J C DeGraft's "Sons and Daughters"

Joseph Coleman de Graft – whose surname derives from his Dutch grandfather^[1] – was born in Cape Coast, in the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana), and received his secondary schooling there at Mfantsipim. In 1953, at the age of 29, and after an education interrupted by four years teaching at his old school, de Graft graduated from the University College of the Gold Coast, one of the first undergraduates to take English Honours.^[2] That year, he married Leone Buckle, an accountant from Osu, Accra, and they subsequently had three children, Carol, Joseph and Kweku.
In 1955 de Graft returned to Mfantsipim School, where he taught English and was in charge of the Mfantsipim Drama Laboratory. A major influence on his work was Shakespeare, and he acted in, and directed, several of Shakespeare's plays. He was also responsive to developments in African theatre and was responsible for the Ghanaian premieres of plays by two Nigerian dramatists: James Ene Henshaw and Wole Soyinka. He wrote plays himself, and one of the best known, Sons and Daughters (published 1964), dates from this time. It is a contribution to debates about careers and values among secondary school pupils.
In 1960, De Graft was awarded a grant that enabled him to spend time in the United Kingdom and the United States observing amateur, professional, and university drama



SYNOPSIS

Aaron and Maanan are two of the children of James and Hannah Ofosu. There is tension in the Ofosu household because James Ofosu wants Aaron and Maanan to pursue engineering and law respectively. He is especially sure of his selected career choices for them as he chose business and medicine for his other two sons and they are thriving in their fields. His career choices for Maanan and Aaron are not going as smoothly and they want to take up dancing and painting instead. Maanan is especially unhappy about being pressured into doing law because she works in the same office as her father’s friend Lawyer Bonu who has been making advances at her and also polluting her father’s mind against her selected career choice of dancing, and planting ideas in James’ head suggesting that something might be going on with her and Aaron’s friend Awere. Maanan explains the situation to her mother Hannah, who sympathises, and when they try to explain the situation to James, he blows up and sees it as a conspiracy to get him to give in to Maanan’s wishes to become a dancer. Later during the day, Lawyer Bonu comes to visit Maanan, professes his love for her and subsequently makes a move on her. a struggle ensues in which Maanan bites lawyer Bonu’s hand, causing him to shout in pain. The commotion downstairs attracts James to the scene. He is shocked to see with his own eyes cold hard evidence of the serious allegations that have been made against his dear friend. James sacks Lawyer Bonu from his house. George, one of their older sons, now a successful doctor, walks in as James and Hannah are discussing the events of the day. George serves as a voice of reason and helps to soften James’ mind towards Aaron and Maanan’s selected career choices, pointing out that he happened to like the career James chose for him. George also informs James that Awere has started to make money from his paintings and has sold one for two hundred and twenty pounds.  Feeling defeated, James gives in and decides to let Maaanan and Awere pursue their selected career choices.

UNIVERSAL HUMAN CONDITION

The play reflects the mindsets of many Ghanaians back when the play was written and even today. It reflects the lax and perhaps small-minded attitude of many Ghanaians towards the arts. Many Ghanaians feel that for one to make it in life, one must be a lawyer, doctor, engineer etc. Recognition is given to professions like law, medicine, business etc to the neglect of professions like playwriting, acting dancing etc. Many Ghanaians take pride in talking about their successful son/daughter who is a lawyer, doctor, engineer etc especially to the envy of those around them. subjects in the arts are regarded as hobbies and nothing more. To many Ghanaians, to pursue such careers would be regarded as disastrous. J C Degraft explains both sides of the situation by adding the undeniable fact that professions in the arts are not known to bring in as much money as some of the others, especially in Ghana where the market is not as big as outside so we can sympathise with James by perhaps seeing things as “just wanting to protect them.” This view, though understandable is not the best because it limits one’s thinking and drives one to work because of money and not because of passion or interest in the profession. The play also opposes the view that educated people are superior to all others and can do no wrong. Lawyer Bonu is the most educated person in the play, but has very shaky moral values. This is shown when he deliberately pollutes James’ mind towards Maanan pursuing a dancing career, when he knows perfectly well there is nothing wrong with it, and also makes advances towards her. in contrast, Hannah, though illiterate, is one of the more sound-minded people in the play. She sees things from both sides and serves as a voice of reason. Education is highly important in one’s professional life and in one’s personal life as well but not being educated does not in any way mean one is a bad person. Indeed, there are many who would have wished for any education but were to able to gain one because of circumstances, and also, there are many who have had little or no education, such as James Ofosu, but have been able to make something of themselves

CHARACTERISATION

James Ofosu is one of the main characters in the play, Sons and Daughters, by J C Degraft. James has not had much of an education, but through hard work, has managed to provide a decent life for his wife and four children. James believes that any profession one engages in must bring in money. One’s interest in the profession is secondary. This is shown through his pressuring of Aaron and Maanan to pursue engineering and, despite the fact that they want to go into  painting and dancing respectively. To James, the sole importance of pursuing any profession is to bring in money and nothing else. He does not believe in or support any profession that will not bring in money and believes that ‘money makes the world go round.’ James also believes in the importance of education and looks up to Lawyer Bonu because of his education and solid professional background despite his shaky moral values. Because of jame’ admiration of people who have had an education and a solid professional background, James allows himself to be manipulated by Lawyer Bonu and seems to follow Lawyer Bonu’s advice blindly and will not hear or listen to anything negative about his dear friend. Despite all his faults, it is undeniable that James Ofosu’s heart is in the right place and all he really wants is to see his children succeed and that all his toils have not been in vain. James represents the small-minded attitude of many Ghanaians who believe that the only way to succeed is to pursue careers that are highly respected by society and pursuing careers in the arts like dancing, music art etc is a sure way to fail

I personally feel J C DeGraft uses his play, Sons and Daughters as a platform to highlight certain issues in the Ghanaian society. I think J C DeGraft is calling on all individuals, especially the youth to pursue their careers of interest.  The house of the Ofosus is an example of a typical Ghanaian household and the problems the Ofosu’s face are quite common. J C Degraft, himself a playwright, uses his play to inform Ghanaians that going into professions like law, business, medicine, etc are not the only paths that lead to success, and if one has an interest in any the arts, such as dancing, writing, music, etc one can also choose to pursue those as a career. I feel that either directly, or indirectly, J C Degraft in Sons and Daughters has served as an inspiration, and perhaps a mouthpiece for many aspiring writers, dancers, musicians and all those who want to pursue careers that are belittled by the society. The play pulls and encourages individuals to follow their dreams no matter what the circumstances. J C DeGraft offers one final word of encouragement in the last line of his play when Awere put it “…………………may we each be given the strength to achieve our heart’s desire on our work.”