This is one of the plays that was written over 100 years ago but still relevant today because it reflects on what is still happening today. It revolves around water issues in the Flinch town of Minch. There is a protest in for a pipeline of Dakota access and there are water access issues in the west. There are conflicts between shareholders and citizens, business and science, and government and media. This drama will seem like the modern morning news.
The play An Enemy of the People is set in such a way that it makes the audience or the reader reflect and question how they think, how they are tricked by the politicians, the effects of poor governance on their families and the political events around the world. The play has been played in many theatres and taught in many schools.
This play is about a man who reveals a threat to the community that water is contaminated and decides to expose it even if everyone ignores him. The whole idea is to was to let the citizens know the truth without considering the consequences of how many people the secret would hurt many people. It provides them with a chance to make a choice or keep quiet and make people suffer but keep them safe. It shows how media coverage influences policies today and how information shapes the life of people. If you watch the play from a well-rehearsed theatre group you will see these issues coming out clearly.
The play portrays how media shape our public opinion. How the media covers the conflict of this water crisis in the play it shows how the media influence opinions both locally and internationally are it in the race, assaults, religion, and victims of different assaults.
One main actor is a medical officer known as Dr. Stockman who works at town baths. At the beginning of the play, he is waiting for the lab results to see if the water is contaminated. His daughter Petra brings the results and it confirms his idea that water is contaminated. They have heavy bacterial which can affect much life of people. Many towns are considering opening new baths but these in Dr. Stockman city are considered to be a tourist attraction. Stockman can’t wait to be a village hero for his discovery which will save his locals. He has the left-wing press on his side and it gives him full support to continue with his idea. The press has a paper called The people’s messenger with a publisher known as Alaskan who is a man of temperance and moderation which makes the play humorous. Stockman’s brother is the mayor of the town and he is fearing the negative effect of the baths when they are closed for two years for renovation which will also be costly to find another supplier. The doctor doesn’t see all that and he is planning to let his discovery out and face the consequences. There are two versions of contamination one for Doctor and the other for his brother. The mayor tells the media to go with his version and the Doctor gets angry and calls a meeting and tells the people his own findings. Inside the play, there is a drunkard who keeps disturbing when there is a town meeting which is meant to declare Dr. Stockman as the enemy of the people. Aslaken is elected the chair of the meeting.
Later the doctors’ house is attacked with stones. It is followed by a twist of events with captain Petr being sacked and Dr. Stockman losing his job. Kill buys all the shares of baths when Doctors’ discovery made the price go down. This made people accuse Doctor of causing the shares to go down just for Kill to buy them. Finally, Dr. Stockman remains the strongest man who is standing alone.
Things fall Apart
This is a novel by a famous Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. It was first written in 1958 reflecting the stories of the precolonial period story chronicles in part of the southeastern part of Nigeria. It shows the effects of the settlement of European in the colonial period. It is considered as one of the best African English novels and the first one to be recognized globally.
Many schools around Africa had this book in their education curriculum. It was taught and studied around the world by English speaking countries. It became the first book to be published in the UK by Heinemann’s as one of the African Writers Series.
The book narrates about a chief known as Okonkwo from ibo (original igbo) tribe and a fictional Umuofia clan. The tribe is made up of nine villages that are interconnected. His father Unoka was a coward and a spender, he died in disrepute leaving a crisis of unsettled debts behind and many villages were unhappy with him. His fathers’ bad actions are coming to haunt him. Okonkwo is the breadwinner of his family a farmer, a clans elder, and above all a warrior of the clan of Umuofia. Unfortunately, he has a lazy son called Nwoye who is twelve years old. Okonkwo is sad that his son may take the footstep of his grandfather Unoka and end up failing.
Something interesting Umuofia gets a fifteen years boy and a virgin from a neighboring tribe as a form of settlement. Ikemefuna, the boy seems to be a good son who has outstanding characters. Nwoye finds a good friend of the new boy. Okonkwo does not like the new bow despite liking his new father willingly.
There is a week of peace tradition in the village but Okonkwo is always not happy with one of his youngest wives called Ojiugo who he sees like she has a lot of negligence. He fights him breaking the tradition of the holy week of peace. Later he performs some sacrifices to purify himself but his villagers are left with shock for what he has done.
Nwoye now has a big brother who he has been staying with for three years. He always likes looking up to him and even His father start developing an interest in him. Interestingly there is a season of locusts where they come and the community gathers them to cook and serve them. They come every year after seven years and they disappear waiting for another generation. When they come to the village it is very excited they enjoy the season.
There are rumors that Ikemefuna must be killed and a respected elder has broken the news to Okonkwo and he is advising him not to take part in killing a boy who calls him father. Okonkwo tries to trick the elder that they should take him back to the home village but the elder mourns.
The men from Umuofia pretend to escort him. Ikemefuna is excited he will see his mother. Unfortunately, they attack him on the way using machetes and he tries to run to his father Okonkwo for help who tries to show he is brave cuts the boy down. When they come back home Nwoye senses his brother might be dead.
This act disturbs Okonkwo especially later when Ogbuefi Ezeudu the elder who warned him not to kill his adopted son. At the burial of the elder, a tragedy happens Okonkwo guns kill the son of the elder. He now has to take his family to exile for seven years for killing the clansman. He goes to the Manta village where her mother came from while the villagers burn his house.
The book continues to explain the events that the writer is describing as if they are real. From the coming of missionaries to the death of Okonkwo. I would advise you read this book you enjoy it yourself.
To Kill a Mockingbird Review
This is one of the novels that are considered to be one of the greatest novels written. It was written by Harper Lee in 1960. It was read in many schools in the US. It has contributed much to modern America Literature and won the Pulitzer Prize. The book is based on Lee’s observation of her family life, real events that took place near her hometown when she was young.
Despite the book being more serious on issues of rape and racial inequalities, it is so humorous and you love reading it. Atticus Finch is one character of a lawyer who you will admire in the book because of his integrity. He is a window and has two sons Scout Finch and her brother Jem. They are from Alabama in a town called Maycomb which is in depression. Atticus finch family seems to be well of compared to the rest of his neighbors because he is a good lawyer. One summer Scout and Jem becomes friend with Dill who has come to live in their neighborhood. They like sharing stories and one day Dill notices a beautiful house. It is owned by Nathan and he has a brother Arthur “Boo” Radley who lives in there but doesn’t come outside often. Next Summer Dill visit her aunt again and the three friends. Every time they meet they discuss “Boo”. Many older people don’t discuss Boo much although they have been seeing him for many years. The children create rumors of why he remains hidden and they plan how to get him out of the house. Boo leaves him gifts in a tree outside the mansion.
The book has many turn of events where Articus is a lawyer to a black man who is accused of rape. His children are attacked as they come home from school.
This is a book you can’t stop reading and it has even a movie produced on it. This is a book that almost everyone has come across it and read it or at times students were forced to read it. Everyone who has read the book has his own experience reading this literature book.
Atticus Finch appears as a role model and a hero in this book. His morality is so encouraging when you compare it to physical capabilities. The whole novels teach morals and you can’t escape from it especially if you go to church and you are a religious person who fears sins. The character Dubose, for example, is vowing she will never die beholden to nobody or anything after recovering from drugs. She is now free being who is living her dreams.
The books try to differentiate between what is good and what is bad and distinguish the instinct between wrong and right with the application of the law. The message of doing what is right is very clear throughout the book. Now the book is just a good reference for what was taking place in the 1960s when the book was written. America was facing a path of overcoming the social-inequality as the country was in a state of ethical development. Women and black race movements were emerging and campaigned against these inequalities.
This period of the 1930s the book was set America was in a great depression and the American dream was no longer realistic. Atticus’ dream for equality was not also seeing the light. Still today, there is a huge debate whether the school children should be forced to read the book page by page.
If you have never read this book I would advise you to grab your copy. This book remains the best book no matter the debate of whether it should be taught in school or no. You get to learn a lot from it and the experience may even change your thinking and the way one perceives things. It can even help you the way you relate to people.
Agatha Christie and today’s murder mystery
When it comes to writing women are not left behind. One of the mystery writers is Agatha Christie born in 1890. One of her famous books is ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ and ‘The Mystery of the Blue Train.’ She is one of the greatest best-sellers famous in the history of writers. She made a sale of billions of copies and wrote plays and romance novels. His place of birth was England. She was educated by her mother who inspired her to write. She enjoyed fantasy stories and created characters. She also learned piano and vocals when she was sixteen in Paris.
She had no companions to share life with. Her brother and sister were much older than her. She didn’t have school mates either because her mum was the one teaching her most of the time. She grew up as a shy girl and even when she was an adult she was still shy. It was difficult for her to enter a shop. Servants and family were her social circle. She was a kind introvert who spent most of her time with imaginary chickens, kings, and kittens. She liked participating in funerals and she placed flowers on her fried kate grave. She wrote that “I had a very happy childhood,”
At one point she had a tough time when her estate run out of money as a result of mismanagement. He tried her best in finding a job but most of the time it was in vain. She had no specific skills that she was trained for making it hard for her to get a job. Her life with her mum was not easy and they had to soldier day in day out.
She had no thought of a good career. She was thinking of getting married to a good husband and her dream came true when she was twenty-four. She got married to Archie Christie. Their marriage was after the 1st world war. Her husband was sent to France while she worked at a dispensary. They later settled in London when the war ended and they were blessed with one child, Rosalind. His husband went to work in the city while she started her writing career.
Their marriage was characterized by ups and downs. Clara passed in 1926 and her daughter was left alone with sorrow. Agatha moved back to her mum’s house preparing to sell it. Her husband kept visiting her till one day he broke the news of divorce to her. Agatha tried to persuade her not to opt for a divorce. She was depressed that one day she drove away and police had to intervene and search for her. She had gone to a hotel where she had checked in with a different name. He was taking walks and reading most of the time. There was a manhunt but most of the hotel attendees could not notice her. She even played with them but they could not connect. c
Christie’s work was not for passing time. The world wars helped her come up with writing ideas. The detective stories were many at that time that motivate writers. Her novels had great and colorful settings. The novels gave stories of how victims were poisoned by licking stamps, brushes, deadly diseases, poisonous mattresses, telephone electrocution, and many fanciful killing tactics. In her work when detectives suspect someone is dangerous was poisoned. She does not like violence and that is why most of the time she prefers to use poison.
Most of her work especially on homicide novels is demonstrating tricky methods to deal with murder and cover-ups. Many people had been researching why she was enthusiastic about detective novels during her time. This could be for religious reasons or war. She will remain a heroine in the work of crime and detective novels.
The poet and playwright William Shakespeare
We have heard or used some quotes from William Shakespeare or Shakspere spelled differently. He is one of great England’s
His father was John Shakespeare. His real date of birth is not well
Many of his theatre performances were performed in the London stage around 1592 and he was very famous. It is even claimed Robert Green a play writer attacked him for rising to fast and trying to compete with educated writers. Lord Chamberlain men were the only men who performed his plays in theatres and later
Some of his work started Being published in 1594 and his work and by 1598 his work was a boom and he was appearing in many title pages. After his success most of the time he continued acting on his own. Around 1605 he was not active and some scholars argue his work was now ending but in 1623 a Folio list him as “the Principal Actors in all these Plays” but it not clear the roles he played but there are claims he played a ghost role.
It has not been easy to come up with the right chronology of his work but he wrote about 37 plays with different themes tragicomedies, tragedies, comedies, and histories. Examples are the romantic Merchant of Venice, the whimsical A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the charming As You Like It and Twelfth Night and the wit and wordplay of Much Ado About Nothing among others.
It was not clear how he died. Some people say he died on his 52nd birthday and some say he was killed in a church but some say he died of illness. He was a respected artist who played an important role in theatres in the late 16th century although his work was not recognized until the 19th century. Today his work is studied all over the world and it has played an important role in literature.
Want to Know What To Read