Elliot Ziwira @ The Book Store
The Nigerian playwright, Wole Soyinka, in “The Three Short Plays” (1969) explores how faith can be a deterrent to one’s quest for success, as it impedes on one’s reasoning and sense of variety.

There is something about faith that makes one submissive, docile and gullible; so it seems, which creates fertile grounds for oppression, as common sense is traded for hope.

In a world where everything else has failed to keep body and soul in harmony due to perpetual suffering, deceit and individualism; to the religious, faith seems to be the only vent out as it offers a glimpse of hope. Merchants of the gospel have become big businesspeople over night, with the title “prophet” acquiring a new meaning altogether, as hope becomes a selling point.

However, as is always the case in a rat race; there are winners and losers. In Wole Soyinka’s view, success is an achievement born of taking advantage of the weaknesses of others. Success is not only measured through one’s ascendance up the social echelons, but by one’s realisation of set goals as reflected in his/her financial muscle.

Soyinka examines how faith affects the religious individual, and impedes on his/her toils in search of success. The society that he depicts in “The Three Short Plays” (1969), especially in “The Trials of Brother Jero” and “The Strong Breed”, is oppressive to the individual, whose philosophies are thwarted at every turn because religion is beyond rationalisation, and “society should be present in the individual”, as the sociologist Comte maintained (Haralambos, 1994).

By exploiting religion in highlighting the themes of failure and success, Soyinka seems to draw inspiration from Karl Marx’s ideology, which stipulates that, though religion is psychologically oppressive to the common men, it is their opium, as it makes their suffering bearable by appearing to offer solutions to their problems.

Using three different religions – Islam, Christianity and African Religion – the dramatist takes a swipe at the human follies of deceit, hypocrisy and gullibility. In “The Swamp Dwellers”, he employs Islam and African Religion represented by Allah and the Serpent respectively. In “The Trials of Brother Jero”, the foibles of Christianity are exposed, and in “The Strong Breed”, African Religion, with its conflicting values, is espoused.

In Soyinka’s view, people who are fanatically anchored on faith see religion as a panacea to their problems, and as a result they desist from questioning the status quo of things; throwing caution to the wind, and in the end failure stares them in the eye. In “The Swamp Dwellers” the playwright, unlike Arthur Miller in “Death of a Salesman”, does not look at failure and success at the individual level, instead he depicts it from the societal standpoint.

The exponents of this rationale are the Beggar, representing Muslims, Makuri and Alu; for the older generation, with an unwavering faith in their religion. Igwezu embodies the younger generation that is quick to shift goalposts to suit its means, and implicitly stands for failure on the other. The Kadiye, who is the Priest and servant of the Serpent of the Swamps, is a hypocrite like Jero in “The Trials of Brother Jero”, yet he is a paragon of success, as is suggested by his portrayal as a fat and well-nourished person.

Makuri, a man of about 60, finds solace in reminiscences of the past. His failure is a culmination of his religious intoxication. He mirrors how society betrays individual doctrines by its desperate clinging to religion even when it has failed.

This is also true of the Beggar, who is driven from his home by misfortunes brought about by famine, yet still believes that his faith will keep him afloat. Igwezu, Makuri’s son, is conscious that his failure has nothing to do with his faith, but lack of it. His undoing is his ignorance as regards religion. He finds the courage to question: “Why are you so fat Kadiye?” and whether he passed on their sacrifices to the Serpent. Although he is aware that the only person who benefits from their sacrifices is the Kadiye, while the rest wallow in persistent misfortune, he is aware of his predicament for questioning the status quo.

Igwezu’s subsequent flight from the village after his heroic show of courage may suggest the strength of religion, as he is afraid of the community’s ire. He does not only fail himself, but he also betrays the youth. The religious are fanatical in their support of the values that drive their beliefs, thus mere talk cannot make them shift from such a vantage point. Their prophets, pastors, priests and other proponents are untouchable.

In “The Trials of Brother Jero”, Soyinka examines how society is blinkered by faith, and how its gullibility is taken advantage of by the suave, cunning, hypocritical and avaricious. The metaphor of the Prophet depicts the unknown, which is seen crouching like a gargantuan mountain far down the horizon, like a tumbling block to the endeavours of the poor individual.

To survive in a volatile world, one needs not only be immaculate but articulate, ruthless, calculating and astute, as is illuminated in the following: “In the last few years, the beach has become less fashionable and the struggle for land has turned the profession into a thing of ridicule . . . We have to fight for every convert.” To Jero, the converts are “customers” which is a clear indication of the commercialisation of religion.

To the prophet, success is a fulfilment of goals, and for this to come to fruition, even in the face of adversity, weaknesses need to be nipped in the bud in the nick of time. He is conscious that his Achilles’ heel is women, and that they could be his Waterloo. However, the knowledge of his foible alone does not help him to overcome it.

The Daughters of Discord remain a curse to him, he grows goose bumps each time he sees Amope, is beaten up by the woman in the wrapper, and is constantly worried about the penitent woman in his congregation. Thus, only women are able to question his authenticity as a man of the cloth.

Although the reader learns of his hypocrisy and corrupt tendencies from his soliloquies, Jero is able to win converts because of his eloquent rhetoric, which he uses to great advantage.

One of his astute and ardent followers, Chume, believes that his successes (promotions at work) are a result of blessings from the prophet. His faith keeps him from beating up his wife, as he is admonished by Jero against such heinous thoughts.

The prophet is aware that what makes people seek divine intervention are their problems, which somehow should remain insoluble. Misery seems to be the prophet’s feeding ground. Though Chume realises that Jero is a fake or fraudster, he is unable to pin him to it. His subsequent flight, like that of Igwezu, leaving the velvety prophet counting his successes, may suggest the triumph of religion as beyond reasoning, and thus remaining oppressive to the individual.

This is also echoed in the way the Member of Parliament is fraudulently won over to the man of the cloth’s side notwithstanding his better judgment. In “The Strong Breed”, African Religion is depicted as a bane on individual aspirations, thus, leading to failure at both the personal and societal levels. Eman dies because of his questioning of societal mores and values, and the community suffers because in their innocent belief, a stranger should carry their burdens. To their dismay, no stranger is willing to carry the burdens of others. Hence, no success is achieved.

 

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