AFRICAN DRAMA Joe De Graft: Sons and Daughters Discuss the conflict between the two youngest children and their father in the play.

Answer Details

The central conflict of Joe de Graft's Sons and Daughters is the clash between the father, James Ofosu, and his two youngest children, Aaron and Maanan, over their choice of career. It dramatises a generation gap between an older man's materialism and the younger generation's longing for self-fulfilment through the arts. (Note carefully: James Ofosu is the father; the son who wants to paint is Aaron, and the daughter who wants to dance is Maanan.)

The father and his ambition. James Ofosu is a successful transport owner who, despite having no more than an elementary education himself, is determined to give all his children a professional education. He has already succeeded with the two eldest: George, sent overseas, qualifies as a medical doctor, and Kofi trains as a chartered accountant. Convinced that money is power and that only lucrative professions are worthwhile, he expects his two youngest, Aaron and Maanan, to study Engineering and Law respectively.

The cause of the conflict. Aaron and Maanan reject the professions their father has chosen. Aaron wants to become a painter and Maanan wants to be a dancer, so that each can develop the talent closest to his or her heart. James cannot accept these ambitions: he does not regard painting as real work because it will not make his son rich, and he is scandalised at the thought of his daughter "dancing half naked on a bloody stage." The refusal of his children to follow his plans wounds his pride and sparks the quarrel.

The nature of the struggle. James uses his authority, his money and emotional pressure to bend the children to his will. He laments that he has been "an indulgent father" and turns to his friend, the lawyer Lawyer Bonu, to arrange admissions abroad; Bonu secures a place for Aaron at Manchester University and offers Maanan a job in his office. Aaron and Maanan firmly reject these arrangements, insisting on their right to choose their own callings. Their resistance is quiet but determined, exposing the gulf between parental control and youthful aspiration.

The part played by other characters. The conflict widens beyond the family. Lawyer Bonu, trusted as a friend, proves treacherous and lustful, making sexual advances to Maanan in his own home. Against him stands Awere, Aaron's friend, whose success as a painter, selling one of his works for £220, proves that art can be both respectable and profitable. These figures turn a private family dispute into a wider debate about true values.

The resolution. Events themselves teach James his lesson. The discovery of Lawyer Bonu's meanness shows him that a "respectable" profession is no guarantee of good character, while Awere's success shows that painting can indeed be rewarding. James is reconciled to his children, declaring, "I've given in to Maanan, I'm prepared even now to give in to Aaron," and Awere adds the conciliatory prayer that "we each be given the strength to achieve our hearts' desire in our work." De Graft thus criticises the belief that a child's worth is measured by the money of his profession and affirms the dignity of the arts and the right of the young to choose their own path.