The Lion and the Jewel

Compare Sidi and Sadiku. What similarities do they share? What are their differences? Provide examples to highlight their character traits and character flaws.

Compare Lakunle and Baroka. What similarities do they share? What are their differences? Provide examples to highlight their character traits and character flaws.

The play highlights the virtues of youth and the virtues of age. Giving examples, highlight the pros and cons of both youth and age in the play, as evidenced in various characters. Is one better than the other, or does the play see them as equal?

The role of women is a powerful theme in the play. Giving examples, explain the traits of traditional women versus the traits of “new women,” as Lakunle calls them. How would Sidi’s fate have been different had she embraced the traits of a “new woman?”

Lakunle relates to Sidi a story about Baroka’s slyness, one in which the Bale stopped foreigners from building a railroad line. Explain this story in detail. How do Baroka’s character traits as listed by others compare to the traits he reveals when pursuing Sidi? Give examples.

The play highlights the differences between modernity and tradition. Using scenes, characters, and specific examples from the play, provide some of the similarities and differences between modernity and tradition. Does the play hold one concept in higher regard than the other?

The play uses allegory and local sayings (what Baroka oftentimes calls riddles) to flesh out the characters’ true thoughts. Provide examples of these allegories, and of several sayings. Explain what each one means in the context in which it is used.

Animals, reptiles, and objects are used to highlight character traits throughout the play. Starting with the title of the play, highlight the most important animals and objects that appear in the play. What do these symbols say of the characters they represent?