Exploitation and Betrayal in Dele Charley’s The Blood of a Stranger and John Kargbo’s Let Me Die Alone

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine exploitation and betrayal in Dele
Charley’s The Blood of a Stranger and John Kargbo’s Let Me Die Alone
and show how both playwrights create characters to portray images of
exploited African societies. It also aims to show Africans who connive
with the European masters to exploit and betray their own people. Using
the Archetypal theory (also called totemic, mythological, or ritualistic
theory), the study investigates the nature of exploitation and betrayal in
the plays. It finds that the people are exploited and betrayed physically, economically and culturally. It also finds that the Europeans and their
African collaborators betray the people and the gods in their quest for
filthy lucre. The paper concludes that the exploitation and betrayal are
sanctioned by the gods and, despite the exploitation and betrayal, the
society always emerges stronger, better and exploiters and betrayers get
their just desserts