The River Niger (Masterplots II: Drama, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Joseph A. Walker
- First Published: 1973
- Type of Plot: Domestic realism
- Time of Work: 1973
- Setting: Harlem, New York City
- Principal Characters: John Williams, Mattie Williams, Grandma Wilhemina Geneva Brown, Dr. Dudley Stanton, Jeff Williams, Ann Vanderguild, Mo, Gail, Chips, Al, Skeeter
- Genres: Domestic realism, Drama, Tragedy
- Subjects: African Americans, Maturation or coming of age, Family or family life, United States or Americans, Politics, Racism, Blacks, Police, Social issues, Prejudices or antipathies, Gangs, youth, Cancer, Death or dying, Corruption, Identity, Military life or service, Diseases, Sacrifice, Societies
- Locales: Harlem, NY
The Play
The play begins on the eve of the homecoming of Jeff Williams, who is returning from military service. The first scene of the play, however, shows the aging patriarch John Williams at work on the poem that provides the title and central symbol of the play. “I am the River Niger—hear my waters,” are the first words uttered by John, whose personal search for a “battlefield” in which he can distinguish himself as an “African warrior” is the underpinning that provides pattern for the play. He finds that battlefield in a heroic gesture that ends the play.
...[The entire page is 1924 words long]
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