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 WRONG DECISION BY STANLEY NNABUO

SETTING OF THE PLAY

The play is set in Nigeria before the actions moved to America. It is characterized with cultism, hooliganism, decision making and their consequences. The play ridicules the act of disobedience and asserts how destructive affection can be. Louis endangers his life because of the love he has for Rose. He hopes to have a better life in America having applied for a scholarship. He disobeys his parent’s instruction not to take a wrong decision in marriage and this leads to his destruction.

SUMMAY OF THE PLAY

The action of the play begins in Alex’s room. Jack his son comes in to report that his father’s servants have been arrested by the police for reckless driving. Rose is seen inside her room, she is in deep thought and unaware when her friend, Julienne enters.  Julienne is surprised about the condition she met her friend Rose and demanded to know what had happened. Rose told her she fell in love with a guy she met at a friend’s party. Julienne admonishes her to face her studies. Tina enters the room as Julienne takes her leave and encourages her to go for who her heart chooses to love.

In Louis’s room on campus, Chad enters to tell him that his girlfriend has been snatched by someone and he promises to deal with such person.

 During a cult meeting, Chad reported the same issue that someone snatched his girlfriend to his members and it was revealed that Louis is the culprit. In anger, he storms into Louis room, accuses him of snatching his girlfriend and promises to deal with him. Louis is so confused about what he was taking about but soon realised and becomes fearful. Tony assures him of calmness and that he shouldn’t be afraid of Chad.

In Rose’s room, Julienne comes in to tell her she has informed Chad about her love for Louis and Rose felt disappointed in her friend.  But Julienne claims she is unaware that both Louis and Chad are friends. Tony also mocks Julienne for her actions. Rose then begins to think of what would happen to Louis and then gets confronted by Chad for setting him up and would have beaten her up if not for Tony and Louis who entered that that point. Louis calls Rose heartless and leaves her. Tony tries to console Rose and promises to talk to Louis but as he leaves, he got attacked by Chad’s gang and was beaten to the point of death.

Tony is seen in the hospital writhing in pain. Chad visits him to warn him never to intervene in the affairs concerning Louis again or he will be dead. Tony accepts not to do so and Chad leaves. Tony explains to Louis the conversation he had with Chad and warned his friend to leave Rose alone. 

Louis is in preparation for his travel abroad. Tony asks why his he wants to further his education abroad and he gives him certain reasons. Mrs Okorie warns Louis not to take any wrong decision and tells him a story about choosing a wrong partner. Louis says he is no longer in love with Rose and leaves for studies in America. 

Rose, now an account is seen in her office and Hidda her former school mate came to visit. They are happy to see each other after a long time. Hidda asks about her relationship with Louis and she explains how Chad objected to her having anything to do with Louis. She says its either she marries Louis or becomes a Nun. She would never give herself to Chad for marriage. She told Hidda she would wait for Louis’s arrival from America. But Hidda warns her that men are not predictable.

At Rose’s house, Mrs. Johnson advises her not to depend on Louis and she should find herself another man to marry but Rose refuses. She plans to wait for Louis. On a Sunday, when Rose’s family is getting ready for church, some men who are familiar with Rose and her family came to seek her hand in marriage for their son, Ikechukwu who also comes with them. Rose rejects their marriage proposal and angrily send them out. 

Rose visits Tony for information about Loius but Tony ignore her. Same night at a birthday party, Tony sees Hidda his former schoolmate and both rejoiced at their meeting. Also at the party is Chad. Chad and his gang attaks Tony and ask him to vacate his seat and leave the party for them. Later,  Chad discussed with his gang on how to execute their plans on Louis and unknown to them that Hidda was recoding their discussion. She plays the voice record for Tony and Rose.

Its been three years since Louis has been in American and he is to arrive home through the Nigerian Airways. Mr. Alex, Chad and his gang are in the airport waiting for Louis arrival so they could carry out their plans. 

Similarly, Tony, Rose, Mrs Okorie and some detectives police are at the airport to protect Louis' life. Eventauly, Mr. Alex and his cohorts are apprehended.

Louis arrive with a white woman he intends to marry. Mrs Okorie rejects the woman, Jessica and claims Louis cant marry her. Louis protests that he has no love for Rose again. Mrs Okorie then narrates the dream she had and how his decision will lead to his destruction. Tony also advises his friend not to marry Jessica but he refuses.

Louis tells Jessica his mother doesn’t want them to get married and she suggests they elope to America in which Louis accepts though reluctant at first. Louis drops a note for his mother in the sitting room but the note was seen two weeks after their deapture to America.

Mrs. Okorie visits a native doctor to use spiritual power to bring back home her child, Louis. She is given two eggs, one is for destruction and the other is for solution. The native man says the latter should be given to Louis' lover while the former be destroyed  and it will affect better living condition of Louis in America. Mrs. Okorie on getting home decides to give Rose the solution egg. Rose tells her  if Loius doesn’t come back home before six months she wouldn’t be able to marry him again because her parents her giving her away in marriage. Mrs Okorie agrees and smashes the first egg to destroy Louis better living condition in America. 

In America, everything has gone bad for Louis. And he has fallen out of love with Jessica. She decides to set him up. On a particular morning as Louis is ready to go to work, Jessica won’t allow him leave. The police arrests Louis, charged and imprisoned for sixteen months after which he is deported back to Nigeria. Jessica possesses his properties. On getting home,  he found Rose married and pregnant for another man. 

ACT BY ACT SUMMARY

Act One

The action of the play begins with Mr. Alex room, Jack his son comes in to report that his father’s servants have been apprehended for reckless driving. Rose in deep though did not know when her friend Julienne comes in. Rose is elated on seeing her friend and her mood Changes. Julienne is interest in what bothers her and Rose tells her about a guy she met at a party and confesses she is in love with him. Julienne admonishes her friend not to focus on any man but on her studies. Tina enters the room and is told about the discourse at hand. She motives and supports Rose's affection.

ACT TWO

In Louis' room on campus, Chad comes in and tells him his girlfriend has been snatched by some guy. He promises to deal with the person but is urged by Louis to be patient and remain calm.

ACT THREE

The events in this act takes place in a cult meeting.  Chad, a member of the cult reports to the members that his girlfriend has been snatched. It is revealed to in the meeting that Louis is the one who snatched Chad's girlfriend and they pledged to punish him.

In Louis room, Louis and  his room mate, Tony are seen sitting at the edge of a bed while taking their lunch when Chad storms in. Furiously, Chad promises to punish Louis for going behind his back to date his own girlfriend. He leaves angrily leaving Louis confused. On realising the problem, Louis becomes afraid knowing fully well that Chad is a member of a cult group. But Tony encourages him to be calm. And not be scared of what Chad would do.

 ACT FOUR

In Rose room, Julienne comes in to tell her about what is at stake. She says she reported Rose recent  affection with  Louis to Chad. Rose feels betrayed and disappointed in her friend. Julienne claims she does not know both Louis and Chad are friends.

ACT FIVE

Rose at a relaxation centre ponders on what is likely to happen to Louis. As she still thinks about this, Chad enters. Chad accuses her of setting him up with his friend. He tries to fight her but he stops at the arrival of Louis and Tony to the scene. Chad leaves angrily. Louis calls Rose heartless and leaves. Tony tries to console Rose to stop shedding tears and leaves while promising Rose he would talk to his friend. On his way, Tony is attacked by a group of boys who happen to be Chad's gang. He is beaten to stupor and taken to hospital. At the hospital, Tony blames himself for being Jealous of Rose and Louis. He receives unexpected invitation from Chad who warns him to stay clear of the matter. Tony therefore advises Louis to stay away from Rose.

ACT SIX

Louis is preparing to leave Nigeria for America to further his studies. He is given a farewell speech by his mother who advises him not to take a wrong decision having heard that Louis affection for Rose has melted away. She tells him a story from her past to buttress this point. 

Rose now an account is visited in her office by her former school mate. They rejoice at their reunion. Hidda asks about Louis and if she hears anything about him. Rose vows not to marry any other man except Louis. She says she will wait for his arrival back into the country. 

Some men came to ask Rose hand in marriage as the family prepares for church. The men ask that Rose marry their son, Ikechukwu. Rose rejects their marriage proposal.

Rose unrelenting visits Tony's house to hear about Louis. Tony refuses to give her any useful information. Tony attends the birthday party of Edward, an old friend. He sees Hidda too. Chad and his gang are seen at the party too. Chad on sighting Tony at the party asks him to leave and go home. 

Chad discusses the plans they will execute on Louis' arrival day. He says his father, Mr. Alex is the chairman of the scholarship board that Louis applied for that takes him to America. He says his father awards Louis the scholarship for a purpose. Meanwhile, Hidda who is close to them overheard their conversation and records it. She plays the recorded conversation to Rose and Tony when she gets home. 

ACT SEVEN

Louis arrives to Nigeria after three years. Mr. Alex,  Chad and his gang are at the airport waiting for Louis to be killed. 

On the other hand, Tony, Rose, Mrs Okorie and some detective police officers are at the airport to protect Louis' life. Eventually, Mr. Alex and his cohorts are apprehended. Louis arrives with a White woman he intends to marry. Mrs Okorie rejects Louis getting married to this White Lady, Jessica but wants him to marry Rose. Louis states he no longer have any iota of love for Rose and he should be allowed to choose whom to marry. In other to drive home her point, Mrs. Okorie narrates the dream she had to him and tells him if he marries a White woman, he will end his life in penury. 

Tony pays a visit to Louis house advising him to listen to his mother's advice and not marry a White woman. All efforts from both sides, that is, from Mrs Okorie and Tony for Louis not to marry Jessica proved abortive. Louis tells Jessica about the conflict between him and his mother after the asked what the issue was about. She suggests they elope to America and he accepts her suggestion. 

ACT EIGHT

Louis drops left a note for his mother in the sitting room before he eloped with Jessica back to America, Mrs. Okorie boils with anger seeing the note Louis left for her. She immediately goes to a native doctor in other to use spiritual power to bring back home her son. The native doctor gives to her two eggs, one symbolizes destruction and the other symbolizes solution. Baba tells her that the first will be broken by Mrs. Okorie and it will affect the good life of Louis in America as things will go from good to bad for him and he will find his way back to Nigeria. The other egg is for solution and should be given to a person that loves Louis and be broken when Louis comes back home and things will come back to normal for him.  Mrs. Okorie explains this to Rose and she agrees to take the second egg which will be the solution to Louis problems when he comes back to Nigeria. But she told Mrs. Okorie that if Louis did not come back before six months, she will get married as her parents are preparing to give her hand in marriage to a man that will soon arrive from travel. Mrs. Okorie assures her that it won’t take more than six months. She smashes the egg for destruction on the ground and begins to cry. 

ACT NINE

In America, everything about Louis now irritates Jessica. She decides to set him up. Jessica sends police to apprehend Louis. He is arrested and imprisoned for sixteen months after which he was deported to Nigeria. On getting home, he realizes that his mother’s house has been sold to a man who came from America. The man happened to be Rose’s husband. Rose explained to him all the diabolic steps his mother took on him. Rose wont marry him again since she is already married to another man. Louis regrets his wrong decision. 

CHARACTERIZATION

1. Rose: Rose is Louis beloved. She is friend to Julienne. She fell in love with Louis when they met at a friend’s arty. She brings problem in by causing quarrel between Louis and Chad. She is Chad girlfriend but never accepted to marry him. Her affection for Louis is the development of the conflict in the play. The love she has for Louis is unpredictable but Chad poses as an obstruction between the two. Rose claims she would rather be a nun than marry Chad. Eventually, Rose didn’t marry Louis. 

2. Louis: He is Rose beloved. His is friend to Chad. He is son to Mrs. Okorie and bosom friend of Tony. Louis endangers his life when he falls in love with Rose who is already Chad’s girlfriend. Louis’ love for Rose melt away when he realises she is his friend’s girlfriend. Louis furthers in his education as he applies for scholarship to America. He gets back home with a white woman whom he intends to marry but his mother frowns upon his decision. He elopes to America with the white woman only to have his life destroyed. 

3. Tony: He is friend to Louis; his father is a lawyer who prosecuted Mr Alex’s case. He presents himself as an agent of assertiveness and courage to Louis and Rose. He is attacked by Chad gangs and warned him not to interfere in the love triangle with Chad, Louis and Rose. He is the only source of information for Rose about Louis’s arrival to Nigeria. He won’t yield to her requests but later supports her in getting married to Louis.  He is one of those who protect Louis live from dangers that have been planned and executed by Chad and his cohorts. 

4. Chad: Chad is a cultist. He is friend to Louis and Tony. He is boyfriend to Rose. He is Mr. Alex biological son. He intends to revenge for Louis fallen in love with his girlfriend. He sees Louis as being heartless for fallen in love with his girlfriend. He punishes tony for intervening in the conflict among the trio of Chad, Rose and Louis. He plans to kill Louis and have Rose to himself. He is apprehended by the police at the airport and taken to prison to spend six years of his life for attempting to murder Louis. 

5. Julienne: julienne is a friend to Rose. She is the darkness in the light. She reports Rose’s love affair with Louis to Chad.  She is the cause of the conflict that later ensued in the play. Rose calls her heartless and destructive. Her action leads to her separation from Rose. 

6. Jessica: she is a white American woman brought to Nigeria by Louis for marriage. Everything about her disgust Mrs. Okorie and she won’t allow Louis to marry her. Jessica tells Louis that they elope to America and he agrees. Jessica later set Louis up in America; he got arrested, spent six months in prison and got deported. She possesses all of his properties. 

7. Mrs Okorie: she is Louis’ mother. She warns her son not to take wrong decision. She supports Rose to marry her son. Mrs. Okorie discovers with horror Louis’ elopement with Jessica to America through a note dropped in the living room. She visits a native doctor in other to charm his son back to home and get marry to Rose. She is instrumental to Louis destruction.  

8. Mr Alex: he is Chad’s father. He is a notorious criminal. He is a cultist in his undergraduate days and he objects to Mrs. Okorie getting married to Louis’ father. But did not succeed in his plan. Much of his youthful days are exposed in a flashback by Mrs. Okorie. He is a notorious armed robber and always being charged to court for his evil deeds but always wins the case. He awards Louis scholarship for a purpose which to let Louis falls in his net. He plans to kill Louis on his arrival but fails to succeed in his operation. He is taken o court where he is imprisoned for six months.

9. Jack: He is one of Mr. Alex’s sons. He reports to Mr Alex about the arrest of his servants by the police for their reckless driving. 

10. Tina: she is friend to Rose who supports her to marry Louis.

11. Hidda: she is friend to Rose. She visits her after graduation. She is the one who reported Chad and his gang plan to the police.  

12. Baba: Baba is a native doctor who Mrs. Okorie visited for spiritual power to bring back Louis. 

13. Jimmy: He is husband to Rose. He purchased Mrs. Okorie’s house on his arrival to Nigeria. 

THEMES

1. Love: The play portrays love as blind, irrational, often a beautiful force that can be both cruel and forgiving. It portrays love to be destructive. Ultimately, love drives the entire play’s plot. Rose’s affection for Louis is the cause of the conflict in the play. Louis and Rose exhibit undying love for each other but the love soon fade away. Chad, a known boyfriend of Rose gets jealous and won’t allow anyone take away Rose from him not even his friend Louis.   Louis affection for Rose melts away in an attempt to protect his life. Rose’s love for him increases and she waits for Louis’s arrival. 

Similarly, love makes Louis disobeys his mother and brings destruction upon himself. Louis elopes with Jessica to America after rejection his mother’s proposal to marry Rose. This makes Louis’s mother to act evil and ends Louis’ life in penury.

2. Betrayal: This is a cardinal theme in the play. Rose feels betrayed by julienne that she sees as a good friend. Her betrayal forms the plot of the play. Chad feels he is set up by his Rose and Louis. He plans to revenge for this action of Louis. Rose doesn’t care about Chad’s threats and her love for Louis continues to grow. She waits for Louis’ arrival to seek her hand in marriage. 

3. Decision and Choice:  In the play, the theme of decision and choice is wholly. It is true that one's future is not a gift but a choice. Decision and choicd spells calamity and joy at the same time. Rose’s decision and choice to choose Louis over Chad is the cause of the conflict in the play. It is obvious that choice has power to save and kill. Similarly Louis' decision to choose Jessica over Rose truncate his future. Even though he has been warned not to take wrong decision. Mrs. Okorie's decision to bring Louis back him using diabolical means spells bad for him and ends his life in penury

*special appreciation to Stephen Olatunji for his contributions on the summary on this text.