October 27, 2021
TITLE: Let Me Die Alone
AUTHOR: John Kolosa Kargbo
GENRE: Drama
CATEGORY: Tragedy
ABOUT: A tragic drama about a female ruler under colonial reign in Africa who committed suicide as a result of unbearable colonial oppression.
CHARACTERS: Yoko, Gbanya, Musa, Lamboi, Jeneba, etc.
SETTINGS: Mende, Senehum, Mayamba, Taiama, etc.
DRAMATIC ELEMENT: Dialogue
FLOW: Climactic
THEMES: Coloni al Oppression, Quest for Leadership Position, Greed and Betrayal, Gender Violence, Inequality, etc
LITERARY TERMS: Repetition, Imagery, Vernacular, Adage, Simile, Foreshadowing, etc.
DICTION: Simple
TONE AND MOOD : tone of Rivalry, unrest and disagreement
SIMILAR DRAMA: The Blood of a Stranger by Dele Charley.
INTRODUCTION
The actions in the drama is well designed with reasonable characterizations and coherent dialogues; not to forget settings such as Mende, Senehum, Mayamba, Taiama, etc. Except for the employment of dialect which in way a flaw to the play, the choice of language in the drama is simple.
SIMILAR DRAMA
Drama similar in n ature is The Blood of a Stranger by Dele Charley. The drama is about colonial exploitation in Africa. The Blood of a Stranger is a tragedy where Whitehead (a colonial master) was used as a sacrificial lamb to cleanse Mandoland.
Characters In Let Me Die Alone by John Kolosa Kargbo
Characters:
1. King Gbanya; he is the husband of Queen Yoko (the protagonist). Gbanya has 37 wives but his favorite is Yoko who he promised his throne to prove how much he loved her.
Immediately after Gbanya humiliation by Governor Rowe, Musa and Lamboi fulfilled their evil plan to poison King Gbanya.
2. Queen Yoko is a power-oriented woman who sacrificed the opportunity of motherhood for the leadership of Mende kingdom. Her hunger for leadership made her acquired neighboring kingdoms and villages through war. She regretted her vain-chase and said to Fanneh (her maid), "I have tasted power alone, so let me die alone"; after which she committed suicide.
3. Governor Samuel Rowe: he is a colonial master who undermines Africans and African rulers both in actions and with the use of derogatory utterances.
In Act 1, scene 3. Rowe said to King Gbanya, "If you annoy me, Gbanya. I will cut out that lying tongue. Soldiers! If anyone makes just one false move. I will pump him full of hot lead. And now, this will teach you never again to go against the command of her Imperial
Majesty in whose service I am proud to be. It will teach you to confine your war boys at home. (Signals to another soldier who brings out a whip which Gbanya is beaten). Stop! Now you dog, get up! You will pay a fine of fifty pounds in the equivalent of cattle and rice. And next time you disobey my orders, you will be arrested and locked up in the colony".
4. Musa: the medicine man in Mende kingdom, well respected and trusted. He became a betrayal after giving in to Lambio's plot to hijack the leadership of the Senehum kingdom.
He poisoned King Gbanya with Alligator gall.
5. Lamboi: Yoko's brother; a glaring traitor in the drama. He not only plotted the downfall of his sister (Queen Yoko), but also pioneered the death of King Gbanya. Musa (the seer and medicine man) is his partner in crime.
6. Ndapi: He is a warrior who fought many wars for Gbanya and remained faithful to Queen Yoko although he was against Yoko's reasons for waging war against kingdoms because those wars were merely for the expansion of Yoko's influence and power. Ndapi is an example of masculine superiority because he sees himself superior to his wife Jilo and beats her like a baby. Ndapi's daughter is Jeneba.
7. Jeneba: she is the only daughter of Ndapi and Joli. Jeneba was portrayed as brilliant little girl and was very loved by Queen Yoko. Lamboi and Musa murdered Jeneba as a means to blackmail the queen and the dead of the caused Yoko a huge humiliation for barrenness.
8. Other characters are Musu (one of Yoko's maids), Fanneh (one of Yoko's maids), Lavalie (one of the warriors in Mende), Lansana (the man having romantic affairs with Jilo), Girl (the Sande dancer), Guard 1 and 2, Messenger ( the black messenger to Governor Rowe), etc.
