excruciating
experiences girls undergo in the hands of their parents. For instance, the
parental authority which is rooted in our cultural practice tends to break the
moral life force in likes of Isiga, the daughter of Maraki, who is enslaved to
Lonchita because of his inability to pay debt. This is a social problem that
stems from the proposition that men are naturally polygamous. He borrowed money
to have another wife, which is seen as normal in our society and not deserving
the societal rebuke.
Despite the advice from
Toroko, Maraki insists on marrying his daughter out against her desires. As
Isiga is faced with the problem of choice, she still shows respect to her
father, ‘I will not disobey you… but whatever happens.’’ At this point, readers
may want to question the moral stance of Isiga bending to her father’s wish. It
is not out of place to remind us that this paints the bondage of discriminatory
cultural practice in the society where women are made to be subservient to men.
However, her desire to further her education should be measured by her
will-force and the relative inner strength to succeed. Therefore, the
playwright wants us to reflect on the problem of choice in the face of an
imposing cultural norm which sometimes life offers no mid-way between equally
horrible alternatives. Here, Isiga is trapped between these two extremes of
choice.
Despite changes in the
structure of modern dramatic plays and their theories, this playwright has not
deviated from the traditional structural forms such that he holds on to the 5
act structure with uneven scenes. Technically, the book is essentially
panoramic and intended to teach moral lessons as well as create the necessary
instrument for social change..
The playwright employs
variety of language use to depict his characters. He sets up the characters and
the situations to the dictates of the social setting and environment. In fact,
the dialogue is highly selective and pruned to the verbal superfluity, which is
common in our daily conversation. The dialogues remain fresh and sparkling and
the characters speak truly to the fundamental human traits. It is even made
brightened with the use of proverbs and irony that are the wardrobe of words
that lighten up the linguistic competence of the characters.
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