Characters and Characterization in Ruganda's Play ‘The Floods’

  

Date Posted: 10/21/2012 4:31:52 PM

Posted By: vann  Membership Level: Gold  Total Points: 1015

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Every piece of literature tries to attain the state of realism, that is try and make the piece of work look are real as possible. One such way is through the use of characters. These are imagined figures that the anther assigns human traits in order to make his/her work resemble reality. John has also taken this approach in his presentation of ‘The floods’
Some of the characters used include people like Bwogo, Nankya, headman, Kyeyune the fisherman among others.
Headman
He is the one calling the people to board the ill fated rescue boat. He is;
Determined
He is determined to get the people to the boat. He does not get tired of alerting the people everywhere and calling upon them to enter the boat. (pg 1-14)
Rough
He does not care for the old Kyeyune health. He tries to forcefully push him in to the boat.(pg 9)
Abusive
He abuses the two boys who were fighting with their luggage in stead of boarding the boat.
(pg 2) he tells them that they are miserablemackerels
Impatient
He gets impatient with Kyeyune’s many questions and use of parables and when he delays to get into the boat that he tries to drag him to the boat. He praises the two boys for obeying his orders, but later on gets impatient with them and hurls insults at them when they start fighting in stead of getting into the boat
Inconsiderate
He does not want to listen to the fisherman’s pleas concerning his mother. He refuses the fish to be carried into the boat, even though it was the only source of food left for the poor family. He even goes

on to help himself on the fish without the owners consent.
His role
He is a symbol of unjust leadership style in Africa. He suffices as an uncouth leader, one who is insensitive to other human beings
Kyeyune
Superstitious
He thinks that the red cloth in his luggage was the one that triggered the flash of lighting.
He thinks that if he goes back to the see the ghost of the dead soldier that he saw dead will haunt him pg 11
Skillful
When the headman tires to force him into the boat, he skillfully, traps him with the net. He says that the villagers even composed songs to praise his fishing skills
Wise/clever/sensitive.
He is wise enough to sense mischief in the way the radio was announcing the impending floods. For that matter, he does not rush into the boat, thus saving his soul.
Courageous
He summons courage and faces Bwogo (pg 11) and asks him if he (Bwogo) was a discipline of the ogre (boss) he tells Bwogo that underneath the jacket was a terrible hand of death (pistol)
He tells Bwogo that together with the government they have finished all men on that island and that if they were looking for more, then there were no more remaining. He fearlessly highlights the evils that the government under boss had committed against the people. He squarely blames Boss for all these.
Prayerful
This is seen when Bwogo points a pistol and shoots at him, luckily missing the target. He also prays when there is a flash of lightening
His role
He is a representation of the common man who was the victim of the atrocities committed by the government. We see how inconsiderate the government was with the people, and the extend to which they made the people suffer.

Bwogo
He is the antagonist /villain in the play.
Witty
When kyeyune blames him for the people’s miseries, he pretends that he was not aware of the problems.
He is the chairman of the S.R.B boys who kill the masses, yet he still claims not to know anything about the killings. (pg 11-13)
He pretends to care about nankya’s whereabouts while in real sense he planned for her aborted death.
Inhumane
Bwogo is the one in charge of the operation that is aimed at killing people. He does not have any ounce of love and care for a brother. He cares less for others but him. This is why he has no problem killing people in large numbers.
Vulgar
On page 20, he talks of secretaries who misbehaving in offices on the Afghanistan carpets, secretaries gapping at the ceiling, afraid to stake their shilling as they are hurriedly filled, and then they pick up their garments and hurry to their rented rooms.
On page 93, he tells Nankya to move the hips so that they can tantalize men and send their hands diving into the depth of their pockets
Violent
He slaps Nankya on page 33 when Nankya confronted him about the man he killed then lied that he was a wanted criminal on the newspapers.
On page 36, he pounces on Nankya warning to beat her up, and when kyeyune enters, he draws a pistol and shoots at him.
He attacks Nankya under the pretence of madness so as to silence her over her nagging about the truth (pg 69-69)
Scheming
He is the leader of the SRB. He plans all the killings that are going on in the island and the country as a whole, but pretends not to know anything
He schemes together with the SRB boys to spray bullets on the people in the boat, which he himself brought. He then goes on to deny knowledge of the whole operation and squarely blames the military.
We are made to understand that Bwogo was the mind behind the lie of the floods that would come to kill the people. He had bribed the radio, television as well as the metrological department to spread the lies
His role
Bwogo is a perfect example of the ambitious callous leaders who would go to any lengths in order to get what they want. They will even kill in order to get what they want. He represents corrupt and obnoxious leaders who will care for nothing but their well being, even if it meant killing other people.
Nankya Elizabeth
She suffices as the protagonist in the play
Nagging
She insists on nagging Bwogo about his mistakes. She nags Bwogo about the killings that he committed
On page 69, Bwogo complains that she is nagging.
Courageous
She confronts Bwogo about all the evils that he had committed fearlessly. Despite the fact that Bwogo slaps her, she still is adamant to probe him. She confronts him about the guerillas killers who killed the citizens.
Hardworking
Though she came from a poor background, Nankya struggles so much to the extend of getting a doctorate degree and becomes a lecturer.
Intelligent
She knows that the whole idea about floods was a coax thus she does not die. She knew the reason as to why the whole plan was executed in the first place; to kill her
She even accuses Bwogo of giving the orders to the boys to kill the mass.
Her role
She is the voice of reason. Through her we see someone who applies reasoning and intelligence to face situations, no matter how hard. We see a courage and determination in her fight against the evil. She fights till the bitter end where she survives. She is a symbol of hope and restoration, a figure of one who is not easily cowered by the storm.

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