AFRICAN DRAMA
KOBINA SEKYE: The Blinkards.
Assess the negative impact of colonialism in the play.
Explanation
The play satirises the colonial life of the .Write society in particular and the African society in general by highlighting some of the negative effects of colonialism.
The blind imitation of the western culture and social habits by some characters such. as Mr and Mrs Borofosem, Mr. Okadu, Mr. Tsiba, officers and members of the Cosmopolitan Club is emphasized as such characters consider their own culture inferior to Western culture.
The semi-literate Mrs Borofosem, for example, is happy that she was not born in the dark old days of her ancestors but she ironically admits that they lived longer than her own generation of civilized people. She insists that her husband should call her "duckie" because, back in Seaborne in England, a friend of hers was called "duckie" by ber husband.
Her husband, Mr Borofosem, right at the beginning of the play, regrets the day he took his wife to England because everything must be done the English way as far as she is concerned. An instance is when she seolds Nyamekye for removing the leaves she has placed in a book to dry and for trying to sweep the cigar-ashes on the carpets. According to her the ashes are used to kill the moths in the carpet in England.
Mr Tsiba is seen going to the extreme trying to "civilize" his daughter by taking her to the semi-literate Mrs Borofosem to be taught English and English manners. He does not mind what kind of tuition she receives s Borofosem.
The African cherished values of marital engagement are disregarded in favour of the Western form of engagement. This is illustrated the way Mr. Okadu and Miss Tsiba handle their engagement. It starts at a party with no parental knowledge and approval. This engagement has a tragic consequence as the would-be bride loses her mother and becomes pregnant too. Although they proceed with the engagement up to the wedding, the reception is disrupted by Nana Katawerwa, Miss Tsiba's grandmother, who points it out to them that, customarily, no one has come to the family to express their interest in Miss Tsiba, let alone engage her.
The abuse of funeral rites is also highlighted. Mr Tsiba is unable to stay in the widower's room for the prescribed period. Instead, he is out attending his daughter's wedding, barely a week after his wife's death. There is a shift from African food and drinks to English ones. The "affected" characters not only eat European food and drink European drinks but also use the cutlery. A clear example is Ms Tsiba. When he becomes aware that he is eating with his hand, he asks the boy. why the cutlery is missing. He is reminded at he enjoys his food without using cutlery.
The blind imitation of western culture extends even to clothing. Those who wear traditional outfit are considered "savage" or "uncivilized". When Mr Tsiba is informed he has visitors, he quickly hides his food in a cupboard and goes in to change from his native cloth into a pair of pyjamas.
Their use of the English language is also ridiculed. Mrs. Borofosem who pretends to speak no other language than English can hardly make any sensible utterance in that language without an error. Examples include "I never hear that before. Fine big name, very nice. I will always call her Erimintrude", etc.
The highfalutin and at times meaningless words used by officers and members of the Cosmopolitan Club illustrate this point. They appear to be more English than the English, but it is clear they are only semi-literate.