this-time-tomorrow
THIS TIME TOMORROW
PLAYWRIGHT: NGUGI WA THIONG‟O
SETTING: UHURU MARKET (THE SUBURB OF NAIROBI CITY), KENYA
PUBLISHER: HEINEMANN
YEAR: 1963
The following are some of the characters who were found in the play‖This
Time Tomorrow‖
• Journalist
• Editor
• Njango
• Wanjiro,her daughter
• 1st customer
• 2nd customer
• 3rd customer • Inspector Kiongo
• Tinsmith
• Shoemaker
• Asinjo
• Stranger
• Police Officer
• Crowd, Policemen
CHARACTERIZATION
• Njango: She is the main character of the Play. She is a widow and the mother of Wanjiro. When her husband passed away in the struggle during Mau Mau war, she came to town. She engaged in a petty trade of selling soup at Uhuru market. She believes in tribalism. She is poor and shares the floor with her daughter as a bed.She was a victim of keep-clean-the-city campaign.
• Wanjiro: The daughter of Njango. She has natural beauty and a lived poor life. She is ignorant as she did not go to school. She loves Asinjo and wants to marry him. She admires how European ladies dress.
• Stranger: He is an activist who fought for Uhuru during Mau Mau war. He educates people on their rights and makes them aware of humiliation and exploitation. He unites people against the city council with its campaign of ―keep the city clean.‖
• Shoemaker: One of the slum dwellers. He is illiterate and does not know his age. He was among the freedom fighters in the forest. He protests against the government‘s decision to demolish the houses.
• 1st, 2nd &3rd customer: They are among the slum dwellers. They buy soup at Njangos place. They oppose the city campaign of demolishing their slums.
• Inspector Kiongo: A worker at the City Council in the Health department. He reminds people at Uhuru market to move away since the slums are to be demolished.He is among those who enjoy the national cake.
• Asinjo: He is a young man from a different tribe with Wanjiro. He is chased away and insulted by Njango as he wants to marry Wanjiro. He convinces Wanjiro to go with him and ignore her mother for claim that she is ignorant and old.
• Tinsmith:He is a slum dweller who lives a poor life. He is ignorant. He cooked for the white people during the war. He makes and sells water tins,pangas,hoes etc.
• Journalist: A reporter of different events in the society. For example,he reports on the keep the city campaign, how houses are demolished and how people reacted against it. He takes pictures of different people like the Tinsmith and Inspector Kiongo.
• Police Officer: He is among the civil servants. He represents the Government to make sure that the clean the city campaign is a success.
THEMES
A theme is the main idea in the work of art. Several themes can be analysed from this play. Among the themes in the play ―This Time Tomorrow‖ are protest, tribalism, poverty, conflict, building the future, illusion, environmental sanitation and awareness.
• PROTEST: Means disapproval of something which is unjust. Protest dominates in the whole play of ―This Time Tomorrow‖. People at Uhuru market protests against the city council which planns to demolish their slums. People also protest against introduction of new cultural ways of life based on Western culture.
• BETRAYAL:The government betrays the Kenyans as it does not fulfill its promises of bringing good life to them. The jobs and houses promised by the government for freedom fighters are not provided. People continue living in slums. Njango lives in the shelter constructed by cardboards and rotting tins. The stranger says‖ We fought for Uhuru because we were told it would mean decent houses and decent jobs. But where are the jobs!
Where are the houses!‖ This portrays that people were betrayed by the government.The national cake was enjoyed by the few selected government leaders.
• HUMILIATIONOR DEHUMANIZATION: The government humiliates
people by destroying their slums at Uhuru market. People protest against the government order to demolish their slums. Njango is among those who protest. Njango says‖ City council or no city council, I am not going to move from this place‖. The shoemaker says ‗‘It‘s not that I do not want to move but the government should give me the place to go-------why should I move from here? ---I only wanted to be left alone. It shows that people were against the decisions made by the city council.
• WESTERNCULTURE:The old generation opposes the changes brought by Western culture while the young enjoy adapting western ways. For example, Njango opposes the new dressing style. She asks her daughter‖ You want to dress like white people‖?
• TRIBALISM:The writer uses Asinjo and Wanjiro to show his protest against tribalism. Though Asinjo loves Wanjiro, Njango opposes strongly for her daughter to get married to a man from another tribe. She tells Wanjiro ‖With that man‖? A man from another tribe? -----Tribalism remains to be a problem in different countries in Africa.
• LAND ALIENATION: People do not support for their land to be taken by few people. They start the fight against the white people in order to get their land back. After achievement of independence, the land still remains in the hands of few African leaders, hence the majorities remain landless. The stranger says‖ We fought for land!‖ where is the land? People think that their leaders have betrayed them.
• DISUNITY: Disunity is portrayed in the play. In the play, this is indicated by the act of people running away when the police arrive.1st customer says ―Police! The police are coming!‖2nd customer says ―Run! Run! Run quickly! Out of my way!‖This shows that people are coward and divided. They have no courage to fight together against the common enemy.
• IGNORANCE/ILLITERACY: The writer portrays the issue of ignorance in his book. Ignorance has made people to live in poor life. Ignorance makes people reluctant to accept new changes. It is ignorance which has made people to accept tribalism; disunity is also there since people have no education. People do not understand the stranger when he insisted on solidarity. The stranger says‖ Let us stand together‖. Due to ignorance, the people believe that the stranger can perform magic to save them.
• CONFLICT: The writer also manages to show the theme of conflict with great success. Conflict can be a source of disunity, enmity and underdevelopment. In this play, the conflict has been shown in the following areas: The conflict between the slum dwellers and the city council; this conflict is the result of the city council to demolish the slums at Uhuru market. People do not support the city council campaign of demolishing the slums. Conflict between the young and the old; The old generation (Njango) opposes all the changes brought by introduction of new cultural practices. On the other hand ,the new generation like changes and want to look like white people. For example, Wanjiro wants to marry a man from another tribe. This is against their culture. She also wants to wear long heeled shoes like European women and also smoke Cigar. She also wants to go to school like her brother. All these are opposed by her mother(Njango).Conflict between the police officer and the stranger; The police officer arrests the stranger for causing violence and civil disobedience. When arresting the stranger, the police officer says ‖In the name of our new republic, you are arrested----! Follow us! Intra-personal conflict; Wanjiro is not happy for not been sent to school. She is also not happy with life in the slums. She wants to wear nice dresses like other girls but her mother is poor and cannot afford to buy nice dresses for her daughter.
• COLONIAL LEGACY: The playwright proves to us that there are still some elements of colonialism in African countries. People have not seen changes even after the achievement of independence. People are landless and jobless. The land has remained in the hands of few people. The national cake is enjoyed by the minority. The new generation likes dressing like white people. Wanjiro says "I want a frock and shoes-high heels-so that I can walk like a European lady".
• BUILDING THE FUTURE: People in Kenya waged war(Mau Mau war) against the colonial government in order to get their land and sovereignty back. Njango, the tinsmith and the shoemaker struggled in doing petty trade in order to get money to buy their basic needs. Dedan Kimathi and the stranger are examples of people who decide to sacrifice their lives in order to bring changes to their society. In any struggle, there are few people who can lose their lives. For example, Njango‘s husband lost his life in the forest while fighting for Uhuru under Mau Mau movement.
• POVERTY:The playwright has shown poverty in the play. Most of the freedom fighter live in slums. They engage in petty activities. Njango shares bed with her daughter and her shelter is made of cardboards and rotten tins.
• SOCIAL STRATIFICATION/SEGREGATION: The minority seem to enjoy the national cake. They drive expensive cars and live in good houses in the city. On the other hand, people like Njango, the shoemaker and the tinsmith live in miserable life. This portrays social classes whereby those who have positions in the government are in the high class while the normal citizens live in low class.
• THE PLIGHT OF WOMEN/GIRLS: Women remain widows due to deaths of their husbands, n the play, Njango lost her husband. Njango tells her daughter‖Your father was captured, hey shot him dead like a dog‖. Njango sells soup in order to earn living. Girls are not given chance to go to school. They remain at home doing domestic chores. Women also especially the young ones are always cheated by men. Njango warns her daughter for engaging in love with Asinjo.
• THE USE OF MEDIA: The play also shows the role of the media in the society. People get up to date information on different issues occurring in their community. For example, the reporters report the incidence of demolishing the slums from the beginning to the end.
RELEVANCE OF THE PLAY TO OUR SOCIETY
The play‖This Time Tomorrow‖ reflects what happens in the society. In some parts of the country, there are problems of tribalism. The city councils in Tanzania sometimes demolish houses of people without paying them or showing them where to build. Western culture has changed the life style of many young men in Tanzania. They act and live like white people. There is also a big number of illiterate people in our society who don‘t know how to read and write.
Exercise 6SAMPLEQUESTIONS
1. Ignorance and poverty are hindering blocks to society‘s progress. Referring to the play ―This Time tomorrow, show the truth of this statement.
2. ―Many conflicts occur as the result of selfish tendencies of some members of the society‖. Discuss the statement with reference to the play ―This Time Tomorrow‖
