Wole
Soyinka’s The Road is an absurdist play where Professor, the protagonist of the
play seeks a ‘Word’. Throughout the play Professor’s searching for the ‘Word’
implies various interpretations regarding what this ‘word’ means, as in the
play neither Professor nor Soyinka makes it clear. Professor’s search for the ‘Word’ actually is
a trope of searching his existential crisis. The play is not just a drama, but
a philosophical statement on the problem of existence. The writings of Wole
Soyinka define life as a void in search of meaning. As human’s existence is
meaningless so we find Professor’s searching for the ‘Word’ comes in vain and
its end with his death where the finding of ‘Word’ or meaning of existence
remains an unfolding question.
Prior to our
textual analysis we must have a clear conception about Wole Soyinka’s
existential views. Wole Soyinka is regarded as more a thinker than a writer. The
writings of Soyinka define life as a
void in search of meaning which man can only accomplish through the affirmation
of the will to live, freedom and conquest.
In this regard
there is a similarity between Wole Soyinka and Nietzsche. In the first place
the two thinkers define life and meaning in terms of the will to action. In his
theory of will, Nietzsche opines that at the root of our existence there is a
will or will to overpower that creates drive in individuals and when an
individual becomes aware of this will, he or she can uplift his or her
position. This will is also responsible for creating a sense of affirmation in
us. Wole Soyinka holds almost the same view about the overpowering nature of
will. Moreover, both of the thinkers hold the view that through the sheer power
of will, pessimism can be overcome in our life.
A number of
Soyinka’ s works especially those dedicated to the Ogun deity who, for Soyinka
serves as a moral standard for mankind, to illustrate how the same quest for
vitality and affirmation of the human essence runs through his works. Soyinka’s humanism which is route to understand
the basis of his existentialist
convictions. Soyinka’s works define life in terms of quest for the autonomy of
the individual. His existentialist conviction upholds the will and says that every
other item or value: culture, institution, constitution, agencies, government,
etc, should be negotiated to its favour. Apart from this , Soyinka also has
portrayed the fact that the persisting belief in will can surmount the
sickening pessimism that lies coiled in the heart of the modern people.
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With
the above information now it will be a bit easier to analyze the text The
Road. At the very beginning of the play we see the professor so much
eagerly seeks for a ‘Word’, as if it is the ultimate aim of his life. Throughout
the play professor does not provide any definition of this ‘Word’ but he gives
so many features of this word so that the reader can guess what it could be.
So, to go before our analysis we must know what the professor says about the
‘Word’. Here one thing can be noticed that most of the time in the play the
word “Word” is capitalized which indicates that it must have some important
meaning. In the play, the professor describes the word as “companion not to
life, but death”. To him it is a powerful thing that “can crack [any one’s]
bones in a hundred splinters” He may consider word, which is the basic
component in writing process, as a dead entity that when it comes out of mind
and mouth or once being written down on the paper, it becomes stable,
unchangeable and dead. To him word is nothing but a “key” to control of the
universe. So in order to search the ‘word’ he goes to several stages.
As
the ‘word’ actually indicates human existence so Professor does not find ‘word’
in Bible or church. He goes to church thinking that he will find ‘word’ in
Bible. But he does not find it in Bible.
