The Palm Wine Drinkard Character Analysis

In attempts to retrieve a deceased tapster, the protagonist of The Palm-Wine Drinkard, sets out on an archetypal quest. From the age of 10, the palm-wine drinkard is accustomed to consuming 250 gallons of palm-wine daily given to him by his trusted tapster. One day his tapster, while at work, faced a tragic death. Unable to find a replacement tapster able to produce enough palm wine to satisfy him, the palm wine drinkard sets out on a quest to retrieve his deceased tapster from the Land of the Dead. This quest, supernatural in nature, encompasses three defining stages for the protagonist; his departure, initiation, and return. Throughout the quest the protagonist faces challenges; success in these tests are imperative in proving himself extraordinary. The

He enters the house of the god claiming to be “the father of all gods who could do everything in this world” (PAGE 194). The god whom owns the house becomes the first task master. The task he is sent on is to prove himself as a fellow god, therefore the task must be supernatural in nature as well. He is sent to the god’s native blacksmith from an unknown place to retrieve an item that is unknown to him. Cleverly thinking, the PWD uses one of his juju to transform into a bird. Then, he goes to the roof of the god to listen in on a conversation between the old man and his wife. He overhears the old man tell his wife that that the unknown item is a bell. Therefore, the PWD flies to the blacksmith and retrieves the bell so that the old man is shocked and believes that he indeed is the father of all gods who could do everything in this world. Along the continuation of the journey, the palm-wine drinkard encounters additional task-masters. In each encounter, he proves himself clever and intuitive, always able to figure out how to complete the task at