MAIN THEME: DICTATORSHIP
The play centers on a group of tyrannical or dictatorial African leaders in the bay of an embassy in New York. The four African heads of state – Benefacio Gunema, Emperor Kasco, Field Marshal Kamini and General Barra Tuboum – believe in dictatorship gaining so much power, the brutality of power and dehumanization. They are ruthless and five there is no place for the freedom of humanity. They mismanage the nation’s resources (Part 1, p. 4) believing they have the power (Part 1, p. 10).
These leaders give no room for human self-expression and exploit the helpless masses. They take pleasure in wars, ‘we fight, we kill or we die’ (part 1, p. 21). They see themselves as born to rule and refer to themselves, especially Kamini, as president for life (part 1, p. 26). They gain power through any means available, including through voodoo, and imprison those who dare challenge their authoritarian rule. Gunema sentenced those who conspired against him to death.
The evils of these leaders do not end there; they also come to violate the dignity of women. They do not consider women: they impose themselves on women and have sexual relations with them by force (part 2, p. 58). The friends believe that rebellion is a contagious disease and therefore spend a lot to acquire destructive weapons in case of war or coup (part 2, p. 63).
Other themes in the book include hate, racism, selfishness (self-centeredness), the struggle for power, and imperialism.
SETTING: The action takes place at the Bugaran Embassy to the United Nations, New York. The timer is a few years before the present.
CHARACTERS: The play, A Giants Play, has the following characters:
Benefacio Gunema, Emperor Kasco, Field Marshal Kamini, General Bara Tuboum (These are the four African Heads of State), Gudrum, Scandinavian journalist, President of the Bugara Central Bank, Sculptor, Ambassador of Bugara, Mayor of Hyacombe, Professor Batey, Two Russian delegates, two American delegates, task force specials, guards, and UN Secretary General.
CHARACTERIZATION: The author himself presents the characters to the reader as a prologue or interlude at the beginning and during the course of the work, respectively. He took a critical look that the resemblance between African Heads of State and recent historical figures has been too pronounced; leaders such as Macias Nguema (deceased) from Equatorial Guinea, Jean Basptiste Bokassa from the Central African Republic, Mobutu Sese Koko from Congo Kinshasa and the Hero of heroes, Field Marshal El-Haji Dr. Idi Aminof Uganda.
STRUCTURE: The work is divided into two (2) parts: First part and Second part
USE OF LITERARY DEVICES: The author makes use of the narrative in the course of the work. He also shows elements of conflict through the aggressive African Heads of State and the representatives of the UN and America.