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THE
DILEMMA OF A GHOST
By Ama Ata Aidoo
The
Dilemma of a Ghost is a play by Ghanaian poet and novelist Ama Ata Aidoo.
The
play centres around Ato Yawson, a Ghanaian who recently completed his studies
in the United States and returns home with an American bride, Eulalie.
From the beginning it is clear that Eulalie isn't like the girls back home, and that there is potential for conflict here. Already in the opening scene, a short prelude, Eulalie and Ato are arguing. Still, here there seems hope that love can conquer all -- at least that's how the two feel. But one of the big issues they will face is already addressed here: Eulalie isn't eager to bear children yet, though it is expected of her and Ato that they will begin a family as soon as possible.
 |
| Ama Ata Aidoo |
THE DILEMMA OF A GHOST
By Ama Ata Aidoo
Ghana
CASTS
(Characters)
(Characters)
¨
Ato Yawson: A young
Ghanaian graduate.
¨
Eulalie Yawson:
Afro-American graduate.
¨
Esi Kom: Ato’s mother
¨
Monka: His sister.
¨
Nana: His
grandmother.
¨
Akyere: His elder
aunt.
¨
Mansa: His younger
aunt
¨
Petu: His elder
uncle.
¨
Akroma: His younger
uncle.
¨
1st Woman
¨
2nd Woman. Neighbours
¨
Boy
¨
Girl Two children in a dream. The boy being the
ghost of Ato’s former self.
¨
The bird of the
wayside.
Prelude
The play begins with a prelude including a poem introducing the setting
and the main characters. Ato a Ghanaian graduate from Odumna Clan also called “the One Scholar” returns to Ghana from
his studies in North America and brings with him a black American wife.
She is optimistic that life is going to be nice for her on the African
land and Ato’s people will be her people. He assures her that even if they
don’t get children that won’t matter for him, but they will create a paradise
in their marriage and having children can be postponed as long as Eulalie
wishes.
Act One
It
features two village women retuning from the river with their water pots discussing
how they toil like slaves doing the domestic and farm works while other family
members are resting. They also talk about the arrival of Ato who is expected to
pay the debts his mother had.
Nana
the grandmother is happy for the return of her grandson while she is still
alive. She complains that the darkness has fallen but the women have not lit
the light. Ato calls them and his uncle Akroma and Petu comes at the same time.
Nana suggests that Akroma should take his wife to a famous herbalist called
Kofikrom instead of depending on the white man’s medicine alone which seems to
be ineffective to his wife. They gather as a family and discuss various things
including how Ato the firstborn was humble growing up. Petu asks for the sheep
that Eskom was rearing and she reports that she sold it to get the money to pay
the bride price for Ato.
Ato
informs them that he is already married and they are all surprised and they
attack him with questions like; You are
married? Married? Who is your wife, when did you marry? What is her name? Where
does she come from? etc.
The
news troubles them a lot because she is from America and they can’t pronounce
her name. He assures them that she is just an American of African ancestry
because her grandparents were taken from Africa to America as slaves. This
additional information confuses them even more to learn that Eulalie is an
offspring of slaves. Nana is more frustrated how she will tell the story to the
dead ancestors when she dies, that one of their stock had brought home a slave.
Act Two
Fourteen
days later, two women are talking as they come from the woods where they have
gathered some faggots. They discuss how important it is to have children but
they comment on Monka, Eskom’s daughter who never marries well. However they
don’t blame Eskom for Monka’s rudeness. They expect Ato to take care of his
nephews (Monka’s children) but they also say that those days are gone.
They
talk about Ato’s wife and the second woman reports that Eskom had gone to knock
the door of Yaw Mensa to ask for his daughter to marry her son. But she says
that he has refused to marry this girl and has instead married a Black-white
woman. They hear the cry of a baby from a distance and the 1st woman
wishes she also had a child.
Later
Eulalie is seen giving a long monologue/soliloquy after arriving in Africa. She
wonders what she would do if she finds out that she has made a mistake coming
to Africa. She even acknowledges the change of her name from Eulalie Rush to
Eulalie Yawson. She expresses the misconception she had about Africa that she thought
of it as a jungle, and never thought there is Coke in Africa. She expresses her
identity and the pride that her mother instilled in her that God created her
black and she cannot change it. She wishes her mother was alive to see her.
Ato
then joins her and the two discuss several things teasing each other. Eulalie
introduces the idea of starting a family but Ato objects that they should stick
to their original plan.
Act Three
Six months later, Ato and Eulalie have come to spend a weekend. Ato dreams
of a boy and a girl in a siesta (afternoon sleep) singing about the ghost who
was in a dilemma not knowing where to go whether to Elmina or to Cape Coast. He
is so worried about the dream because it once happened when he was still young.
His uncle Petu comes to greet them and Ato tells him about the dream he had. He
says that the boy in the dream looked like him (Ato) when he was a child. Uncle
encourages him not to think much about the dream while he works on it.
Two hours later, Ato’s mother Eskom comes and brings them the snails to
prepare the food. When Eulalie sees them she throws them away and this causes a
great conflict between Ato and Eulalie and Ato with his mother. Ato tries to
defend his wife but Esikom insists that she has to follow the culture of her
husband and not the vice versa. Eskom tells Ato how she had troubles collecting
the school fees from the unsympathetic rich people and his uncles. She tells
him how her friends are laughing at her because she is poorer than ever before
since she has pawned her properties and cannot redeem them. She complains that
all the money goes to satisfy Eulalie’s (Hureri’s) needs.
Act Four
Six months later two women returning from the market are discussing
about the day of “Sprinkling of the Stool”.
They also discuss about Ato, who has not brought any change in his family since
he arrived to the point that his mother’s roof leaks more than ever before.
Later they say that it is all because of Eulalie, who spends all the money
buying cigarettes, drinks, clothes and machines. They also discuss her state of
barrenness because it seems so, as she has not given birth since she came.
Ato’s relatives come to perform the ritual of sprinkling the compound to
chase the evil spirits using the herbal concoction then they leave. Several
hours later Ato and Eulalie are discussing about her drinking behaviour and he
asks her to put the drinks in the room because more relatives are coming. At
last they arrive and ask Ato to inform his wife that they are going to wash her
stomach so that she may conceive. Ato objects but Petu his uncle tells him that
they met and discussed about the issue why he is not getting a child. They also
inform him that they are aware that his wife smokes cigarettes and drinks just
like men.
When they leave Eulalie asks Ato what the meeting was about and he
informs her that they came to tell Ato and Eulalie that they are displeasing
the spirits of the dead ancestors for controlling birth.
Act Five
The next morning Ato and Eulalie are expected to attend a Thanksgiving
Service of his cousin who had died the year before. Eulalie refuses to go with
him because as she claims Ato listens to his people so much that she is forced
to do as they wish. She complains that Ato’s relatives force their wills on her
including when she should have children. She asks Ato to tell them that she
will have children when she wants them, but Ato says that they won’t
understand. She then insults them that they only understand their own savage
customs and standards because they are more savage than dinosaurs with their
snails and potions.
Ato tells her; “When in Rome do as
the Romans do” she tells him that if he can preach so well, then he should
preach to his own people to try to have a little bit of understanding for the
things they don’t know anything about yet. Ato tells her to shut up and asks
her “How much does the American negro
know?” At this point the argument intensifies to the point that Eulalie
tells Ato “Do you compare these bastards,
these stupid narrow-minded savages with us? Do you dare?” Ato loses his temper and slaps her and leaves
the house.
At midnight Ato is seriously looking for Eulalie but she cannot be
found. The first and second women hear the noise from Esikom’s house and they
come to find out. 2nd woman guesses that something is wrong between
him and his wife the Dilemma of the
Ghost. They talk about the way Eulalie was seen in the evening sitting on
the grass in the school with her head bowed. Finally they go back to sleep.
Esi comes out to enquire what is happening. Ato tells her that he is
looking for Eulalie because she has disappeared after slapping her. Ato says he
did so because she insulted his people and refused to go to the thanksgiving
service. Esi says she refused because she is barren. Ato tells her that they
will have children when they want them and his wife is not barren. Esi wonders
whether they are gods who can create their own children. However Esi blames Ato
for not teaching his wife about his culture for as she believes “No stranger ever breaks the law.”
Eulalie appears and she looks very weak and unhappy. Esikom goes to
support her and after addressing Ato she supports her to the family house. Ato
remains confused and bewildered and lost. Then an echo from his own mind brings
the voices of the children.
Shall I go to Cape
Coast
Shall I go to Elmina?
I can’t tell
Shall I?
I can’t tell
I can’t tell
I can’t tell
I can’t tell
TITLE OF THE PLAY
A dilemma is a situation which
makes problems, often one in which someone has to make a very difficult choice
between things of equal importance. A ghost is the spirit of a dead
person that a living person believes they can see or hear.
“The Dilemma of a Ghost” is a play featuring a Ghanaian graduate who goes to study in North
America and on his return to Africa he comes with a sophisticated Black
American wife. They have hopes of a happy marriage by combining the sweetest
and loveliest things from Africa and America but soon their hopes are shown to
have been built on an unstable foundation. The issues that arise afterwards
place Ato the main character in a dilemma. There are several cases of dilemma
in the play:
¨ One, the dilemma of the ghost in Ato’s dream. Ato dreams of a boy and a girl in a siesta (afternoon sleep) singing
about the ghost who was in a dilemma not knowing where to go whether to Elmina
or to Cape Coast. This reminds him of the song he used to sing when he was
young but he wonders why the dream has come back to him now.
One early morning,
When the moon was up
Shinning as the sun
I went to Elmina junction
And there and there,
I saw a wretched ghost
Going up and down
Singing to himself
Shall I go
To Cape Coast
Or to Elmina
I don’t know, (p.28)
¨ Two, Ato is in a Dilemma whether to side with his people or his wife. Symbolically, the ghost refers to African culture that haunts Ato
himself who is now educated and wants to compromise some of his roots. He
informs his uncle “But uncle the boy
looks like me when I was a child” (p.30). Since Ato has been exposed to
both cultures; of educated people and of his own folks (people), he is in a
dilemma how to balance the two cultural extremes.
¨ Three, Eulalie is in a dilemma whether to follow her culture or that of
Ato’s folks. Eulalie is confused when she
finds out that things are not going to be as they had anticipated when in
America. She is forced to follow the culture that she is not used to. Things
get hot when she is slapped by Ato and she has nowhere to go. The 2nd
woman reports “But it seems as if between
him and the wife The Dilemma of a Ghost
all is not well.” (p.48)
SETTING
The setting of the play is divided
into two major phases.
¨
American setting- this is when Ato and Eulalie are
still in America planning to come to Africa and start their living hoping to
create a paradise in Africa. This is shown in the prelude of the story. Things
like American slang used by Eulalie ‘Ato
cant your Ma be sort of my ma too?” (p.9) and cigarette smoking for women
sum up the American setting.
¨
African setting and Ghana in particular. The rest of the play is set in
Africa and the themes portrayed are a clear reflection of African setting. Things
like bride price, superstition, forced marriage, wife beating and the like are
very common in Africa than elsewhere in the world.
STYLE
¨
Dialogue – the dominant style is dialogue as
expected of any play. Dialogue is usually used to set the
mood and tone of the play and bring events and characters to life.
¨
Soliloquy. In page 23 and 24, Eulalie’s voice
gives a long monologue describing her experience in Africa. The author says “[On the other hand the passage could be
spoken as a soliloquy with the mother’s voice interrupting from back stage]”
¨
Flash-forward. This is a sudden jump forward in
time, usually used to eliminate unnecessary events between the more interesting
events of a story. In this play this technique is used to speed up the acts
from one act to another. For example;
From act one to act two; she skips two weeks [A
fortnight later. Afternoon]
From act two to act three; she skips six months. [Six
months later. Saturday afternoon]
From act three to act four; she skips six months
[Another six months later]
¨
Point of view. The dominant point of view through
which the story is told in first person point of view. With few cases of third
person point of view.
¨
Songs and poetic language.
The playwright has used songs such as the one the boy
and girl sing in Ato’s dream. (p.28)
One early morning,
When the moon was up
Shinning as the sun
I went to Elmina junction
And there and there,
I saw a wretched ghost
Going up and down
Singing to himself
Shall I go
To Cape Coast
Or to Elmina
I don’t know,
I can’t tell,
I don’t know,
I can’t tell
Another song is sung by Monka in page 33.
¨
Poetic language also spreads throughout the play
but more specifically it is that which is used by the 1st and 2nd
women that serve as a chorus in page 11 to 12, 39 to 40 and from 48 to 49
LANGUAGE
USE
Ama Ata Aidoo has used a simple and straightforward
language that is rich in both African heritage and American influence; giving the
play African originality by the way she integrates the sayings and proverbs
from African setting. The introduction of an Afro-American character–Eulalie,
adds to the language, a flavour of Black–American slang. There is also the use
of abusive language which has become just normal among the Afro-Americans but
it is considered inappropriate elsewhere particularly back in Africa where they
actually came from. The following elements of language use have been manifested
in the play.
¨
Slang
Eulalie an
Afro-American character who has her roots traced in Africa during the slave
trade, is fully Americanised and speaks the Black English as evidenced in the
following lines;
Eu:
Yeah…That jus whar yar beautiful wife as corn the, soaking on God’s holy
day….My lord, whar a morning!
¨
Abusive language
Eulalie uses abusive language when addressing Ato and
his kinsmen referring to them as savages, stupid, narrow-minded and bastards.
She goes a step ahead to say that even their land is rotten. The following
quotations explain this point clearly;
“Have they
appreciation for anything but their own prehistoric existence? More savage than
dinosaurs”. Despising their foods and traditions she adds “With their snails and potions!” addressing
Ato she comments about his people and his land by saying “I must always do things to please you and your folks…..what about the
sort of things I like? Aren’t they gotten any meaning on this rotten land? (p.49).
She finalises her statement by giving bitter comments showing that in no way an
American negro can be compared to this barbaric tribe of west Africa by saying “Do you compare these bastards, these
stupid narrow-minded savages with us? Do you dare…? (p.48)
Figures of
Speech
Satire
¨
Ama Ata Aidoo has satirised some issues in her play
for humorous effect and makes her play a blend between tragedy and comedy thus
producing a tragicomedy drama. One of the cases of witty is portrayed by The First and Second Women who are noted for their witty
utterances on issues raised in the play, especially on the importance of
children in Akan traditional marriage and the financial situation of Esi Kom
after the return of Ato from America. It is true that we do not only have
humour in The Dilemma of Ghost but other aspects of tragicomedy such as
witty speech and a happy ending exist in the play.
¨
There are some
utterances in the play that show the satire such as;
“And you know
some of us are not lucky enough to be paid to sit in an office doing nothing”.
(p.29). This satirises the behaviour
of most educated people who demand higher salaries while all they do is to sit
in the offices doing the paper work that is incomparable to the salary they
get.
“Maami, Maami, Ato’s morning
sunshine has thrown away the snails you gave them.” This is a mockery to Eulalie who has
failed to adapt herself to the new culture of her husband, and Monka calls her
“Ato’s morning sunshine” because she
considers herself a delicate being.
Simile
¨
He will kick us all around as if we
were his football. (p.15)
¨
She mutters ‘Christ, Christ’, like a
caged animal. (p.25)
¨
But uncle the boy looked like me
when I was a child. (p.30)
¨
All the time I have been quiet as if
I were a tortoise. (p.34)
¨
Living a life of failure is like
taking snuff at the beach. (p.35)
¨
The name keeps buzzing in my head
like the sting of a witch-bee. (p.36)
¨
I hear she swallows money as a hen
does corn. (p.38)
¨
Barren as an orange which has been
scooped of all fruits? (p.39)
¨
And who has not heard that she can
cut a drink as well as any man? (p.45)
¨
It looks like a…ghost. (p.48)
¨
Besides, marriage is like Oware.
(p.49)
¨
Then suddenly, like an echo from his
own mind the voices of the children break out. (p.52)
Metaphor
¨
Our white master, we welcome you. (p.15)
Referring to Ato.
¨
Ato’s morning sunshine. (p. 32)
Referring to Aulelie
¨
Why did you not tell us that you and
your wife are gods…(p.51)
Personification
¨
Do they not know that if the heavens
withdraw their light, man must light his own way? (p.13)
¨
Since the morning has found us we
must eat. (p.29)
¨
If nakedness promises you clothes
ask his name. (37)
¨
Her food never knows wood fire.
(p.38)
¨
For the sun has journeyed far in the
sky. (p.23)
Rhetorical
question.
¨
Who doesn’t know that she smokes
cigarettes? And who has not heard that she can cut a drink as well as any man?
(p.45)
Euphemism
¨
…what is preventing you from giving
your grandmother a great-grandchild before she leaves us. (p.43) meaning before she dies.
Exaggeration
¨
I say Eulalie am I to wait here for
ever? (p.46). Basically, one cannot wait for someone forever.
¨
Is this noise not enough to wake the
dead? (p.48). Actually, no noise can wake the dead.
Apostrophe
–
¨
This is a direct address to the dead or an inanimate
object creating an emotional surge. Here the 1st Woman addresses the
Queen Mother of Childbirth.
Oh, Eternal Mother Nature,
Queen Mother of childbirth,
How was it you went past my house
Without a pause
Without a rest?
Mighty God, when shall the cry of an
meant
Come into my ear
For the sun has journey far
In the sky. (p. 23)
Sayings/proverbs
¨
We can soon know the bird which will
not do well, for his nest hangs by the wayside. (p.15)
¨
Of course, he is a firstborn. Our eldest
hold that first horns are always humble. (p.15)
¨
One must take time to dissect an ant
in order to discover its entrails. (p.16)
¨
Even when the unmentionable came and
carried off the children of the house in shoals like fish. (p.19)
¨
If nothing scratched at the palm
fibre, it certainly would not have creaked. (p.34)
¨
There are two kinds of offers; one
which comes right from the bowls and the other which falls from the lips only.
(p.34)
¨
The vulture right from the beginning
wallow in the soup he will eat. (p.36)
¨
Then scoop your ears of all their
wax and bring them here. (p.37)
¨
One should not tell too much tale.
(p.39)
¨
Youngman one does not stand in
ant-trail to pick off ants. (p.42)
¨
Now you are moving in its right
path. (p.42)
¨
Who has swallowed the dog’s eye.
(p.49)
¨
But if both players are good, the
game may end equally. (p.49)
¨
Let us go back to mend our broken
sleep. (p.49)
¨
No stranger ever breaks the law.
(p.51) referring to Eulalie that she cannot be blamed for her behaviour but Ato
is to be.
CHARACTERISATION
Ato Yawson:
¨
He is a young Ghanaian graduate. Ato is an educated man who got his education in America and returns to
his society with an African-American wife –Eulalie.
¨
He is a betrayer/traitor. Ato is
portrayed as a traitor as he betrays his society particularly his mother who
toiled a lot to make sure that he gets education. He comes back and goes to
live in the city leaving his mother in a leaking house which makes people laugh
at her. He has also betrayed his culture by marrying a woman from another
culture who fails to cope up with the traditional life and ends up insulting
his people.
¨
He is jealous. Ato professes to be
jealous by telling Eulalie that he does not want to have the children yet
because he can’t afford seeing Eulalie paying greater attention to the children
than to him. He says “Children? Who wants
them? In fact, they will make me jealous. I couldn’t bear seeing you love
someone else better than you do me” (p. 10)
¨
He was humble as a child. Ato is said
to have been humble when he was growing up. Even in his adult age he still
portrays high level of humility until Eulalie abuses that chance and he loses
his temper and slaps her. But throughout the play he remains humble and cool
even when things get hot on him. Nana says “I
think you should all know that Ato was always a humble one” (p.15)
¨
He is a first born to Esikom and a brother to Monka. Ato is the first born and his quality of humbleness is attributed to his
being the first born as his uncle Petu comments: “Of course he is the firstborn. Our eldest hold that first horns are
always humble”.
¨
He is an agent for change. Ato comes back
educated and wants to change the mentality of his people. He comes with a wife
from another culture to help them understand that in marriage affairs what
matters is love and not tribe. He also teaches them a lesson about birth
control because most of them don’t know family planning.
Eulalie Yawson:
¨
She is an Afro-American graduate. Eulalie is an educated African American lady and the offspring of the
African descendants who were taken to America as slaves. She admits “I’ve come to the very source” (p.24)
¨
She is aware of her African identity. Born in America, she still knows that her origin is Africa. She was
taught by her mother to value her African identity as she comments;
“Sugar, don’t sort of curse me and your Pa every morning you
look your face in the mirror and see yourself black. Kill the sort of dreams
silly girls dream that they are going to wake up one morning and find their
skins milk white and their hairs soft blonde…” (p 24)
¨
She is spendthrift/extravagant. Eulalie is very extravagant when it comes to expenditure. Some believe
that she is the reason Ato forgets his mother because she is too demanding. The
1st and 2nd women have the following to say about her;
2nd W: One must sit down
if one wants to talk of her affairs. They say that the young man gets no penny
to buy himself a shirt….
1st W: Then how does she
spend all that money?
2nd W: By buying
cigarettes, drinks, clothes, and machines.
(p.38)
¨
She uses abusive language. Eulalie is
very abusive as she keeps insulting Ato and his people calling them bad names
like bastards, uncivilised, more savages than dinosaurs, stupid and narrow
minded and says their land is rotten etc. This is the reason Ato loses his
temper and slaps her. She says for instance. “Do you compare
these bastards, these stupid narrow-minded savages with us? Do you dare…?(p.48)
¨
She is a cigarette smoker and a heavy drunkard. Eulalie is a heavy drunkard and a cigar smoker something that causes
more conflicts and attracts dislike from Ato’s relatives. Akyere laments “Who does not know that she smokes
cigarettes? And who has not heard that she can cut a drink as well as any man?”
(p.45)
¨
She is wilful and rigid to change. She comes back to Africa but fails to fit in the society of her
husband because she is too westernised and rigid to change. She does some
things deliberately knowing that she is wrong but she is not willing to change.
She tells Ato “I have been drinking in
spite of what your people say. Who married me, you or your goddam people?”
(p.47)
¨
She is disobedient and very rude. Eulalie is very rude and does not admit mistakes. Although she has her
origin traced back to Africa, she looks down upon these African people who have
never been to the States. She tells Ato for example “I shall say anything I like. I am right tired. I must do things to
please you and your folks…What about the sort of things I like? Aren’t they
gotten any meaning on this rotten land?” (p.47)
Esi Kom:
¨
She is Ato’s and Monka’s mother. She is said to be a good mother who takes good care of her children.
Even Monka’s behaviour that makes her fail to stay with husbands is not taken
as Eskom’s failure.
¨
She has a loving and caring heart. Esikom has a loving and caring heart as it can be
seen by the way she takes the food to Ato and his wife after hearing that they
are back from the city. “So I thought I
would bring you one or two things for I hear food is almost unbuyable in the
city these days” (p.31)
¨
She is poor. Esikom lives a poor
life in a house with a leaking roof. Her poor state is partly contributed by
the fact that she has spent all her resources paying the school fees for Ato’s
education. Sometimes she was forced to borrow money from rich people and she
had to pawn her properties as she says. “how
often did I weep before your uncles and great uncles while everyone complained
that my one son’s education was ruining our home” (p.35)
¨
She is very hardworking. Very little
information is told about Ato’s father, so we are made to believe that in most
cases Eskom was responsible for raising her children. Despite this bitter fact,
she manages to do all it takes to give her son a University education. She is
also gathering the money for which to pay the bride price for her son’s
marriage.
¨
She is sympathetic. Esikom is very
sympathetic because despite the fact that she did not agree with Eulalie in
most of her misdemeanours, she still showed her a sympathetic heart when she
came back home after being slapped by Ato. She even tried to defend Eulalie
that she cannot be blamed for her mistakes because “No Stranger ever breaks the law”
¨ She is a
traditionalist. As other members of this
traditional society, she also believes in some outdated customs like choosing a
wife for her son. We are told she went to Yaw Mensa to ask his daughter to marry her
son. (p.22) She also sells the sheep to pay the bride price for him.
¨ She is illiterate. She has never been to school that’s why she
cannot even pronounce the word Eulalie and pronounces it as Hurere. She is also not aware of modern
birth control methods and tells Ato that “Ei,
everyone should come and listen to this. I have not heard anything like it
before…Human beings deciding when they must have children?”(p.51).
Nana:
¨
She is Ato’s and Monka’s grandmother. She is now very old in her eighty plus years old.
¨
She is talkative. She likes complaining whenever things are not
going well. She admits that “You people
say always say I talk too much so I try not to put my tongue in your affairs”
(p.14)
¨
She is a traditionalist and illiterate. She objects the idea of Ato marrying the daughter of the slaves and
wonders how she will narrate the story to the dead ancestors when she dies and
joins them. She says “Now what shall I
tell them who are gone? The daughter of slaves who came from the white man’s land.”
(p.14)
Monka:
¨
She is Ato’s sister.
¨
She is saucy. Despite the fact
that her mother brings her up in good manners Monka’s behaviour is still
questionable. That is why she fails to stay with her husband. The 1st
and 2nd women comment on her “Is
not Monka the sauciest girl born here for many years? Has she not the hardest
moch in this town? (p.21)
¨
She is a traditionalist. Like other
members of the society she too is not happy with the idea of Ato marrying a
foreign girl. She says for instance “Ei, so I have a sister-in-law whom I do
not know?” (p.16). She thought he would marry a daughter of the tribe whom
she knows.
¨
She is illiterate. She is not educated
as a result she fails to pronounce some words like America she says Amrica, Eulalie
she says Hurere. At times she calls
Eulalie with strange names like “Ato’s
morning sunshine”
Petu:
¨
He is Ato’s elder uncle.
¨
He is generous and kind. The moment
he gets the news about the arrival of Ato he comes to greet them and welcome
them. On top of that he promises to be sending them cocoyams. He says “I have brought some cocoyams from the farm
and I will be sending her some by and by” (p.30)
¨
He is a traditionalist and superstitious. When Ato tells him about his dream, Petu comes to cleanse the
courtyard using traditional herbal concoction and potion. They also come to
wash Eulalie’s stomach so that she may conceive believing that something is
wrong with her. He says “Therefore, my nephew,
if they do not have children then there is something wrong. You cannot tell us
it is nothing” (p.44)
Other characters include
¨ Akyere:
Ato’s elder aunt.
¨ Mansa:
Ato’s younger aunt
¨ Akroma:
Ato’s younger uncle.
THEMES
AFRICAN
TRADITIONS AND CUSTOMS
i. Bride Price
It is an African belief
that when a man is mature for marriage, his family, especially the mother could
intercede on his behalf. When Ato returns from America, a family meeting is
held. At the meeting it is revealed that a wife has already been wooed for Ato;
in fact, the bride price is ready to be paid. When Akyere asks Esikom where the
money she sold the sheep she was rearing is, she says:
“I have not done anything
with it. It had a good market and I thought I would find some more money and add
to it to give to Ato’s father to pay for the bride price for its owner” (p.15)
ii.
Love and Forced marriage.
Apart from the clash of culture, forced marriage is another
prominent issue in the play. It is a norm for parents to choose the spouses for
their sons and daughters in this society and Ato is expected to conform to this
canon. Ato overlooked this fact when he told Eulalie “Eulalie Rush and Ato Yawson shall be free to love each other, eh? This
is all that you understand or should understand about Africa.” (p.10) He
was wrong.
The playwright takes us into the African perspective of
marriage. According to her the society can decide the marriage of their
children both male and female. In
Africa, it is not a wrong decision if a mother makes the choice of a wife for
her son, or choice of husband for her daughter. Eskom does the same for her son
before discovering that her son is married. The 2nd Woman informs
us;
2nd W: But I
heard them say that his mother had gone to knock the door of Yaw Mensa to ask
for the hand of his daughter for him” (p.22)
It then comes to them as a
surprise when Ato breaks this canon and comes with a wife he loves without the
consent of his family. They all wonder:
All: you are married?
Married! Married! (p.16)
They then attack him with questions without
giving him time to answer. Who is your
wife, when did you marry? What is her name? Where does she come from? etc.
iii.
Marriage and
Childbirth
As presented in the play, marriage is a life-long contract,
which prospers when there are children in it. It is uncommon for instance, for
Ato, an African, to tell his fiancée that they are going to make a good family
with or without children. However, his people hold a contrary opinion: his
education has dissuaded him from his root. So he no longer believes in the very
tradition, which bears his childhood. Confused over the strangeness in her
brother’s behaviour, Monka blares out: “The
master scholar was sitting on the chair studying, so he could not move off!
After all, what is he learning? Is it the knowledge of the leopard skin?” (p.14)
In
addition to the issue of marriage is the theme of childbearing. As if there
were no other reasons people get married except to raise children, The
Dilemma of a Ghost stresses this issue in such a way that one might want to
think that an African woman is a machine built only for producing children.
However, if one looks closely, this assertion is close to the truth. There
have emerged in many African plays and novels, stories of how the African woman
is relegated and maltreated due to her inability to bear a child.
The
whole society expresses shock at the revelation that Ato and his wife
deliberately delay childbirth. Embittered and flabbergasted at this strange
behaviour, Petu affirms the importance of childbearing in marriage. He says, “When two people marry everyone expects them
to have children. For men and women marry because they want children.” The
implication of childlessness in marriage is further stressed when one of the
two market women who serve as the chorus to the play laments thus:
“If it is real
barrenness,
then,
oh Stranger-girl,
Whom I do not know,
I weep for you.
For I know what it is
To start a marriage with barrenness.” (p.39)
In fact, in many
cases, women are thrown out of the marriage because of their failure to produce
a male child. Aidoo, using the women as her mouthpiece, holds that:
2ND W: Sometimes we feel you are luckier
Who are childless.
1ST W: But at the very last
You are luckiest who have them. (p.11)
The
above statements, no doubt, express the joy that come with childbearing. When
Ato reveals to his mother their plan of birth control, his mother blares out: “Ei, everyone should come and listen to
this. I have not heard anything like it before…Human beings deciding when they
must have children?” (p.51)
Considering
the above scenario, one might be tempted to aver that marital life without
children, for the women, is like death. This is the true face of African
interpretation to marriage and childbearing. As a result they hold a meeting to discuss
why Eulalie is not becoming pregnant and they decide to bring along herbal
concoction (a strange or unusual mixture of things, especially drinks or
medicines) to clean her womb. Petu informs Ato.
“It was a couple of days ago that we met. What came out
of the meeting is that we must come and ask you and your wife what is
preventing you from giving your grandmother a great-grandchild before he leaves
us.” (p.44)
iv.
Traditional food
Eating snails in this society is one
of their customs and it is considered an honourable food suitable for guests.
However, in this book it is shown as one of the sources of conflict that
brought a contradiction in Ato’s family. Eulalie who comes from a different
culture finds it difficult to eat the snails and she throws away the snails her
mother-in-law brings them. Ato argues with Eulalie on this matter;
Ato: But how can you throw them away
just like that? Haven’t you seen snails before?
Eulalie: My dear, did you see a
single snail crawling on the streets of New York all the time you were in the
States? And anyway, seeing snails and eating them are entirely different
things! (p.32)
This causes a serious conflict that
extends from Eulalie and Ato to his mother and Ato who tries to defend his
wife’s behaviour. Esikom asks;
“And what my son? Do you not know how to eat them now?
What kind of a man are you growing into? Are your wife’s taboos yours? Rather
your taboos should be hers.”
v.
Superstition
Superstitious beliefs are very
common among African societies. In sorting out issues most people view them
from the spirit world perspective. For example Eulalie and Ato have decided to
use birth control and have children when they want them. But this society
believes there is something wrong with Eulalie’s womb so she must be purified
to be able to conceive. Even Ato wonders why it should be done this way. He
asks his uncle; “Uncle, did you say you
are going to use the medicine to wash my wife’s stomach? (p.43)
His uncle insists that it is a
serious matter that forced them to summon a meeting upon which they decided
especially that he must give his grandmother a great-grandchild before she
leaves them (dies). So he gives him the procedures how they are going to apply
the herbal concoction they brought.
Petu: We were to choose this day because as you know, on
this day we try to drive away all the evil spirits, ill luck and unkind
feelings which might have invaded our house during the past year. You know also
that we invoke our sacred dead to bring us blessings. Therefore we are asking
you to tell us what is wrong with you and your wife so that first we will wash
her stomach with this, then pour the libation to ask the dead to come and
remove the spirit of evil around you and pray them to bring you a child.” (p.44)
These superstitious beliefs create unnecessary fear
among the members of the society. We should discard such outdated beliefs.
vi.
Wife beating
Although wife beating takes only a
minor case of Ato slapping his wife, it is significant that we include it among
the African’s customs. Wife beating is not uncommon in Africa and among African
societies. Many men have been beating their wives as a way of silencing them
and making them submissive to the desires and wishes of men. In the play the
playwright gives it a greater magnitude because it is this simple slap that
makes Eulalie disappear from the house and Ato faces another challenge of
looking for her. His mother asks him what has happened due to this sudden
disappearance.
Esi: But why should she behave in such a strange way?
Ato: I slapped her!
Esi: You slapped her? What did she do?
The playwright later reveals that Ato beats his wife
because she referred to his people as uncivilised and they have no
understanding. This happened because Ato was forcing her to go to the ‘Thanksgiving Service’ of a dead cousin
who died about a year before. Wife beating is not a solution to family
misunderstanding as it may cause the marriage to break further apart.
vii.
Extended families and lack of birth
control.
Most African families are extended families in which
case almost all the affairs are decided by all the family members including
aunts, uncles, grandparents, sisters, etc. This is what happens when trying to
resolve Ato’s marriage dilemma. Esi
says: Ei these days, one’s son’s marriage
affair cannot always be one’s affair.” (p.42)
Apart from coming together to make decisions, it is seen that some families
have many children including those of their relatives as the 2nd
woman says: But who would have thought
that I, whose house is teeming with children, my own, my husband’s, my
sister’s….(p.11)
She confesses that she has born
eleven children by herself from her own womb. “Have I not born eleven from the womb here?” (p.36) This shows that
it is necessary to give education on family planning.
CONFLICTS
i.
Cultural conflict between modernity
and traditions
There is a conflict or clash of
culture in this society as it would be expected of any society where two
cultures co-exist. When two cultures meet, there is usually a disagreeable
point in which either, one tries to dominate the other or both struggle for
acceptability. In this play, Ato Yawson, a young Ghanaian who goes to America
to study and returns home with an Afro-American, Eulalie, as his wife comes
back with two conflicting cultures.
His extended family has no
approval of his marriage. This scenario sets the tone for the theme of conflict
of cultures in the play since Eulalie is from a different country and a
different continent with a distinct culture. She expects that her way of life
should be respected by Ato’s relations once she finds herself in Ghana. Her way
of life, however, contravenes the norms of Ato’s people and there seems to be a
constant friction between the two cultures. Eulalie’s engagement in smoking and
excessive drinking displeases Ato’s family and Ato himself to the point that
Ato ends up slapping her.
This friction could have been
avoided if Ato had played his role effectively as a bridge between cultures by
sincerely educating Eulalie on his people’s customs and by explaining aspects
of the American culture to his people. Ato’s failure to carry out this role
efficiently leads to the crisis that culminates in the beating of his wife. On
another level, this conflict of cultures could be regarded as a conflict
between modernity and tradition.
ii.
Family conflicts
¨
The conflict between Ato vs Eulalie
This conflict is seen from the very beginning in the prelude when they
are still in America. It is clear that Eulalie isn't like the girls back home,
who are expected to be humble especially when addressing their husbands. Ato
admits that even women in Africa do talk but not in the manner Eulalie talks.
He says “How often do you want to drag in
about African women? Leave them alone, will you…Ah yes they talk. But Christ,
they don’t run on in this way. This running-tap drawl gets on my nerves.” (p.8)
While this indicates that there will be potential conflict at home when
they arrive in Africa, still here, there seems to be some hopes that love can
conquer all - at least that's how the two feel. But one of the big issues they
will face is already addressed here: Eulalie isn't eager to bear children yet,
though it is expected of her and Ato that they will begin a family as soon as
possible.
¨
The conflict between Ato vs his
Mother (Esikom)
This comes from Ato’s unexpected change
of behaviour in a sense that he finds himself in a dilemma whether to side with
his wife or his mother. His mother helps him to make a decision from informed
position considering his roots. When Ato tries to defend his wife’s behaviour
of throwing away the snails just because she doesn’t know how to eat them, the
mother asks “And what my son? Do you not
know how to eat them now? What kind of a man are you growing into? Are your
wife’s taboos yours? Rather your taboos should be hers.” (p.33)
In this society it is a woman who is supposed
to abandon her culture and conform to the culture of her husband. Since Eulalie
fails to compromise her culture and behave like the folks of her husband she ends
up causing a conflict between Ato and his people especially his mother.
iii.
Intrapersonal conflict
¨
Intrapersonal conflict within Ato.
Ato is in a great intrapersonal
conflict because on his arrival in Africa with his African-American wife, he
expected that things are just going to be easy and she would be able to cope
with the African lifestyle easily. That however, is not what happens because
Eulalie becomes a big disappointment both to Ato and his people. Ato struggles
to balance this triangular relationship between Eulalie, his mother and himself
but he fails because the cultural roots of each part pull the relationship
further apart. Ato becomes frustrated to the point that he ends up beating his
wife who then disappears from home and Ato’s frustrations increase since he looks
for her everywhere but she is nowhere to be seen.
When she eventually appears no further communication
is made and surprisingly Esikom welcomes her tenderly with a motherly love and
Ato is left in a dilemma. The conclusion of the play itself by the voices of
the children expresses Ato’s dilemma;
Shall I go to Cape Coast
Shall I go to Elmina?
I can’t tell
Shall I? (p.52)
¨
Intrapersonal conflict within Eulalie
Eulalie
also finds herself in the middle of a big dilemma or intrapersonal conflict
because her anticipation of a happy life in Africa turns out to be a complete
distress. She did not understand the cultural differences between the Africans
in Africa and the African-Americans. Some of the cases that cause intrapersonal
conflicts to her are;
One;
everyone expects her to be pregnant immediately as expected of an African married
wife. Since she has used birth control, this frustrates her husband’s folks who
put much pressure on her especially when they want to purify her womb using
traditional herbs. She asks Ato “You
afterwards told me, didn’t you, that they wanted me to strip before them and
have my belly washed? Washed in that filthy!” (p.47). This makes her
intensify her smoking and drinking behaviour which intensifies the pressure
from Ato’s relatives as she complains “Eulalie,
my people say it is not good for a woman to take alcohol. Eulalie, my people
say they are not pleased to see you smoke… Eulalie, my people say….. My
people….. My people…” (p.47). This
shows her great disappointment from both Ato and his people. Then she adds “I have been drinking in spite of what your
people say. Who married me, you or your goddam people?” (p.47)
IDENTITY
In the play
there is a sense in which we are supposed to reconsider the issue of identity
and double identity among the Africans. The Africans in the Diaspora regardless
of their true countries especially African-Americans are supposed to have a sense
of identity, a sense of belonging, and thus know their root. In this connection
it is then not surprising to hear Eulalie on her arrival in Africa confesses “I’ve come to the very source.” (p.24)
This is to say, Africans no matter where they are,
they are bound to their roots and cannot change it. Eulalie says in her
monologue that her mother told her “Sugar
the dear God made you just that black and you canna do nothing about it” (p.24)
Although Eulalie acts and thinks like
an American, she, however, does not refute her Africanness. In a nutshell, no
matter how far away man is from his root, he will forever be drawn, either
spiritually or physically, to its ways. Eulalie shows that her mother instilled
in her this sense of African identity when she said:
“Sugar, don’t sort of curse me and your Pa every morning you
look your face in the mirror and see yourself black. Kill the sort of dreams
silly girls dream that they are going to wake up one morning and find their
skins milk white and their hairs soft blonde…” (p 24)
IGNORANCE
AND ILLITERACY
This
traditional African society is portrayed as being ignorant in several ways but
in this analysis we are going to examine only two.
One,
they are ignorant of the current development in science and technology in
regard to birth control and family planning. In this case we see them raising
unnecessary conflict between them and Ato’s family since they want Eulalie to
give them a baby against her own plan. When Ato tries to explain to them that
it is not that his wife is barren but it is just a family planning method, and
they would have children when they wanted them, his mother wonders;
“Ei, everyone should
come and listen to this. I have not heard anything like it before…Human beings
deciding when they must have children?”(p.51).
Eskom
believes that this is impossible and only a barren woman would tell such a
tale. So for her it is impossible to plan the family. When Ato tries to educate
her on the subject she further objects by ridiculing her son; “Why did you not tell us that you and your
wife are gods and you can create your own children when you want them?” (p.51)
Two,
they are ignorant of the cultural differences between theirs and that of other
societies. Eulalie who comes from another culture is expected to automatically
switch from her culture and start living according to the customs and taboos of
her husband without being given enough time to adjust. When she fails to adjust
as quickly as they thought, she becomes disgust to them. It is not until the
end of the play that Eskom blames her own son for the behaviour of his wife
because as she says “No stranger ever
breaks the law?”
So in
other words it is Ato who has done a mistake in the first place by marrying a
woman from another culture, but also he has not taught her how to live in the
culture of his people. She asks her son “What kind of a
man are you growing into? Are your wife’s taboos yours? Rather your taboos
should be hers.” (p. 33)
Illiteracy on the other hand is
shown by the way these members react to some issues. Most of them have never
been to school so they cannot pronounce some words like America Monka says Amrica! and Eulalie which they call Hurere! Esikom is more illiterate than
the rest as she not only fails to pronounce the name and says Uhu-hu…, but also admits that she never
went to school by using this saying…
Esi: Ato you know that some of us did not hear the
school bell when it rang. Therefore we will not be able to say this name. This
Uhu-hu… I want her real name my son.” (p.17)
DISILLUSION
AND DISAPPOINTMENT
There are
several cases of disappointment in this play. One is that which happened to Ato
and his wife Eulalie. In America they were blinded by the feelings of love and
they tended to ignore the very facts about Africa. Ato ensures Eulalie that
because she is a blend of Africa and America she would suit perfectly in
African context and they would make a paradise. He says “Aren’t you the sweetest and loveliest things in Africa and America
rolled together? My darling, we are going to create a paradise with or without
children.” (p.10) but this is not what it turns out to be.
Eulalie in her
arrival in Africa seems to be happy and thinks that she is going to have a lot
of fun. She says “So at last here am I in
Africa. Joseph and Mary! I hope I’ve done the right thing. What good fun I’m
going to have here!” (p23)
However, it doesn’t take long to find out that Eulalie doesn't quite fit into
the African lifestyle.
Another
disappointment is portrayed by Ato, the scholar, who is highly regarded for his
education accomplishments. There are so many expectations on him now, and what
he is supposed to do for his family and society. However he finds it difficult
to balance between the wishes of the society and the wilful Eulalie's needs and
desires – who deliberately, does things
that she knows are wrong.
His mother had spent all her resources by
pawning “the oldest and most valuable of
the family heirlooms, kenles and golden ornaments,” to get the money to pay
for his education hoping that when he returns these things would be redeemed.
Esikom complains;
Esi: “Apart from the
lonely journeys I made to the unsympathetic rich, how often did I weep before
your uncles and great uncles while everyone complained that my one son’s
education was ruining our home” (p.35)
With all the troubles that Esikom faced trying to finance her son’s
education; people thought his mother would now live in peace, as the 1st
woman comment; Yes! But the arrival of
the son may mean the paying of all the debts at last. (p.12) Ato turns out
to be a great disappointment to his mother. She says: “How my friends must be laughing behind me now. ‘After all the fuss, she
is poorer than ever before.” (p.35). The first and second women prove what
Esikom is saying because they too are asking themselves similar questions why
hasn’t Eskom’s condition changed even after the arrival of his son?
1st W: This reminds me of something I had wanted to ask these
many days. If her son gets a goodly bag by the month, Why has Esikom not…
2nd W: I crave pardon for snatching the word from your mouth.
But my sister, roll your tobacco and stuff your pipe. It has not been good
going, the roof leaks more than ever before.
It is revealed however that the main
cause of Ato’s negligence to his family is his wife Eulalie. She is so spendthrift
that Ato himself gets no money to buy clothes. The conversation between the 1st
and 2nd Women in page 38 further reveals that even so, she spends
the money buying cigarettes, drinks, clothes, and machines.
2nd W: Listen, I hear she
swallows money as a hen does corn.
1st W: Oh Esikom!
2nd W: One must sit down
if one wants to talk of her affairs. They say that the young man gets no penny
to buy himself a shirt….
1st W: Then how does she
spend all that money?
2nd W: By buying
cigarettes, drinks, clothes, and machines.
(p.38)
Educated
people must understand that they have a duty and responsibility to pay it back
and help those who paid the price and sacrificed their resources to make them
who they are today. They should not become a disappointment to their societies.
POSITION
OF WOMEN
i.
A woman is portrayed as a hardworking and responsible person.
Women occupy this position because the playwright
shows that women toil a lot to be able to support their families. The first
Woman is taken as a case in point showing how women work hard when she says: Ah! And yet I thought I was alone in this…
the lonely woman who must toil from morn till eve, before a morsel hits her
teeth or a drop of water cools her throat. (p.11) Ato’s mother is also
shown as a hardworking mother who did all it takes to finance her son’s
education.
ii.
A woman is portrayed as a slave. A woman is portrayed as a slave in a
sense that she does all the domestic chores without the help of other family
members especially in extended families. She has to sweep the compound, cook,
fetch water, etc. the 2nd Woman complains.
2nd W: My sister you are not alone. But who
would have thought that I, whose house is teeming with children, my own, my
husband’s, my sister’s…. but this is my curse. Shall I do this when this and
that have nothing to do? No. And they all sit with their hands between their
knees. If the courtyard must be swept it is Aba’s job. If the ampesi must be
cooked, it is Aba’s job. And since the common slave was away all day there was
no drop in the pot to cool the parched throat.” (p.11)
iii. A woman is portrayed as caring
person. Esikom represents mothers who are caring to their children no matter the
age. When Esikom hears that Ato and his wife have arrived from the city, she
brings them the traditional food saying “So
I thought I would bring you one or two things for I hear food is almost
unbuyable in the city these days” (p.31)
iv.
A woman is portrayed as a symbol of immorality. Eulalie is shown as a symbol of
moral corruption because not only does she refuse to follow the culture of her
husband but she also disobeys and insults Ato and his people, she smokes
cigarettes and drinks alcohol contrary to what is expected of a woman in this
society.
v.
A woman is portrayed as a sufferer from barrenness. When a woman gets married, she is
expected to have children immediately after few months of marriage. When it
doesn’t happen so, she grieves in her heart because the society looks down upon
such women as the 1st Woman laments:
“If it is real barrenness, then, oh Stranger-girl,
whom I do not know, I weep for you.
For I know what it is to start a marriage with barrenness.”
(p.39)
vi.
A woman is portrayed as a sympathetic person. When the first and second women hear
the noise from Eskom’s compound they feel pity thinking that the old woman
(Nana) is dead. Also when Eulalie comes back after being slapped by Ato, Esikom
rushes to support and comfort her despite the fact that she did not like her
behaviour. But at this point she felt sympathetic since Eulalie was weak and
very unhappy. She tells her “come my
child”.
FEMINISM
The other theme which can be derived from the synopsis of the play is
the theme of feminism. Eulalie, who is Ato’s wife, has to fight for her rights
as a woman so that such rights can be respected by Ato and his people. She does
not understand why she always has to consider the opinion of Ato and his people
in whatever she does and says while they, on the other hand, never considered
her as an individual who is entitled to her privacy and personal opinion on
certain issues. After all, she is Ato’s wife and not his slave.
She complains
“My people. Add it, Moses. I shall
say anything I like. I am right tired. I must always do things to please you
and your folks… What about the sort of things I like? Aren’t they gotten any meaning
on this rotten land?”
It is further shown that women have to conform to the
local customs and taboos of their husbands at the expense of their own. As a
result Eulalie is expected to immediately forget her American heritage and
adapt her husband’s culture. When this fails to work out, it brings
frustrations to both parties; Eulalie on one side and Ato’s folks on the other
side. Esikom suggests “What kind of a man
are you growing into? Are your wife’s taboos yours? Rather your taboos should
be hers.” (p.33)
POVERTY
Poverty
is one of the themes Aidoo discusses in this play. She shows that on one hand
there is a class of few rich people who in most cases grow impatient and
unsympathetic in helping the poor. On the other hand most of them are poor and
they are toiling a lot to make a living. Esikom is one of those who are
portrayed as poor by the way she struggled to get the school fees to pay for
Ato.
She
says: “My knees are callous with bending
before the rich.” She also adds “Apart from the lonely
journeys I made to the unsympathetic rich, how often did I weep before your
uncles and great uncles while everyone complained that my one son’s education
was ruining our home.” (p.35) Moreover we are
told that her roof leaks more than ever before. However one of the factors
accountable for the increased level of poverty is in the society in general it
is lack of family planning. The family becomes a burden to take care of.
BETRAYAL
AND HYPOCRISY
There are some
cases of betrayal in the play. Ato is seen as a traitor because he fails to
live by the expectations of his society and his mother in particular. After
graduating he was expected to come back, marry a girl from the tribe, and help
his mother among other things to pay the debts she owes some people who gave
her the money to pay his school fees. He is also expected to fix his mother’s
house anew.
He betrays his
mother and all the money goes to Eulalie who spends it extravagantly buying
cigarettes, clothes and drinks. Eskom
complains: “I cannot get a penny to pay
the smallest debt I owe. Hureri must have eh… what do they call it?” (p.35)
Ato is also portrayed as a hypocrite as his sister
acknowledges that when she paid them a visit they did not give her anything
except the water after asking for it. She explains this hypocrisy using a
proverb that “There are two kinds of
offers; one which comes right from the bowls and the other which falls from the
lips only. (p.34). This implies someone who pretends to help you but not
from the heart. This is hypocrisy.
Additionally, when Eulalie sees the snails she tells
Ato to tell his mother that they are grateful for the things but later she
throws them away.
PROTEST
The two
strands of culture available in this society portray an open protest against
each other’s point of view.
Eulalie protests against the culture
of her husband’s people. Eulalie is expected to compromise her American culture
and adopt that of her husband but she refuses to do that. In her opinions,
African culture is uncivilised so she cannot adopt it as she says “Have they appreciation for anything but
their own prehistoric existence? More savage than dinosaurs”.
Despising their foods and traditions
she adds “With their snails and potions!”
addressing Ato she comments about his people and his land by saying “I must always do things to please you and
your folks…..what about the sort of things I like? Aren’t they gotten any
meaning on this rotten land? (p.49). She finalises her statement by giving
bitter comments showing that in no way an American negro can be compared to
this barbaric tribe of west Africa by saying
“Do you compare these bastards, these stupid narrow-minded savages with us? Do
you dare…? As a result this contradiction remains unresolved.
Ato’s
relatives also protest against Eulalie’s behaviour. Eulalie is expected to
behave like any other African woman but because she fails the whole society
comes up against her. They are not pleased with her smoking, and drinking
behaviour and the way she insults them, something that annoys Ato himself until
he slaps her.
MESSAGES
Ama Ata Aidoo
has succeeded in addressing the issues that were and are still troubling
African continent. So the morals we get from this play include the following;
¨
Wife beating is not a solution to family conflicts. It
should be discarded.
¨
People should be given reproductive health education
such as birth control.
¨
Educated people should use their education to solve
the problems of their people.
¨
Bride price is an outdated custom it should be
discarded.
¨
Change does not take place overnight, one should be
given time to adjust.
¨
We should fight against betrayal and hypocrisy.
¨
Choosing spouses for the youths is an outdated custom.
The concerned parties should be left to follow their hearts and parents can
just provide guidance and counselling.
¨
We should not look down upon women who are barren.
Children are gifts from God if someone fails to get one it’s not her fault.
¨
We should fight against superstitious beliefs. They
create unnecessary fear among the members of the society.
¨
We should know our identity and be proud of the same
no matter where we are.
RELEVANCE
The play is relevant today as it was
when it was first published. The issues discussed are the very issues
disturbing many African societies. Africa is a multicultural continent where
cultural clashes are common both locally and nationally.
¨
Cultural conflicts are common among African tribes
especially on the question of intertribal marriages just as it was the case of
Ato and his wife – Eulalie.
¨
Poverty is rampant in Africa and many people fail to
send their children to school or at the least they pawn their properties to get
the money for which to pay the school fees for their children.
¨
Betrayal and hypocrisy especially by the educated
elites is common in Africa. Most educated people do not like living in their
home villages. Immediately after graduating they run away to big cities where
they get white-collar jobs and live extravagant life contrary to the condition
in their home villages.
¨
Wife beating, bride price, superstitious beliefs,
extended family and forced marriages are the common African traditions up to
date.
¨
Other issues like Feminism and Personal identity
especially among the Africans in Africa and those in the diaspora are also
common subjects for debate in African continent today.
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