All of Amos Tutuola's works follow a definite structure. Though they are all heterogeneous and anecdotal in character, the episodes are all tied together, albeit loosely, by their involvement of the hero in them. The romances start off usually with a situation compelling the hero to embark on a quest. This quest leads him through various ordeal at the end of which he returns to his original point, a better man.
In The Palm Wine Drinkard the preliminary pages prepare the ground for the impending quest. Its hero, the Palm Wine Drinkard himself is presented as having an inordinate appetite for choice Palm Wine. From the age of ten he drank 225 kegs a day and wished to do nothing else. He knew what was good for him and that was just what his witch doctor had ordered. But when his regular supply was disrupted upon the death of his tapster his social standing suffered a heavy blow. Friends who once clamored after him deserted him. Then on being intimated of the possibility of redeeming his tapster, he embarks on his quest for him in Deads Town.
He himself and his wife were thus engulfed in numerous ordeals and adventures-mostly preternatural. Such beings as Death, the Skull, the crazy and cruel creatures of Unreturnable-Heaven's Town, Faithful-Mother, the Red-People, the Prince-Killer, the hostile dead babies and the hungry creature struggle against him in such ordeals.. He often came face to face with Death in such situations.
Among the devilish creatures he encountered was a "beautiful complete gentleman" who, as he went through the forests returned the hired parts of his body to their owners whilst paying rentage and soon becoming a full-bodied gentleman reduced to skull. His newly -found wife bore him a child from her thumb. But this child was abnormal, a pyromaniac, who smashes domestic animals to death and a bigger drinkard than its father. The drinkard was as a result forced to burn it to ashes. And out of the ash appeared a half-bodied child talking with a "lower voice like a telephone".
At the end of his quest the Drinkard gets reconciled to the futility of bringing his tapster back to life, since he had lost all communication with the world of the Alives (the living). But the quest earns him .the magical egg which provides him anything he desires such as palm wine and food. He is also enabled to relieve the town of famine. He is also enabled to correct the people's greed. He thus emerges at the end as the people's conscience.
In Simbi and the Satyr of the Dark Jungle, Tutuola introduces the heroine in the first few pages. This sociable and pleasure -loving girl is almost taken off her wits on learning of her two friends' disappearance. This leads to her frustration with her affluent and comfortable background. She thus embarks on her quest to experience Poverty and Punishment even against the better judgment of her elders. In enslavement, she experiences all sorts of brutalities and degradation. When in defiance of the codes of conduct in the field, she plunges into a song which kills her master, she is nailed in a coffin and dumped in a river. On being rescued and taken to Sinner's Town she discovers her long-lost friend. At the point of being executed, she wilefully snatches the King's swords, beheads him and, together with his friends, escapes. They kept wandering on the Path of Death to find their way home. Her apparently neurotic friend, Bako, now joins in inflicting punishment on Simbi: She is arrested for theft at the Town of the Multi Colored people where she is also joined and severely beaten. Bako's exploits here lead them to flee the land. They now journey from forest to forest until their encountering the fearful monster, the satyr, whom she engages in an exhausting battle. Terribly, sick, she is carried off by an eagle into a hollow tree where on being almost swallowed by a boa constrictor, she is rescued by a wood cutter who later marries her. At the land of Poverty her clothes turn into ashes and as if that is not enough strange occurrences, fruits transform into stones as soon as she reaches out to pick them.
The Satyr then launches her second attack. She flies into his nose in the shape of a water insect and stings him to death. She releases her friends from the Satyr's cage. They then return to their villages and have their toll on their captor, Dogo. The moral transformation in Simbi is summed up as follows: Having rested for some days, she was going from house, to house...warning all the children that it was a great mistake to a girl who did not obey her parents [S.S.D.J.p134]
Ajaiyi, the narrator in the third selection AJjaiyi and his Inherited Poverty introduces himself, his family and village. This takes us 200 years deep into the past when he first came into this world through another father and mother. Their desire to change their fortune after their parents' death lead them into a kidnapper's cap. This kidnapper sells them off to the idol-worshipper. They escape into the forest where they fall into the grips of another evil being, The Spirit of Fire. The benevolent Queen of the River then helps them to make their way off.
Ajaiyi now has a bitter experience with Ade, the traitor, who through treachery beguiles him from his newly found wealth. One- legged ghosts capture them on their way to the Creator. But they regain their freedom through engaging them in a tough battle. Disappointed that fiscal matters cannot be dealt with at the creator's abode, they move on to the God of Iron who almost put them to death. At the end the creator presents them with heavy lumps of iron under which they struggle through the rest of their journey. Even when abandoned, they pursue them onto the country of the Witches. There they are detained in preparation for their possible sacrifice. But with the transformation of the witch mother into the pupils of the eye, they escape and arrive at a friend's village. From there they are led to the Devil. He stands up heroically there against selling his soul away to the devil. Back at his village Ajaiyi starts making frantic moves to redeem himself from poverty. But on realizing that the witch doctor has been insincere, he assaults him and makes away with all his money. But as shown below, Ajaiyi's series of grueling experiences have sharpened his moral responsiveness.
Although I had six thousand pounds from this witch doctor of my village with bravery which he had got from the various people by his satanic way. Of course this money could free me from my poverty. But I did not spend it at all because it came to my mind this midnight that" money was father of sins and insincerities". And I remember this midnight as well that Ojo, Alabi and I had been seriously warned in the town of the creator that we should keep ourselves away from sins when we returned to our village. Furthermore, when the Head of the drummers of the Creator took us to the place of the punishments in the town of the Creator. I saw uncountable of the Lords, millionaires, barristers, money lenders, judges, etc etc, who were in the greatest fire in respect of the sins which they had committed in order to get money before they died. So having remembered all this, instead to pay my debts out of this money, I simply kept it in a room
[A.H.I.P.Pp233-4]
With this money in his hand, he later builds churches rather than pay off his debtors. This and his dedication to the spread of the word of God, show his selfless devotion to the people's welfare.
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING:
Collins, Harold R. AMOS TUTUOLA New York, Twayne Publishers Inc., 1969
Frye, Northrop, ANATOMY OF CRITICISM
Larson, Charles R. THE EMERGENCE OF AFRICAN FICTION , Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1972 Lawrence, Margaret LONG DRUMS AND CANNONS
Moore, Gerald AMOS TUTUOLA
Palmer, Eustace THE GROWTH OF THE AFRICAN NOVEL
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