Cultural Dichotomy In Gabriel Okara's Piano And Drums

Title of the Paper: Cultural dichotomy in Okara’s Piano and Drums.

Abstract:

Piano and drums written by modern Nigerian poet Gabriel Okara enlightens us about the cultural and identical complexities faced by the African people. The European civilization was introduced in Africa after the arrival of the former in the 16th century. Most of the native Africans stuck to their traditions, while some of them living in the urban absorbed the behavioral pattern of the Europeans. The poet thus symbolizes the drum with the traditional African life while Piano with that of European culture. The paper will attempt to give the detailed analysis of the poem to highlight the cultural dichotomy of the native Africans by presenting the vivid picture of traditional African lifestyle and the problems faced by them after the mingling of European culture and

In the first stanza, we saw the picture of traditional African life, where the hunter is about to attack the leopard snarling about to leap the panther. In the second verse, the poet, recalls the memories of his childhood lying on his mother's lap-a suckling and feels as if he's being carried back to his babyhood. The familiar sound of the drum makes him recall the memories of his youth. The third stanza depicted the poet's attitude and changes taking place with the sound of the music of the Piano. The sound of a piano with its various tempos, complex musical notes, the melodious sounds produced are superb and admired by the westerner; but to Okara it is different. His confusion of Western music is symbolized by the words ‘diminuendo counter point crescendo’. The fourth verse, touches upon the views of the poet. He has no choice. He can neither flush back to the old ways and traditions nor accept the modern