The Emperor Jones

by Eugene O'Neill

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Genres: Plays, Drama, Classics, Fiction, Theatre, American, 20th Century

64 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1920

About the author

American playwright Eugene Gladstone O'Neill authored Mourning Becomes Electra in 1931 among his works; he won the Nobel Prize of 1936 for literature, and people awarded him his fourth Pulitzer Prize for Long Day's Journey into Night , produced in 1956.

He won his Nobel Prize "for the power, honesty and deep-felt emotions of his dramatic works, which embody an original concept of tragedy." More than any other dramatist, O'Neill introduced the dramatic realism that Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish playwright August Strindberg pioneered to Americans and first used true American vernacular in his speeches.

His plays involve characters, who, engaging in depraved behavior, inhabit the fringes of society, where they struggle to maintain their hopes and aspirations but ultimately slide into disillusionment and despair. O'Neill wrote Ah, Wilderness! , his only comedy: all his other plays involve some degree of tragedy and personal pessimism.

Reviews

[هدى يحيى · Rating 5 out of 5]

الإمبراطور جونز
واحدة من أفضل المسرحيات التي عايشتها مأخوذة تماماً بأحداثها
وهي معزوفة أشباح رائعة
تسرد ببراعة قصة إمبراطور إفريقي خائن
يعيش في إحدى جزر الهند الغربية
عامل أبناء جنسه بخسة ووضاعة
وأعمل فيهم بالسلب والنهب حتى ضجوا وقاموا بثورة للإطاحة به

وهذه المسرحية تنتمي إلى نوع الدراما التعبيرية
ومن خلالها تعيش مآساة البطل المرعوب جونز
وقد استولى علي اندماج كامل في كل مشهد وكل تعبير وجه

فالإمبراطور جونز يرتد إنساناً بدائياً يهرول هُنا وهناك هرباً من القوم الغاضبين
ودقّات الطبول الخيالية تهرول ورائه،،تخيفه ،،تفزعه،،وتعربد على شرف موته الوشيك

اعتمد يوجين أونيل هنا على دقات الطبول وفن البانتومايم
ولذا قد يرى البعض أنها مسرحية تُشاهد لا تُقرأ

فلم يكن الحوار هو الغالب عليها
إنما مشاهد وصفية شديدة الحرفية

أنت تقرأ المشاهد موصوفة على لسان المؤلف في الكتاب
ولكنك وبرغم ذلك تتحرك المشاهد حيّة تتنفس أمامك تبض ألواناً وإيقاعاً

وعلى الرغم من أن المسرح-عشقي الأول في القراءة قوامه عندي الحوار الذكي الفطن
إلا أنني أُخذت بهذه الدراما الغير مسبوقة
وذبت في تفاصيلها





تدور أحداث المسرحية في غابة مظلمة
يحاول جونز الهرب قبل أن يفتك به الأهالي
فيحيله خوفه إلى هذيان متواصل
فالأشباح تتابع عليه في مشاهد المسرحية
فتارة يجد نفسه قد اندمج في طابور سجناء من السود يقودهم رجل أبيض يلهب ظهره بالسياط
وتارة يجد نفسه في سفينة رقيق
تارة يتخشب وتارة يرقص مع ساحر بدائي ووهمي
وفي كل مرة يستولي عليه الفزع يطلق رصاصة من مسدسه لتتلاشى الأشباح من أمامه
وتترك الفرصة لأشباحٍ جديدة أشد فزعاً



وهذه الأشباح الهامسة أو الصارخة
الراقصة او القاتلة
تتحد مع ضوء القمر الذي يسيل بهدوء قاتل على الغابة المظلمة

ولذا في النهاية قد تسأل نفسك
من الذي قتل الإمبراطور جونز
؟

يندمج الخيال بالحقيقة هُنا في صور غنية
يعطي جواً شديد الخصوصية لهذا العمل
وكأن المشاهد كانت مصورة أمامي بالصوت والصورة
وكأنها لوحة فنية تتحرك على إيقاع موسيقى سحرية

يوجين أونيل من أفضل من قرأت لهم في مجال المسرح
له عالمه التعبيري الخاص الذي يحيل مسرحه قطع فنية نادرة ونفيسة

[Harun Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

Short, haunting and arresting; "The Emperor Jones" is a fascinating psychological exploration of greed and guilt.I became a fan of o'neill after reading this.A must read!

[diario_de_um_leitor_pjv · Rating 4 out of 5]

COMENTÁRIO
⭐⭐⭐⭐
"The Emperor Jones"
Eugene O'Neill


"The Emperor Jones" é uma peça escrita, em 1920, pelo dramaturgo norte-americano (e vencedor do Nobel da Literatura) Eugene O'Neill.

Marcada por um misto entre realismo e expressionismo esta obra usa uma estratégia narrativa que nos apresenta ao longo do texto, diferentes perspectivas sobre o drama e a temática em causa. Como em outros textos do autor a experiência biográfica de O'Neill, neste caso nas Honduras e no Haiti, bem como a sua consciência crítica à esquerda, são uma marca indelével deste texto.

Esta peça de teatro conta assim a história de um Afro-Americano, Brutus Jones, que depois de assassinar outro homem negro, foge da prisão para uma pequena ilha das Caraíbas. Assim assume o papel de "imperador".

Ao longo de um conjunto de cenas complexas e intensas, em flashback, Jones revisita a sua história, recontando os significados da opressão e da luta pela liberdade.

Tal como é referido no prefácio deste volume:

"On November 1, 1920, the Provincetown Players and Eugene O’Neill became overnight sensations with the premiere of O’Neill’s play The Emperor Jones. The play’s premiere was significant in two ways. For the first time in mainstream American Theatre, there was a production featuring a full commitment to the principles of the Art Theatre movement. The Art Theatre movement embraced the use of expressionism to go beyond the limits of the literal and delve more deeply into the subjective world of human experience. Audiences got to view the world of the lead character filtered through his emotional state and psychological perception. The world of modern psychology had finally entered the world of the American Theatre."

Comprei esta peça de teatro numa loja na Broadway - um espaço comercial cheio de produtos relacionados com o teatro, e com uma estante gigante e diversificada de livros de teatro -, sendo que este texto foi lido entre Boston e Provincetown. Terminar a leitura do livro em Ptown, na cidade onde esta peça de teatro foi estreada, foi especial...

[Mahdi · Rating 2 out of 5]

یه بحث سلیقه‌ای وجود داره که شاید من نمایشنامه‌هایی که از صحنه‌های کوتاه و پر شمار ساخته شده باشن رو نمی‌پسندم... حس می‌کنم یک صحنه می‌تونه حسی رو منتقل کنه که کوتاهی‌ش باعث فاصله‌گرفتن مخاطب (چه تماشاگر چه خواننده) با اثر می‌شه... این نمایش‌نامه هم همین‌طور بود از 7 صحنه تو 70 صفحه تشکیل شده بود که من نمی‌پسندیدم هر چند که نمایشنامه‌ نمادین و فوق‌العاده بود.

[Thushara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't usually enjoy the books I have to read for my college, but this was an exception.

[وائل المنعم · Rating 3 out of 5]

مسرحية صغيرة مكون من ثماني مشاهد قصيرة ولكنها غنية بمشاعرها وأحداثها، عنصر التجريب غالب على المسرحية مقارنة بزمنها وهي تفتح أبواب عديدة أمام من يرغب في تقديها على المسرح أن يجرب ويبدع.
مشكلة المسرحية أنها تبدو وكأنها مونولوج طويل كان ينقصه الكورس الذي كان من الممكن أن يحل محل الأشباح الصامتة، المسرح عندي بالأساس حوار، حوار يدفع الأحداث ويعري الشخصيات. لذلك ورغم قوة المسرحية لم أعطها إلا نجمات ثلاث.
المسرحية مترجمة للعربية في سلسلة من المسرح العالمي.

[Amene · Rating 3 out of 5]

یک نمایش نامه ی حرکت محور و بازی محور با تکیه بر صدا.کاملا نمادین و به خصوص اشارات و کنایه های مستقیم به نژاد پرستی،استعمار و عدم درک سیاه پوستان از وضعیت واقعی خودشان.

[Maisie Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

at the end of the day, the potential was there

[Ben Hallman · Rating 1 out of 5]

So, yeah, I absolutely loathed this play. Besides the nonstop discomfort that comes from every line spoken by Brutus Jones, the plot is too metaphorical to be enjoyed, and never crawls out of the shadow of the heavy-handed message O'Neill wants to impart. Sure, it was a groundbreaking hit when it debuted in the 20s, but time has been unkind to this story of a fugitive monarch's backwards journey through black history, and now it leaves me embarrassed and with a sour taste in my mouth.

The Emperor Jones wouldn't be so grating if O'Neill had forgone two things. First, the stage directions occasionally are staggeringly inappropriate. Take our introduction to Jones: "His features are typically negroid, yet there is something decidedly distinctive about his face—an underlying strength of will, a hardy, self-reliant confidence in himself that inspires respect." As my English professor stated, "That may be one of the most racist uses of 'yet' in literary history." Whatever goodwill towards the black experience O'Neill may be striving for with this play, it all goes out the window with one little conjunction.

Second, the dialects O'Neill uses come across as patronizing rather than accurate. I understand the desire for authenticity, but for every sentence to come out of Jones's mouth to be peppered with "dese" and "dose" makes these lines painfully close to Stepin Fetchit territory. And in the end, when Lem, leader of the rebels chasing after Jones, is given lines, he sounds like a horrible patchwork of the worst of black and Indian stereotypes.

The plot winds a strange path, as Jones slowly descends into madness, or history, or historical madness, as he faces the ghosts of his violent life and the terrible specter of the atrocities committed against his race. He also shoots a magic alligator in the face. Like I said, this road makes for strange travellin'. The plot unfolds in an odd, reversed-metaphorical chronology, and is mostly a long monologue from Jones as he confronts various hallucinations while on the run from his angry subjects. Viewing the play probably greatly outweighs reading it, but I still feel the plot gets pulverized by the images and not-so-subtle message O'Neill puts forth.

O'Neill was aiming to speak about the universality of human history, the way our past is always present and we are the summation of things done by us, to us, and before us. At least, this goal was explained to me as the point of The Emperor Jones. But these highfalutin intentions waste away amidst the harsh racism that permeates all the action and characters of the play.

[Illiterate · Rating 3 out of 5]

O’Neill suggests power and self-control are facades. People are at the mercy of their physical needs and unconscious fears.

[Dary · Rating 1 out of 5]

hated this with a passion

[lucy_i_myers · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting…….good dialogue

[Suhaib · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t like it! The emperor’s journey flows in a monotonous rhythm, a warning of impending danger that only keeps getting louder. That’s it. What can you expect but death? What’s worse?

Maybe having a “charade” of drums, ghosts, dancing witch doctors, cowering slaves, convulsive trembling and berserk hallucinations – all leading to your imminent death? But these sufferings, read in our day and age, thanks to horror movies and all the news, are mere “trites”. At least, this is how it all seemed to me. Simply, this play is about a man losing his mind in a forest.

Anyway, Emperor Jones tells the story of an arrogant black emperor who defies the limits of his mortality. He’s confident that, after mistreating and robbing his little empire of slaves, he can easily escape, unharmed. The play begins with him talking with a low-conniving English trader called Smithers. The emperor foolishly tells Smithers about his plans, flaunting confidence that he is fearless and nothing will get him. Smithers tells the emperor that his little empire is devising a coup that, hopefully, shall end with nothing but his demise. Jones decides to run away through the forest, in which he experiences the horrific things mentioned above.

[David Purdy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This play is thoroughly racist. The depiction of the main character, the progression of the plot, and the main themes all point to reprehensible ideas. Depressing and vapid, the play offers little for audiences or readers to enjoy or engage with.

[J]

Uh wow so this is progressive racial views for the times? Gonna go with no.

[Kris Rafferty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterpiece

[Marcin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hersz Libkin Ishbel Szatrawskiej uświadomił mi, jak długo trwał mój czytelniczy rozbrat z dramatem jako gatunkiem literackim. Złożyłem wobec siebie małą obietnicę zmiany tego stanu rzeczy sięgając po jeden z najgłośniejszych tytułów O’Neilla. I nie był to zły wybór. Obawiałem się, czy dramat napisany ponad 100 lat temu nie okaże się ramotką. Otóż nie. Okazuje się, że teatr jest wiecznie żywy. Kiedy pisano ją w 1920 roku, w Stanach Zjednoczonych istniały już prawa eugeniczne (uchwalone w 1907 roku) i instytuty higieny rasowej – ideologia, która miała być wodą na młyn Hitlera. Czarni Amerykanie, którzy walczyli w wojnie secesyjnej, wrócili do domu: do praw Jima Crowa, Ku Klux Klanu, linczu i propagandowego filmu Klanu pt. Narodziny narodu. Rychło jednak stateczne życie WASP-ów miało doznać wstrząsów – wpierw epoką jazzu, potem zaś renesansem Harlemu i pojawieniem się ludzi pokroju Marcusa Garveya, wykuwających poczucie godności, które dziedzictwo niewolnictwa wydarło z dusz Afroamerykanów. Organizacja Garveya, United Negro Improvement Association (UNA), promowała edukację, inżynierię, naukę i hasło „W górę, potężna raso, możesz osiągnąć, co chcesz”.

O'Neill prawdopodobnie postrzegał Garveya i jemu podobnych jako jednostki z pomysłami wykraczającymi poza swój status. Jego centralna postać w Cesarzu Jonesie daje wskazówkę co do cech tej postaci - nieprzypadkowo imię Brutusa Jones’a etymologicznie wywodzi się od słowa brute. Co O’Neill chce powiedzieć za pośrednictwem swojej sztuki teatralnej? Chyba to, że mimo usunięcia łańcuchów, Brutus nigdy nie stanie się wolnym człowiekiem i zawsze mentalnie pozostanie zamknięty jak niewolnik. Niezależnie od tego, jak wychwala swój spryt i umiejętność konkurowania z białymi, a nawet ich przechytrzenia, domyślną pozycję Brutusa zapewniają genetyka i los. Z jakiego innego powodu, pogrążając się w szaleństwie, miałby być nawiedzany przez widmo siebie samego na niewolniczej aukcji?

Brutus jest taki, jakim uczyniła go biała Ameryka: pełen nienawiści do samego siebie. Nie wolno mu nawet być inteligentnym złoczyńcą. W Ameryce popełnił morderstwa, uciekł z więzienia i przedostał się na karaibską wyspę, gdzie udaje mu się zostać przywódcą „tubylców”, których on i jego biały pomocnik Smithers z pogardą odrzucają jako „czarnuchów”. Jednak Brutus staje się niezbyt mądrym samozwańczym autokratą, który za dużo gada i zdradza sekrety białemu człowiekowi, którego nienawidzi, ale którego uznaje za sprzymierzeńca. Cesarz Jones to postać nękana zmiennością, zdradą, przesądami i niemożliwym do pokonania kompleksem niższości, który nie jest wyimaginowany, ale wrodzony.

Można go postrzegać jako portret czarnego karaibskiego demagoga uciekającego przed wyspiarzami, który O’Neill wynosi do rangi Everymana: metafory ludzkości zagubionej w ciemnym jungowskim lesie zbiorowej nieświadomości. Ale O'Neill w swym dramacie jest bardziej precyzyjny. Po części jego sztuka oferuje halucynacyjną historię doświadczeń Afroamerykanów, gdy bohatera atakują rasowe wspomnienia gangów łańcuchowych, aukcji niewolników i szamanów z Konga. O'Neill wyraźnie sugeruje również, że pycha bohatera została zepsuta przez niewolę ekonomiczną. Jeśli nauczył się czegokolwiek przez 10 lat niewolniczej harówy, to tego, że drobne kradzieże prowadzą do więzienia, ale w przypadku dużych kradzieży jesteś cesarzem, a gdy rechoczesz, propsują cię i umieszczają w czymś na kształt Hall of Fame.

Cesarz Jones to również traktat o władzy, który w przenikliwych konkluzjach nie ustępuje szekspirowskiemu Makbetowi. Zarówno głód władzy Makbeta, jak i żądza Jonesa materialistycznych fruktów skutkują ich zniszczeniem. Poza tym dają się bezlitośnie wyśmiewać losowi i stają się ofiarami ówczesnego społeczeństwa. Tematycznie rzecz biorąc, tragedie Makbeta i Jonesa w rzeczywistości nie są jednowymiarowe, ale trójwymiarowe i można je interpretować jako połączenie osobowości, losu i społeczeństwa. W obu sztukach Szekspir i O'Neill wykorzystują efekt dźwiękowy, aby stworzyć przerażającą atmosferę i uzewnętrznić wewnętrzny strach naszych bohaterów. Obie sztuki odwołują się do podobnych symboli, takich jak czerń lub ciemność, szata królewska i morze, aby przedstawić bohaterów. Poza tym oba przedstawienia poprzez monologi mają tendencję do ujawniania świadomych myśli i nieświadomych emocji bohatera. O'Neill dobierając tematy i szczególną dramaturgię Cesarza Jonesa, nieświadomie lub świadomie zaczerpnął wiele z Makbeta.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Expressionistiskt experimentdrama från 1920, som får mig att tänka på myten om Inannas nedstigandet i underjorden, där hon måste klä av sig en löja vid varje lägre nivå.

Detta drama är till större delen Jones inre monolog med sina egna demoner. En stor afro-amerikan, med vacker uniform från sin betjänt-tjänst, har efter två mord rymt till en västindisk ö, där han lyckats göra sig till enväldig kejsare. Efter att ha grymt utnyttjat de enkla invånarna, vänder lyckan och han flyr. Då vaknar hans rädslor, när samvetet hinner upp honom, och hans rädslor tar över steg för steg, först tar han av sig skärpet i värmen, sedan sporrarna i skogens snår, sedan skorna, kläderna slits bit för bit, tills det bara finns en trasa kvar kring länden. Parallellt upplever han sin egen bakgrund, rädslan först för sina egna mord, därefter släktens slaveri-historia.

Jag läste dramat som förutom en inledande dialog som låter oss ana läget, har långa beskrivningar av tysta statistroller som föreställer de psykologiska rädslor Jones upplever. Idén är intressant, i synnerhet som jämförelse med gamla myter om underjorden. Men här blandas psykologi med realism. Problemet är dock det idag känsliga bruket av svarta personer, får representera någon sorts mindre vetande, och hela tiden talar 'svart dialekt' som säkert kan ifrågasättas. Men visst primitivismen var allmänt förekommande på 1920-talet, den 'omedvetna' rasismen som känns obehaglig idag.

Efter att ha läst ut den pjäsen, fann jag en utmärkt inläsning av James Earl Jones, berömd som Darth Vaders röst i Star Wars, som passar utmärkt för den store mäktige Jones. Tyvärr missar man alla suggestiva tysta roller runt Jones i pjäsen, blir lite svårt att förstå. På Youtube finns även en film från 1933, den är betydligt moderniserad, antagligen av medförfattaren, med alla svarta roller utbyggda och realistiska, och därmed med mindre risk för att stämplas som rasistiskt. Paul Robeson i huvudrollen - han får också sjunga lite, som han gjort i andra filmer. Och där kan alla tysta själsliga statistroller trickfilmas in effektfullt.

[Mark]

I read this a long time ago. In college as a matter of fact. I still have a copy. It's an edition with other lesser known O'Neil plays. Come to think of it, this play (to the best of my recollection) might have been more than a little racist. Well, some other day I'll look further into all this then.

[Mallory · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t know exactly how I feel about this play yet, I need a minute or a day or a class period to figure it out.

[Abhidev H M · Rating 3 out of 5]

"For de little stealin' dey gis you in jail soon or late. For de big stealin' dey makes you Emperor and puts you in de Hall o' Fame when you croaks."

[Bilahari · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Look at you now. Emperor, you'se gittin' mighty low!"

[Shivani A Pillai · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Emperor Jones by Eugene O'Neill, is a comfortable read. At 52 pages, it is a play that can be breezed through. While the play doesn't particularly dazzle in the arena of language, there are plenty of things that it does get right.

To start with, a major portion of the play occurs at a densely forested area, shrouded by absolute darkness. Despite the singularity of location, the action is never compromised, and is given plenty of room to play out, disallowing repetition to set in. This, I believe, is worthy of commendation.

Second, I was particularly impressed by the minimalism with respect to the characters. Emperor Brutus Jones, Smithers, Lem and Dolly are the only major characters. Despite the play's restricted length, the characters are imbued with depth, a rather remarkable feat. Brutus Jones, the self-made emperor of an island on the Caribbean, has a personality that dons many hats: Pride, Over-confidence, Tact, an uncanny sense of Cheerfulness, and a rather surprising religious turn. However, what intrigued me the most was Emperor Jones's opinion of authority. Despite being an Emperor, he doesn't pay much attention to the glory and authority that comes with the position. Once he achieved his goal, he did not hesitate to give it all up when the situation took an ugly turn.

Smithers is the typical character that appears in every play. Even though Chief Lem doesn't make an appearance until the very end, he has an endearing and charismatic personality.

The apparitions that appear at periodic intervals to Emperor Jones, starting with Jeff, the prison guards and other prisoners, the slave auction scene, and finally the religious ritual, serve as agents of memory. Their sequential order of appearance also indicates a gradation; a gradation of their influence on Jones's personal memory to his collective memory of the unpleasant past of slavery. His reactions to them also displays a pattern of gradation- the gradation of fear.

The darkness of the forests that persists throughout the play is an intelligent technique, as it serves as the agency of perpetual foreboding.

The greatness of O'Neill's The Emperor Jones lies in its symbolic significance. The silver bullet, which the Emperor regarded as his lucky amulet, the source of his confidence, is what provides poetic justice: he is ultimately killed with silver bullets. His greatest strength became his greatest weakness. However, the silver bullet is symbolic of the flaws of humankind, which ultimately become the cause of their downfall. The tom-tom, on the other hand, is symbolic of Time. The White stones, on the other hand, represent the inherent fallibility of all our plans, irrespective of how immaculately it is done. The name, Brutus Jones, is of symbolic value as well.

The witch-doctor and the Formless Fears, in my opinion, are the two most psychologically astute powers. Both these elements explore the contours and topography of the human mind.

Eugene O'Neill's The Emperor Jones might not be very enjoyable. Yet, it has an important message to convey, and it does so with utmost competence, at a level befitting the merit of O'Neill as a dramatist.

[معتز · Rating 3 out of 5]

أول قراءة لي مع يوجين أونيل
وكالعادة اكتشف أنني فقدت ملكة " كيفية أن تكتب ريفيو محترم"
..
إذن
حينما انهيت قراءة المسرحية تساءلت في عقل بالي كيف ستقام على المسرح.. فهي مسرحية البطل الوحيد.
الامبراطور جونز الذي استيقظ في قصره الخالي من أي عظمة ليكتشف فيما بعد أن شعبه هاجر أمبراطوريته.. أنه الساكن الوحيد والشعب ينتظره في الغابة.
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يا للجمال.. تلك الفكرة استخدمت..من الرائع أنه قد تم استخدامها!
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حينما قرأت في المقدمة قول يوجين يونيل " أن الناس مشغولون ببحث العلاقة بين بعضهم البعض، غير أنني اعتقد أن مهمة الفنان هي أن يبحث هذه العلاقة بين الانسان والله..بين الانسان وبين كل ما هو أقوى منه. فهنا تكون رسالة الفنان"
إذن فمهمة الفنان هي أن يدخل في الصراع بين الانسان وربه..بين الانسان ومصيره، بين الانسان والقدر الطاغي
أو بعبارة أخرى: مهمة الفنان هي ان يصور أنواع العذاب المختلفة كعذاب برومثيوس أو سيزيف
وعشرات الآلاف من صور العذاب، عذاب الانسان وهو يصارع ما هو أقوى منه، ما هو أكبر منه، ما هو أبقى منه، هذه هي مهمة الفنان، فليست مهمته هي التنقل بين الناس ولكن الكواكب، كواكب المعاني الكبيرة.
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الواضح أن كل ما أفعله هو النقل من المقدمة
على أي حال.. يمكن تلخيص بالفعل فلسفة يوجين في المقطع أعلاه ووضح لي أكثر حينما انهيت قراءة المسرحية.

فالامبراطور جونز الآن بعد أن بات وحيدًا في العراء تجرد من كل شيء، وحل الهلع في قلبه محل الثقة، وتبدلت أحواله من القوى الباطش إلي الخائف المرتاع بما وجهها من قوى أكبر مما في استطاعته.. قدره المحتوم..قدر الطاغية.
بل هو كان يعلم ذلك جيدًا واعترف به
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جونز: لا فائدة من المغالطة..فعندما أعلم أن الخدعة قد انتهت..فأنني أودعها دون انتظار طويل..أنهم هربوا جميعا إلي التلال ، أليس كذلك؟

سيمزرز: جميعا..لم يبق منهم أحد

جونز: إذن فالثورة قد نشبت، وليس على الامبراطور إلا أن يبحث عن طريق للهرب
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وهو مقطع استوقفني كثيرًا..وأثار إعجابي..ألا ليت كل طواغي العرب بمثل ذكاء هذا الطاغية.

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في الاخير ليس لدي إضافة سواء الاشادة ببناء المسرحية من استغلال فكرة خورقية في إرساءها.
واستغلال جونز بحادثة تعرضه لرصاصة طائشة فتخر القبيلة البدائية أمام أقدامه، ثم يستغل سذاجتهم لينسج أسطورته الخاصة ..أن لا أحد يقدر على قتله إلا نفسه وبرصاصة فضية
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[D.H. Bernhardt · Rating 1 out of 5]

I mean, the play had some interesting theatrical motifs, but...kinda racist really. I might have just accepted it as a Coen brothers-esque drama about a not too bright, African American criminal if it weren't for the last line of the play. If I were to type it out here, I'd probably get banned from Goodreads. Yeesh.

The use of the N word in the last line goes well beyond any excuse of cultural realism (as can be argued perhaps with Huckleberry Finn). The character who speaks out the line is called Smithers, a white, cockney reprobate who, even in his rude corruption stands as the voice of reason in this drama. And when taken in context with the actions depicted by all the black characters in the play, it's pretty clear what the playwright thought of their culture and cognitive capabilities.

I will say, however, that despite the issues mentioned above the motif O'Neill used to share Emperor Jones' backstory with the audience was profound. It gave a depth to the character in a really creative and efficient way, and I was impressed by the detail that, as the character shreds his wardrobe trekking through the jungle, the state of his clothes coordinated with the character's unfolding and impoverished history.

But beyond that, it housed no redeeming virtue. I thought the story lacked the depth it could have had. It was 1920's American stage production, sure, but in the hands of a more reasonable (and less suspiciously racist playwright) it could have well been oriented to be an Amistad-esque epic punctuated with a grand redemption for a sorry, sullied, slavish sinner.

[Jordan Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Emperor Jones" was the 2nd of two plays I read by Eugene O'Neill, both published in 1921.

This play opens with the last of the many servants and subjects of a self-made "emperor" sneaking out from the palace and into the jungle. The setting is an unknown island in the West Indies, where Brutus Jones, a black convict who fled the United States, has set himself up as an emperor with absolute power and luxury.
A man named Henry Smithers appears to be 2nd in command, a sort of false friend to the emperor, and he is the first to learn that all of the slaves have slipped away into the woods. We learn that Smithers is the only white man on the island, and while he sneeringly sees this as an advantage, the emperor and everyone else see him as an outsider and a minority.
When the slaves begin a war dance and begin marching toward the palace, the emperor decides to do what is hinted as his specialty - run. And so, he runs through the dark jungle at night, though where he is going is unclear. After all, this is an island.
He is eventually caught, and forced to face all of his worst fears - many of which seem to be about himself.

[Iris · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first O'Neill play, not his best by far. We read this in high school some 40-something years ago and I can still remember it. It was so startling to me that I can still picture the classroom, my desk and having to read from it out loud. Uncomfortable to say the least but memorable so 4 stars for that.

[Shayantani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite fantastic.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The play is created of an exceedingly few straightforward ingredients: a) a hunted man, b) a series of sharply defined pictures and c) a droning elegiac drum beat.

It is a superb presentment of dread and trepidation in the bosom of a half-civilized Negro. Here O’Neill discarded any attempt to assemble the play into acts and dealt with the theme gradually in eight progressive scenes.

He also defied the old theatrical regulation against monologue and created a heartrending and captivating drama that is mainly carried out by the statements of one central character.

For this central character O’Neill chose no usual hero, but a Negro car porter, who had to leave the United States on account of his crimes which include murder.

The temperament of this man is established in the first scene, laid in the audience chamber of the “Emperor Jones” on a West Indian island, “not yet self determined by white mariners”.

The tête-à-tête between Jones, who has won his regal self-respect by his cunning in imposing upon the natives and a low-caste British trader Smithers, is carried on in that natural manner of which O’Neill is master.

Natural detest to both men comes first and then a slow dawning of admiration and bravery for the capability and audacity of Jones who, unaccompanied holds the island in his grip.

He has won his position by an unprincipled employment of devices he has learned “on de Pullman Ca’s listening’ to be white quality talk”. To these he has added his own inputs, a dexterous playing upon the irrational fears of the Negroes.

He has taken advantage of the fact that when one of his enemies shot at him, the bullet missed to fire. He has told them that nothing but a silver bullet can kill him.

When Smithers remarks that this is luck, Jones answers: “I got brains and I uses ‘em quick Dat ain’t luck.”

But Smithers has news for him. His time has come; the Negroes have deserted the Emperor.

And then “from the distant hills comes the faint steady thump of atom-tom, low and vibrating. It starts at a rate exactly corresponding to a normal pulse-beat-seventy-two to the minute—and continues at a gradually accelerating rate from this point uninterruptedly to the very end of the play.”

This device, not unknown to the theatre, has probably never elsewhere been used so effectively.

It is a coalescing force and it highlights the needed disposition in both character and audience, for it goes back to the prehistoric expression of emotion — the accentuated rhythm of the earliest race.

American drama came of age with this play of O’Neill’s, theoretically a luminous construction.

[Martin Denton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Emperor Jones tells the story of an African American man named Brutus Jones who, through a singular set of circumstances, has become the ruler of a remote island in the West Indies. In America, he was a Pullman porter, but after a fight over a crap game, he killed a man, was sent to prison, and then killed his overseer while out working on a chain gang. He managed to escape to this island, where he conned the natives into making him their emperor and where he has systematically stolen as much as he can get his hands on ever since.

But the winds are changing in the emperor's domain, and in the first scene of the play, Jones is informed by his white "advisor" Smithers that revolution is afoot. Jones decides to make a run for it, and most of the drama takes place that very night, as our protagonist flees through a very dark forest on his way to the coast, where a boat stands ready to transport him to Martinique and safety.

But the Emperor Jones has to get through that forest first, and as O'Neill has envisioned it, it's a hotbed of every fear, anxiety, and residual guilt dwelling inside Brutus Jones's mind and heart. "Formless fears" eventually give way to visions of his sins and then of the sins committed by Americans against his people. Jones is reduced from a cocky, self-confident, well-dressed autocrat to a raw primitive, stripped of his clothes and his assured bearing, as he is forced to confront and attempt to overcome the stuff that has eaten away at his humanity and soul.

What would an audience have made of this remarkable play in 1920, when it was first performed? I think it's important for us to separate the latent racism of the piece from the authentically radical attacks on institutionalized bigotry that are the most forceful components of its thesis; just five years after Birth of a Nation had become the most popular film in the United States, this play daringly tried to show how severely African Americans had been wronged at the hands of the white majority.