Obesity Case

Elmina's Kitchen _ Kwame Kwei-Armah

It has been noted that modern domestic tragedies deal with modern issues such as materialism, consumerism, procrastination and alienation. To what extent does Elmina's kitchen show evidence of at least two of these issues, and how does the playwright present them.

Modern tragedies have been known to follow a pattern in which destruction is inevitable when dealing with modern issues, mostly relying on other factors. One of the main themes that Kwei-Armah highlights in the play is materialism. Materialism is defined as a desire for wealth and material possessions with little interest in ethical or spiritual matters. In other words, they only want material possessions even though it doesn't last. Kwei-Armah emphasises how much the characters want so many things that they don't need and ignore the important things that they do need conveying that through Ashley's refusal to get an education "I ain't got time for college... Forget this. College does not fit into the plan I have for my life..." it is particularly summed up in this quote.

Another issue and perhaps one of the more important themes Kwei-Armah deals with is alienation, its the process whereby people become foreign to the world they are living in, it's a separation from the norm of'11ten resulting in hostility. The concept of alienation is deeply imbedded in Elmina's kitchen and it is conceivably one of the greatest tragedies that could happen to any human being, as Kwei-Armah shows subtly throughout the play, for example at the very beginning, the play seems to evolve out of darkness "the stage is in darkness, a slow spotlight slowly reveals a man..." this suggests that every man is on his own and each has to account for his actions. It could also suggest not knowing what is to come but having the future hanging over like a dark cloud.

The title of the book is drawn from Elmina's castle is a place where slaves used to be before they were shipped to England

The character Deli is alienated, the fact that no one comes to his shop is a form of alienation,