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Though Soyinka insists in his introduction that Death and the King's Horseman isn't about colonialism, per se, the way that chains function throughout the play make it clear that Oyo and Nigeria as a whole is steeped in its colonial history, as well as its slave history. When Elesin is chained and kept in a cellar that once housed slaves before they were moved to the coast, it suggests that Elesin and his culture are still at the mercy of a system that seeks to dehumanize African people and deprive them of their traditions. As Elesin goes on to kill himself with his chains, it more broadly symbolizes the way in which the English colonizers are, at this time, literally killing native people and the culture by drawing on beliefs of European and white superiority developed through enslaving African people.
Chains Quotes in Death and the King’s Horseman
The Death and the King’s Horseman quotes below all refer to the symbol of Chains. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Act 5
Quotes
Elesin: You did not save my life District Officer. You destroyed it.
Pilkings: Now come on...
Elesin: And not merely my life but the lives of many. The end of the night's work is not over. Neither this year nor the next will see it. If I wished you well, I would pray that you do not stay long enough on our land to see the disaster you have brought upon us.
Pilkings: Well, I did my duty as I saw fit. I have no regrets.
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No child, it is what you brought to be, you who play with strangers' lives, who even usurp the vestments of our dead, yet believe that the stain of death will not cling to you. The gods demanded only the old expired plantain but you cut down the sap-laden shoot to feed your pride. There is your board, filled to overflowing. Feast on it.
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Get the entire Death and the King’s Horseman LitChart as a printable PDF.
Chains Symbol Timeline in Death and the King’s Horseman
The timeline below shows where the symbol Chains appears in Death and the King’s Horseman. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 5
Elesin stands in his cell, his wrists chained. His bride sits outside the cell, looking at the ground, and there are two guards...
(full context)
...all of his powers left when he tried to die, especially when he felt the chains on his wrists. Iyaloja says that he betrayed them and now will have to eat...
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...off-course than they first thought. Elesin stares at Olunde for a moment before flinging the chain of his shackles around his neck and strangling himself. He dies before the guards can...
(full context)
