The Moral Concept of Violence in African Literature: Bole Butake's Vision in “Lake God” and “And Palm Wine Will Flow”

Abstract

This paper posits that violence is a necessary tool in instituting social justice, equity and fair play in politics. It examines how, in Bole Butake's major plays, Lake God (1986) and And Palm Wine Will Flow (1990), the playwright recommends violence as an instrument of justice and peace in an oppressive system. The analysis in this paper is based on the concept of violence as enunciated by Frantz Fanon, Wole Soyinka, Paulo Freire, Jean Paul Sartre, Ngugi Wa Thiong'o and Amilcar Cabral. The paper posits that Butake stresses the relevance of violence as a veritable weapon in the fight against institutionalised injustice, dictatorship and cultural imperialism, which are some of his major thematic pre-occupations. He wants a society where neither the oppressors nor the oppressed are oppressed. This is exactly where the moral concept of violence resides.


(Humanities Review Journal: 2002 2(2): 32-43)