The Male Dominant Image Essay Example for Free

The Male Dominant Image EssayIn his play The social lion and the ornament, Soyinka expresses his opinions about society through his characters, as opusy authors do in their writing. hotshot of the characters, Baroka, frequently seeks to take more wives despite his age and subjects his current wives to humiliating tasks such as plucking his axilla hairs and tickling his feet as a way of showing his power over them. Through the characterization of Baroka and the attitudes of another(prenominal) characters in the play, Soyinka explores the idea that a earthhood needs to show dominance over women to be considered a man by society. Despite his age and already having a larger number of wives, Baroka is still pursuance to take another wife, specifically a young one. This is most likely because he wants to exert the exposure that he is still desirable and his sexual ability has not been diminished with age. It is very important for Baroka to confine this understand, and this is why he is still persistent to take Sidi as a wife, even after she clearly refuses several times. Image is very important to Baroka, and his existing image had been tainted by the photograph of him by a latrine. Sidi, however, is young and has the image of the most beautiful woman in the village due to the pictures of her in the magazine.Bakora believes that making the most beautiful woman in the village his wife is the perfect way to rustle his image. While he is seducing her, he tells her the truth of this, old wine thrives best in a immature bottle. (p. 1185) The old wine is a metaphor for himself and the new bottle is Sidi. He seeks the new bottle to parent himself. He will not stand to be seen as less than a woman, to have his side of meat as a man and a leader diminished. This is why in the block up, he resorts to physical issue to get Sidi to marry him when all else fails. By tradition, she is bound to marry the man she loses her virginity to, and Baroka exploits th is. The fact that Baroka in conclusion use tradition to exploit her to a fault implies that much of the twisted notion that a man must bore dominance over a woman to be powerful stems from tradition.Baroka also asserts his power by victorious advantage of his wives and forcingthem to do humiliating tasks for his pleasure. While the things he makes them do are not brutal or violent, it asserts the fact that they are below him and he holds the power in the relationship. They must pluck his armpit hairs and shudder his feet, al grammegh he never does something for their pleasure in return. In regards to them performing these tasks, he uses such statements as thou Sadiku, thy plainly unadorned hands encase a sweet sensuality which age will not destroy.Beyond a doubt Sadiku, thou art the queen of them all.(p. 1172) This statement, while in his mind by chance meant to praise, is actually quite demeaning. These statements reduce his wives simply to objects of pleasure for him. This sh ows how by making a woman his wife, Baroka ultimately restricts the balance of power in the relationship, with himself permanently at the top, and his wives permanently at the bottom. They are not his partners in equal, nor do they assist him in making important decisions. They are simply there to pleasure him and maintain his status. Women are self-enhancing tools for Baroka, merely useful accessories. This is no different from wearing expensive rings to show come to and raise ones status.It is not only Barokas thoughts and actions that assert the idea that a man needs to show dominance over women to be considered a man by society, but also those of other raft in the play. When Sidi learns from Sadiku that Baroka is supposedly no longer fertile, they both view it as him having disconnected his power. This is demonstrated by a line Sadiku aims at Lakunle when he witnesses them celebrating Barokas supposed downfall. You a man? Is Baroka no more a man than you? And if he is no lon ger a man, than what are you? (p 1170)This shows how the idea that a man needs to show dominance to have power is ingrained in the people of the village, just as gender roles and are ingrained in our society today. The fact that women react but in this way to a mans loss of virility in The Lion and the Jewel shows that Barokas fears that he will lose the respect of the village if he does not constantly substantiate himself are justified. He is getting older and less attractive, so he feels the need to constantly establish his power.In conclusion, Barokas character represents a man who is trying to verify his power and maintain his image with age in the way his society deemsappropriate. Gender roles are present in all societies, and although they deepen somewhat from one society to another, it is never a good thing to have cookie eating utensil expectations that all men or all women are expected to fit into. It is extremely harmful psychologically for people to always measure th emselves to a standard of an ideal, when in reality few can be a perfect example.This also brings up the question, why are gender roles present in the first-class honours degree place? Why is there a set way a man should act or a woman should act? I believe that these standards originate from tradition. Polygamy is the tradition of the Yoruban people in The Lion and the Jewel, so naturally one may be inclined to use the number of wives a man has as a way to measure him. Likewise, in Christianity, gender roles stem from the story of Adam and evening in the Bible. Soyinkas The Lion and The Jewel portrays a character who commits many misdoings, but in the end he is simply trying to fit with his society and tradition.