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(v) Cultural conflict: It refers to clashes of characters from different cultures or
between a character and the culture of a given society. For example, in Wole
Soyinka’s play “The Lion and the Jewel” cultural conflict is depicted between
Yoruba-based values of Baroka and Modern or Western influenced ideas of
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Lakule as they vie for Sidi’s hand in marriage.
(vi) Political conflict (conflicts between political groups or parties, conflicts about
different ways of developing the country, etc.): For example, the conflict in
“Kongi’s Harvest”, Soyinka depicts the character Kongi in conflict with
those he leads. Kongi is a modern dictator who wants to control everything,
including traditional leadership. He wants to replace Oba Danlola.

The third element of content is a message. The message refers to the main point the
writer wants to make. It comes out of the theme. For example, if a story’s central
theme is war, the author may show how war has caused the death of innocent people.
By doing so, he sends the message to readers that societies should avoid war at any
cost. From the message, one also gets another element of content called a lesson.
The lesson is what the reader learns from the literary text. From the theme of war,
the message that “societies should avoid war”, we get the lesson that war is useless
or during war, innocent lives vanish. The fourth element of content is philosophy.
Philosophy is how the writer sees life as expressed through the content of the given
story. To get the philosophy of the writer, the reader has to distinguish between the
ideas of the characters and the author’s ideas about life.

Questions

1. “Literature is a mirror that reflects the culture of a particular society.” What
does this statement mean to you?
2. How does the title of any literary work help a reader to understand the
message(s) the writer wants to convey?
3. What are your views on the statement “Form and content are two sides of the
same coin”?
4. By using any story book you have read, identify the main theme and minor
themes.
5. How can you tell the writer’s philosophy in a book you have read?
6. Can there be a story without conflict? Explain your answer.
7. How are character and characterisation related to the content of a literary text?

English for Secondary Schools Student’s Book Form Three
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ENGLISH F3 PB.indd 150 17/09/2025 16:34:48