The Rain of my blood, Act 1, Scene 1:

The major concern of the scene is abuse of black farm labourers. They are whipped, overworked for long hours from 6am to 6pm,denied lunch and generally abused by the farm Foreman Bulala( Kill)who is symbolically named because of his cruelty and ruthlessness or sadistic nature towards farm workers. In this scene, he cruelly whips a young girl who is accused of being a ”razi bagas” or lazy bugger, a derogatory term used to describe lazy farm workers. Bulala is very brutal to his fellow countrymen. Bulala is depicted here as a cruel colonial regime enabler who helped the whites to abuse and humiliate fellow blacks. The opening intro of Act1 scene 1, vividly describes farm workers in patched and torn overalls, and oversized dresses to show that whites were not worried about the appearance of the workers but only interested in their labour. The whip that is brandished by the foreman symbolizes oppression of blacks. The whip is also used to instill fear into the farm workers so that they are compliant

The Rain of my blood: Act 1, Scene 4 Synopsis and Analysis.

In this scene, the playwright rakes the readers and the audience to Negomo (Labourer No 3’s ) compound. Negomo and his family are expecting the return of their son Chamunorwa from Chegato High school for the holidays. The boy returns and immediately falls into serious trouble that eventually leads to the expulsion of him and his whole family from Altena Farm. The parents are lucky to be alive at the end of the scene

Through stage directions, the scene opens at twilight, in the evening, when daylight is almost over at Negomo’s compound. Twilight probably symbolizes the end of Negomo’s stay at the farm. Negomo’s wife Munjai, a strong looking woman is cooking on the hearth or fireplace preparing to welcome their son Chamunorwa for the holidays. The description of the compound shows poverty for the family. Maidei, Chamunorwa’s sister is getting ready to go and welcome Chamunorwa at the station. Negomo is returning from the fields where he has been doing extra work to raise fees for his intelligent son Chamunorwa. Through soliloquy, Munjai is deeply worried about her husband Negomo’s persistent cough due to working extra hard and being the last to leave the fields. Maidei gets ready to go to the station. Before going she asks her mother for some money for sweets. Her mother expresses shock and disbelief at the request because she expected her daughter to understand that they were very poor and that her request was unreasonable. When she is about to depart, Negomo appears with a shovel and a hoe, tools for labour. He is coughing violently, a sign that the work on the farm is taking its toll on him since his health is fast deteriorating. Negomo is determined to work extra hard to raise fees for his son despite Munjai’s pleas for him to rest. Negomo’s violent cough continues.

Maidei comes running happily to announce the arrival of Chamunorwa. Chamunorwa is carrying a worn out suit case, a symbol of poverty.

At the same time, Jeffries’ son Francis passes by their compound jogging. Chamunorwa and his parents exchange greetings. The parents note their son has excelled in school work and are very happy. Negomo reaffirms his commitment to ensuring that his son attains the highest level of education as long as he Negomo is alive and has hands to work.

Unfortunately for Negomo’s family, Francis who is jogging and performing acrobatics close to Negomo’s compound trips and falls. He notices a log nearby and begins to curse. He thinks some black kaffir put the log deliberately on the way to trip him. Through stage directions, he calls Negomo and accuses him of putting the log on the way. Negomo profusely apologizes to the young lad but to no avail. Negomo tries to apologize for the log but he is slapped on the face by the young white boy. He is further verbally abused. Negomo is very frightened. Chamunorwa cannot stomach his father being beaten by a young white boy in his presence. Stage directions tell us he hissed and pulled Francis aside when he is about to hit Negomo for the second time. Chamunorwa tells Francis that he cannot hit his father in his presence. Francis mocks Chamunorwa for trying to defend his father and hits Chamu on the face. Francis meanwhile is uttering all sorts of verbal abuse towards Chamu and his parents.

Chamunorwa fights back and overpowers Francis. At this moment ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE. Francis runs or scampers off stage. Negomo realizes Chamunorwa has created serious trouble for himself and the whole family. Francis returns with his father and the Foreman. Chamunorwa is tripped and tied with a rope. Everyone in the compound is summoned. Jeffries explains to the people that Chamunorwa has fought his son. He calls him a baboon, a derogatory term towards blacks. The foreman translates what Jeffries says in English to Shona. This codeswitching clearly brings out a no -holds- barred mood at the farm. Negomo and family are dismissed from the farm immediately for Chamunorwa’s crime. Chamunorwa is thoroughly beaten. Darkness falls on to the stage, a sign that his life turns gloomy or bleak. Screaming is heard until it is inaudible because maybe he is too weak to sream. The atmosphere is very tense. Jeffries and Francis hiss in the darkness beating and forcing and begging Chamunorwa to repent and say he has sinned against the Lord. Very ironic! The whites think they are the Lords mobile.