Analyze the play and characters - Essay Example

Play and Character Analysis The second scene of Alani Apio’s play, Kamau, is very essential to the flow of events in the whole literary work. In this particular scene, the company in which Alika is an employee acquired the land Alika and his family has been living on ever since. It is brought forth that the land was never theirs; they were just tenants. Within the same time period, Alika gets promoted to the management position within the company; thanks to his boss’s recommendation to the haoles who are the owners of that company.

Jim Mortenson, his boss, also convinces the company owners to help Alika and his family in their relocation citing that Alika is a great employee. Alika’s cousin, Michael, is however not taking the issue lightly. He refuses to relocate and emphasize his hatred towards the haoles. Michael’s life since livelihood revolved around the beach and he was very much unwilling to give this up and relocate to a new place (Apio 7). The importance of this scene is particularly recognized by the fact that it presents the problem that is to be dealt with by the main character throughout the play.

The situation of the land presents the Alika with a real dilemma. He is to either choose to fight for the land or give in to the opportunities offered to him at his workplace. Choosing to fight for the land would of course put him in good terms with the other Hawaiians, such as Michael, who do not like the haoles. This will, however, deny him the opportunity to provide for himself and the family. To ensure that he adequately provides for the family, he of course has to take the job opportunity at the expense of his support for Michael.

The difficulty in making the decision is demonstrated by Alika resorting to drink himself out of the situation. This nevertheless does not provide the expected leeway. His hallucinations seem to be catalyzed when he is drunk. He gets to hear the voices of the dead people when he is drunk. In particular, his dead mother’s voice seems to advice accordingly whenever he is in challenging situations. Initially, the voice advised him to fight for the land and take care of the family. But this option would render him unable to provide for himself.

The role played by the boss, Jim Mortenson, in this play is that of a savior. He appears to be the only source of motivation and opportunity that is presented to Alika. He advises the owners of the company, giving them his words that Alika is a good and reliable employee. This earns him the promotion which Alika is yet to make decision on. His hesitance to take up the chance is largely based on the fact of the view of the haoles as colonialist. The Hawaiians generally perceived the haoles as grabbers who were driven by the hunger to take up their land, properties, and other resources.

This view is particularly demonstrated by Michael, who states that since his childhood, his livelihood has been wholly dependent on fishing on the beach. It is, therefore, not easy for them to give all they lived up to the haoles. The essentiality of this excerpt is, therefore, marked by its significant representation of the problem that is to be addressed through the play. It is the base upon which the flow of events in the text is developed. The preceding scenes are largely driven by the efforts to solve the problem presented in the second scene.

Work CitedTop of FormApio, Alani. Kāmau. Kailua, Hawaii: The Author, 1998. Print. Bottom of Form