BETRAYAL IN THE CITY - TONE AND MOOD

Act one – scene one

The tone of the play and the mood of the characters changes throughout the play. At the beginning of act one, the tone is rather gloomy due to the fact that Doga and Nina are at the grave of their son adika who was shot during a demonstration. Both Doga and Nina are bitter because the person responsible for their son’s death still lived among them. Nina shows signs of hopelessness because their other son, jusper, who was supposed to look after adika’s grave was nowhere to be seen. Doga is optimistic that jusper was alright wherever he was. The tone remains gloomy as Doga and Nina get into a confrontational mood when Nina suggests that they send word to the sub-chief. Nina suggestions angers Doga because it was the sub-chief’s brother, Chagaga, who killed adika.

With the entry of jusper into the scene, the tone of the play becomes a bit more comic even though jusper is lamenting with bitterness about the death of his brother. His conversation with his parents sets the tone of the play to be more casual until he leaves the scene.

The entry of Jere and Mulili into the scene changes the tone of the play drastically from casual to confrontational after. This is after Jere and Mulili inform Doga and Nina that the ceremony they were planning to hold has been cancelled in the interest of peace. This revelation angers Doga who becomes irritated and annoyed by the two government officials. Jere shows compassion towards the two old couple but Mulili shows contempt by treating them with disrespect which angers Jere. Doga’s bitterness doubles when he is informed that his other son, jusper, had confessed to killing Chagaga. This knowledge upsets Doga and Nina but Mulili points an accusatory finger to the old couple. The accusations by Mulili disgusts Jere and after Doga and Nina leave the scene; Jere and Mulili get into a confrontation changing the tone of the play. Mulili abuses Jere calling him a brute while Jere threatens to shoot Mulili who ducks of the stage.

Act one – scene two

The tone in this scene of the play is mostly satirical. This is brought about by the conversation between Jere and askari in most parts of the scene. Jere, who was satirical towards Askari, annoys him because of the way he ridicules and disrespects him. Askari is angry and abrasive towards Jere because Jere shows no respect towards him. The conversation between the two characters is amusing as they each try to outdo each other in their conversation. The entry of Mosese into the scene brings a lot of excitement to Jere as he seems to take sides with him. Though he appears calm, Mosese is critical towards askari for accepting to work as a prison warder. This assumption does not bother askari who appears supportive towards Mosese. He gives Mosese advice on how best he could get an early discharge from the prison.

When the askari leaves the scene, Mosese quizzes Jere on why he carried a bible into the prison. The conversation between these two prisoners takes on a religious tone when they both start to discuss about the biblical story of Jesus and Pilate. They compare their situation with that of Jesus and Pilate and Jere is hopeful that the situation in Kafira will change but Mosese sees no change coming after losing hope during adika’s funeral. He tells Jere how a few politicians tried to turn adika’s funeral service into a political rally which infuriated him and made him to speak his mind.

The conversation between these two characters continues on in a casual manner until the askari enters with a mug of tea which he gives to Mosese. The tone changes suddenly and becomes intense and satirical when Jere and askari start to dialogue. After the askari leaves the tone is again casual but Mosese gets into a bitter mood when he tells Jere how his innocent sister was beaten until she lost hearing in one ear. His bitterness is further increased when Jere tried to sympathise with him. The conversation between the two characters creates commotion which makes the askari to return to the cell thinking that the two were arguing. When he reaches the cell he threatens Jere and warns him not to create any disturbance. After he leaves the cell, Mosese who had gone to sleep suffers from psychotic nightmares which end the scene in a rather sombre mood.

Act one – scene three

The scene takes place in an informal setting. Jusper’s entry into Regina’s house startles Regina who gets angry at him. Her anger reveals how pitiful she is towards jusper, who has worn a red academic gown. Conversation between the two characters calms the tone of the play though both of them are abrasive towards each other. Regina questions jusper about the promises he made to Mosese but jusper in a sarcastic manner rubbishes off the promise because he does not want to pretend about what was going on in Kafira. The play’s sarcastic tone goes on until the entry of tumbo into Regina’s house. When tumbo enters, he finds jusper in Regina’s living room and conversation between the two becomes casual as they try to outdo each other by ridiculing and mocking each other. Regina’s entry into the living room decreases the tension between jusper and tumbo though jusper still uses sarcasm to make tumbo feel uncomfortable. Jusper’s attitude towards tumbo angers Regina who accuses jusper of being a spoilt child and a drunk. The tone suddenly changes and becomes exciting when tumbo asks jusper to go and buy some beers.

After jusper exits the room, the atmosphere in Regina’s house turns casual as tumbo and Regina discusses about the play that tumbo was preparing since he was appointed chairman of the visitor’s entertainment committee. The two characters also discuss boss’s and mulili’s personalities and Mosese’s adamant stance of not wanting to get help so that he can be released from prison. When jusper returns with the drinks, the mood of intimidation sets in again as jusper tries to question tumbo about his academic qualifications. The tone then takes a dramatic change when tumbo inquires from jusper the kind of play that he writes. When tumbo tells jusper about the kind of play that they wanted, Regina is pessimistic because the whole thing smelt of corruption. Tumbo and jusper do not seem to be bothered and it becomes ironic how the two characters have found a common thing in which they both agreed on.

The scene ends in a happy tone as tumbo tells jusper that he is fortunate for winning the play writing competition. When tumbo leaves Regina’s house, he tells jusper to keep the change that he got from buying drinks. This gesture irritates jusper who criticizes the action of tumbo.

Act two – scene one

The tone in this scene is a bit formal because kabito and Nicodemo have met to discuss the preparation for the visiting head of state. Kabito is angry and bitter because the tender he had applied for did not go through but it was given to Mulili. Kabito is angry that apart from being given the tender, tumbo has been forced to include Mulili in the committee for security reasons. Nicodemo also has fears of his own if the prisoners are released. When tumbo enters the scene he is a bit too informal which infuriates Nicodemo and kabito because they view him as an outsider since he joined them recently and has been put as the chairman of the committee. They get aggressive towards tumbo because they want to know the terms of their service. It is at this point that Mulili enters the scene beaming with happiness because his tender to supply milk to the university has been accepted after the intervention of boss, his cousin. This revelation angers Mulili and it leads to an intense argument between the two on how the visiting head of state should be welcomed. The tone of the play changes from being formal to hostile brought about by the confrontation between kabito and Mulili.

Act two – scene two

The tone is informal as boss is outside his palace sitting on an armchair and plucking out his grey hair. The entry of Mulili startles him and this shows how insecure boss was. Boss wonders why Mulili seems nervous and why he has left the committee meetings. He questions Mulili and he is outraged that Mulili has brought bad news to him concerning kabito. Mulili then tells boss how kabito went into the meeting while drunk and started exposing boss’s secret accounts in foreign countries and how he had ruined Kafira’s economy in the process. He becomes furious though sceptical and he tells Mulili that tumbo had a hand in the allegations. Mulili disapproves of Tumbo’s involvement and he points an accusatory finger towards kabito. These false accusations angers and upsets boss who orders for the killing of kabito.

Act two – scene three

The setting of the scene may be in an office where two characters, jusper and tumbo, are discussing about what happened to Regina when she went to plead for Mosese’s release. Both of them are disgusted that boss tried to force himself on Regina. Boss’s actions make jusper to start having doubts of taking part in the play but tumbo warns him against not taking part because it would be dangerous for him. Tumbo sympathises with Regina but that does not deter his objective of making the play a success. As jusper exits the scene, Nicodemo enters and the tone of the play becomes gloomy when they start discussing about the death of kabito. Both Nicodemo and tumbo are miserable and have resigned to the fact that there was nothing they could do to stop Mulili. Mulili enters the scene and in a sombre mood he tells both Nicodemo and tumbo how kabito met his demise. The two talk to Mulili in a sarcastic manner to show that they do not know it was him who was involved with the death of kabito. Mulili lies to both of them that boss was in a sombre mood after learning about the death of kabito. The committee meeting is then called off because of the gloomy mood of the remaining members.

Act two – scene four

The mood and tone in this scene begins with some excitement because of the rehearsal preparations for the play that was to be acted for the visiting head of state. Jusper and tumbo show determination to make the play a success and jusper tells tumbo that Mosese was also excited and ready to take part in the play. Tumbo is a bit nervous but jusper assures him that they shall make a permanent impression which will help him to convince his fellow students who threw him out that it is not by isolation that problems are solved. The tone of the play changes suddenly as tumbo and jusper discuss about adika and Mosese. Tumbo is distraught on hearing that adika was jusper’s brother and he is also worried about this revelation. He tells jusper to keep it a secret that boss should not know that the writer of the play is related to adika. Conversation between tumbo and jusper goes on casually until the arrival of boss. His entry into the scene surprises tumbo and jusper who are too formal until boss orders them to drop their formality. Boss already knew that jusper was a student at the university and this knowledge angers him a bit because the reports that he gets from the university. The tone of the play becomes more intense with boss lecturing jusper on how his fellow university students show disrespect towards him.

When Mulili and a few palace staff enter the scene, excitement builds up but boss’s moods changes and he is outraged when he learns that one of the actors, the one who was to play the chief of staff was not well. Boss is made angry again on learning that the carpenter who was tasked with the job of making guns had not yet made them.

The rehearsal of the play begins and in the play jusper plays the captain and he argues with Mosese who acts as the lieutenant. During the play, jusper becomes excited because they have achieved their goal of overthrowing boss’s leadership. Mulili realizes these and he is fearful of what was happening. Jusper mocks and ridicules him and when he is asked if he was related to boss he denies any existence of family relationship between him and boss. The play’s tone takes a sudden change and the antagonists are apologetic for their previous actions but Mulili tries to save his skin by accusing boss for all the wrong doings. A feeling of accomplishment clouds jusper after he shoots and kills Mulili. The play then ends in a sad tone after jusper reverts back to his madness.

·         Tone and mood development

Tone and mood development is the way the author of the play has revealed the atmosphere of the play. In the play BETRAYAL IN THE CITY, the tone and mood have been developed in the following ways.

         i.            Through dialogue between different characters – Conversation between two or more characters in the play helps to reveal the mood and tone of the play. For example, conversation between Doga and Nina reveal the bitterness the two couple had after the death of their son. The conversation between the two also reveals the gloomy atmosphere in the play.

       ii.            Through conflicts in the play – The conflicts that appear in the play helps to analyse the mood of the characters and the atmosphere of the play. Conflicts between Mulili and kabito reveal the anger and the bitterness between the two characters and the tense atmosphere of the play.

      iii.            Through the actions of some of the characters – The actions that the characters undertake to do influence the tone and mood of the play. For example, the killing of adika and kabito by Chagaga and Mulili respectively makes the tone of the play to be sombre and gloomy.

     iv.            Through word choice – The speech and choice of words that the characters use determine the tone and mood of the play.

       v.            Through symbols and images – Symbols such as the red gown, the country of Kafira and boss, helps to analyse the atmosphere of the play. In places where boss appears the tone of the play changes to resentment and bitterness since his presence angers the rest of the characters especially Jere, Mosese and jusper.

     vi.            Through monologue – Jusper’s speech on his brother’s grave show how bitter and angry he had become. In his speech, he tells his dead brother to join the struggle. His speech is a reflection of his thoughts and emotions which helps to bring out a gloomy tone of the play.

    vii.            Through the setting – The injustices in Kafira and the dictatorial nature of its leader has helped to determine the mood of the characters and the tone of the play. For example, after the death of adika, his parents were bitter because the person who was responsible for his death still lived among them.

  viii.            Through events that take place in the play – Events taking place in the play helps to determine the tone of the play and the mood of the characters. The death of adika and kabito sets the tone of the play to be gloomy and sad. Their deaths also shows the anger and bitterness of those who have been affected by their deaths.

     ix.            Through the mental state of a character – The mental state of jusper has helped to determine the tone and mood of the play. While in adika’s grave, jusper’s speech was more of a comic though he was lamenting the bitterness he felt after the death of his brother.

       x.            Through the themes in the play – Themes such as death, murder, injustices etc. helps to reveal the atmosphere of the play. Other themes such as revenge, enmity and civil disobedience reveal how angry and bitter characters in the play are and how intense the tone of the play is.