Below are a few of the
prominent issues discussed in Gbanabom Hallowell’s poem titled “The Dining
Table”.
Let's also Read Africa by Africans
Showing posts with label Sierra Leone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sierra Leone. Show all posts
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Monday, June 27, 2016
Analysis of “The Dining Table” by Gbanabom Hallowell
Considering the poet’s
background, his home country being Sierra Leone and the mention of “guerrillas”
and “table” both of which suggest a kind of plateau, which is found in the
country, we can deduce that the poem is talking about the Sierra Leonean civil war of
1991-2002.
Friday, April 29, 2016
Themes of The Blood of a Stranger
Themes are the issues treated in a piece of literature. In The Blood of a Stranger, Dele Charley examines various issues some of which are highlighted below:
Deceit:
Throughout the play, The Blood of a
Stranger, deceit permeates every aspects of the characters' lives
especially the antagonist such as Whitehead, Maligu, Parker and Soko. Maligu's
deception is made known from his plans to make fortune from the white man's
visit, at the expense of the people of Mandoland. This is evident in his
conversation with Soko, from whom he canvasses support for his mischief. To the
morally dangling priest, he says: "Do you want to die a poor man?"
Similarly, Soko deceives the entire village regarding the coming of the white man
when he lies that the oracle has indeed prophesied the event and that a virgin
girl be sacrificed. In addition, the white man, Whitehead, and his assistant, Parker,
connive to rob the village of her naturally endowed diamond while fooling the
king and the palace chiefs that his mission is to empower the villagers through
tobacco farming. With this, Charley seems to portray the deceptive and amoral means,
which the White colonialists used in raping their colonies, African countries,
of their God-given natural resources.
Friday, March 18, 2016
The Plot of The Blood of a Stranger
The play, The Blood of a Stranger, discusses how Whitehead, the cunny character in the play, tricks the people of Mandoland. Maligu the king’s adviser has just received a letter from his brother in the city about the coming of a Whiteman to Mandoland. Seeing a great opportunity in this visit, Maligu goes to Soko, the village priest, whom he tries to convince about the possibility of making money from the Whiteman’s visit.
However, when the news reaches Santigi Mando V and his impetuous son, Kindo, it is met with suspicion because the land had in the past been forewarned of an impending danger if a stranger is accepted in the land. To Maligu and Soko, this will not help their plan. Therefore, Soko, being the priest, would have to cook up lies around the Whiteman’s coming to make the idea acceptable to the king. To this effect, Soko then divines that the oracle has indeed prophesied the coming of the stranger and that he must be warmly welcomed. To make it sound more convincing, he further states that the oracle has also offered that the blood of a virgin girl be spilled for sacrifice to ward off any evil as a result of the Whiteman’s visit.
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