The Raft

The Raft Summary | Detailed Summary

The Raft is John Pepper Clark's one act play about four lumbermen adrift on a raft on the Niger River. The interpersonal dynamics among the four men, Olutu, Kengide, Ogro and Ibobo, mask the fear and uncertainty they share about their perilous journey.

As the play begins, it is nighttime on a creek on a delta of the Niger River. Four men lie adrift on a raft, bearing lumber down river for a businessman. Kengide and Olutu are frustrated, because Ogro is making too much noise for them to sleep. As Ogro continues to pace and grunt, the fourth man, Ibobo, appears and chastises Olutu for sleepwalking again. The group lost their boat recently, because Olutu was sleepwalking or not paying attention during his watch.

Ogro tires of this line of conversation and tells Ibobo that the raft is adrift. After checking the moorings, their fears are confirmed. Olulu and Kengide are awakened, and all men claim to have tied their respective knots firmly. The men rule out the possibility that a local fisherman had cut them loose, because none of their belongings has been taken. The most logical explanation is that of sea cows biting through the reeds that had tethered the raft.

The men try to guess the direction in which they are now headed and conclude that they are either drifting out to sea or back in the direction from which they came. The fear and frustration of the situation makes the men bicker over even the smallest things, such as whether or not Olutu's watch tells accurate time.

As the captain of the ill-fated ship, Olutu feels a responsibility to get the logs delivered safely. He accuses the other men of not sharing his level of commitment. Ogro contends that that is not true, because he has been promised the loveliest daughter of the chief back home.

After drifting all night, the men are drenched in the sunlight of late morning, but still cannot determine their location. The men have just finished eating a meal. While they clean up, they bicker again and accuse each other of wasting food, the supply of which is now at an end.

Ogro fears starving and attempts to catch a fish using a can as a net. The others deride Ogro for his primitive beliefs and for thinking that he will be allowed to marry one of the chief's daughters, when he clearly has nothing to provide for her.

The men grow anxious over how to get out of their predicament, but Kengide, who is the oldest of the four, advises that they should just wait for the tide that will raise the raft and allow it to move freely once more.

Soon, the men see flocks of swallows moving into the area, which means that a rainstorm is approaching. Ibobo and Olutu begin to roll up their mats so that the rain will not soak them, but Ogro suggests that the mats be strung together and used as sails to take advantage of the rising wind. Kengide agrees with Ogro, and the men complete the task. Soon, the little raft is moving again.

Suddenly, a huge crack announces a break in the raft, leaving Olutu alone on the severed piece with the sail. Unfortunately, Olutu cannot swim and cries out to the others. They want to help him, but are afraid of the sharks swarming in the area. Olutu's piece of the raft continues to wash out to sea. All that is left of Olutu is his voice crying out for help.

By late afternoon, the raft continues to drift. Ogro sings, accompanied by an instrument. This is much to the dismay of Ibobo and Kengide, who do not like the dire theme of death in the song. Eventually, Ogro moves to another part of the raft, and Ibobo and Kengide wonder what has happened to Olutu. Kengide tries to console Ibobo by telling him that he is sure that Olutu was rescued by a fishing boat and is resting comfortably.

Ogro's singing has given way to his calling out that he sees a Niger Company ship coming up on their rear. The other two men agree and begin to row quickly, so the raft will not be caught up in the ship's tow and be drowned. Ogro believes that he can get the attention of the ship's captain and begins to wave his shirt, but to no avail.

Kengide is frustrated at Ogro's behavior and tells him to row with him and Ibobo. However, Ogro, caught up in boyhood memories of swimming out to boats for play, swims toward the fast moving ship. Instead of being helped overboard, Ogro is pelted with chunks of coal and his grasping hands beaten with iron rods until he slips back into the water and is mangled in the ship's engine.

It is almost nighttime now, and Ibobo and Kengide are the only two remaining men from an original crew of seven that left on the journey. Kengide shows no sympathy for the lost men, who made poor choices and probably paid with their lives. Ibobo does not understand Kengide's lack of feeling for what has happened to his fellow crewmates.

Kengide reveals that his only interest in this trip is the money promised him by the logging company. Kengide's cynicism about life comes from many years of working for other men and barely being able to make a living.

Ibobo is still feeling the loss of Olutu and Ogro, but Kengide is realistic about death as a part of life. Ibobo feels the effects of the stress of the day, and Kengide offers to take over the steering till so that Ibobo may rest.

Suddenly, Ibobo sees the lights of the port city. His spirits lift, in spite of the fact that Kengide cannot see any lights in the direction Ibobo mentions. The two men begin to discuss what they will do when they reach the port, and Ibobo is anxious to meet up with a woman. Ibobo dreams of sleeping in a real bed with a female companion, and Kengide reels off stories that he has heard about homosexual encounters, as well as women with whom he has had relationships during his life. Ibobo is anxious to return home and find a nice girl to marry through an arrangement made by his mother.

In anticipation of their reaching the port, Ibobo has been preening in a mirror. Now, he cannot see his image and soon cannot see Kengide near him, due to an extremely dense fog. The two men begin to panic, because they can no longer see the shoreline but can hear the horns and noises of the port.

Ibobo declares that he will swim ashore, but Kengide grabs Ibobo's hand and will not allow him to jump into the water. The fog is too dense to see, and there is nothing to provide any sense of direction. Ibobo's fear rushes out of him in a scream. Soon, Kengide joins his screaming, as they hold onto each other and continue to drift.