Drama & the Revolutionary Vision: Bate Besong's "Beasts of No Nation" and Bole Butake's "Lake God"

By Eunice Ngongkum (Ph.D.) - Department of African Literature, University of Yaounde I

Abstract
Using the Marxist, Sociological and Formalistic approaches to literary criticism, this paper aims at underscoring the centrality of Beasts of No Nation and Lake God in the evolution of Bate Besong and Bole Butake as dramatists of revolt. The playwrights do not only realistically and critically capture post-colonial Cameroon in its political, social and spiritual essence but, actually lay the basis of a future of hopes and possibilities through the actions of the oppressed in these plays. The revolutionary overture in these works lays the foundation of a developing revolutionary offensive that matures significantly in subsequent plays

This paper examines the centrality of Beasts of No Nations and Lake God in the evolution of the revolutionary vision of Bate Besong and Bole Butake respectively. It seeks to show that before the publication of these plays, both writers had more or less been concerned with simply delineating an essentially dystopian society in their first published plays. With the evolution of post-independent Cameroon however, both playwrights go beyond a mere presentation of society to a questioning of it. There are even indications that something can be done about its inherent contradictions. This is the basis of a revolutionary vision that is substantially developed in their subsequent plays.

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Comments

[Musambe Anne]

Dear Sir
i want to say a special THANK YOU to you on behalf of many other young Cameroonians like myself who hold you in high esteem.Doctor after going through some of your works and listening to you over the CRTV programme COGITO i must say that i am very happy with your contributions towards building the Cameroonian society which as of now is in a major state of decomposition.
Again Doctor when i look at your work i get this content urge to want to study as i look up to you as a rolemodel.