Carrier For The Village And Eman example essay topic

Hanging from a tree limb in the first rays of the sun, Eman's body sways to and fro, carrying with his soul the sins of the village. Eman had all the traits of a tragic hero, including his own tragic flaw. It wasn't that Eman had excessive pride, or that he was greedy, it was that Eman did not know enough, and was too kind. He did not know the responsibilities that came with being the Carrier for a village, as it varied from the village where he was raised. This lack of knowledge and his kindness to the young Ifada, caused Eman to hang. There are several traits to a tragic hero, one being that the "hero" accepts his fate by free choice.

When Oroge and Jaguna come to take Ifada as the carrier, Eman notices he is obviously not willing, and the carriers from his village have all been the strongest and most willing candidates. Eman believes that the rituals will not work, if in fact the carrier is not strong and willing. He says to Jaguna, when they try to take Ifada " A village which cannot produce its own carrier contains no men". (Soyinka 1280).

So Eman takes Ifada's place as the carrier, in a roundabout way sealing his own fate. In the Strong Breed the consequences that Eman suffers for being the carrier exceeds his flaw of being only a stranger to Sumna's village. A stranger must be taken to be the carrier for the village, and Eman is a perfect candidate. The play ends with the audience feeling that Eman was wrongfully hung, and it is this injustice that makes him a tragic hero. Had Eman been a native to the village, or had he simply let Ifada taken the burden of being the carrier, Eman would have survived.

But this was not in his personality. He could not let an innocent retarded boy be taken for what seemed to him something that only the cr " eme de la cr " eme would do. Another Trait of a tragic hero is that, as time passes, he / she gains a sort of understanding of what is to become of them, or what is really going to happen before they meet their end. At first, Eman thought he was simply taking over a task that an innocent retarded child could not perform. He did not know that the carrier bore the sins of the village to death, and if he had, maybe his mindset would have been different.

But all the same, Eman removed the task from Ifada shoulders and took on the tremendous responsibility. But after the confrontation with Oroge and Jaguna, and after Eman escapes, he slowly realizes that he is in over his head, and that all is not as it seems to him. And at the end, when he is captured, and when he is hung, he fully understands the fate that he brought upon himself. When Eman is dead, the audience is emotionally saddened but realizes it could have been the young Ifada, and thought emotionally drained, is exultant in that Ifada was saved by Eman's sacrifice.

This small purgation lets the audience feel as if Eman's sacrifice was for a good cause, and he did not just die to carry the sins of the village. However, the play retains a somber mood, and fairly shocking ending, with the main character hanging from a tree at midnight. Fate plays an important role to Eman, and him being the carrier. He was raised for 13 years to be a carrier in his own village, and when his tutor threatens his "girl" Oma e, he strikes him and runs away. His stalwart honor is shown as a young boy, how he would not let a woman be mistreated by an abusive old man.

It seems like fate that he should defend the helpless Ifada when he is in need. Eman's father was a carrier, though in a different village, it still is as if Eman is walking down the same path his father had when he was a carrier, and when he takes the responsibility he is doing just as his father had. It was his destiny, his fate, to become the carrier. Eman was by all means a tragic hero, and his kindness and honor lead him to his untimely death at the hands of the village. Had he not been such strong willed man, it would have been Ifada hanging from that tree. However, it didn't seem that Eman had accepted his fate by running away, and this goes against his personality.

It shows that maybe Eman thought that it was one thing to think himself capable of such sacrifice and another to actually carry through with it. But, he was the chosen one, the carrier, and he died to cleanse the village of its sins.