THE DYNAMICS OF CULTURE IN HOPE EGHAGHA’S DEATH NOT A REDEEMER

The synthesis or dichotomy between ‘traditional ways’ and ‘new ways’ in African societies continue to agitate the minds of Contemporary African Writers. Hope Eghagha for example brings to the fore cross currents in the interpretation of culture as a way of life in his play Death Not A Redeemer. The dynamics of the cultural formation in the play is informed by the prevailing cultural politics. It conveys a counter-action that reverses the tragic sequence in Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman which portrays death as a redeeming force. Eghagha’s radical approach raises the question of motive, the considerations of human values and the role of Western education, religion and the judiciary in the dynamic interplay which culminates in the abdication of a profound traditional responsibility. The play reveals the opportunism of the abdicator, the principle of the son who supports abdication, and the self interests of the wife, the custodian of tradition