Brother Man

Lane 1, Scene 1:

We are introduced to 2 characters, named Girlie and Papacita. Apparently,

Girlie was waiting up for Papacita, who did not come home, the night before.
Papacita entered the room to a tense atmosphere caused by the way Girlie was
ignoring him. An argument ensued between the couple, based on why Papacita
did not return home the night before. He was accused of being with another
woman, to which he denied, stating that he was out looking for a job. He told
Girlie that he landed himself a job that would bring home a lot of money. She
disregarded this claim as a lie.

Scene 2 :
We are introduced to two more characters, by the names of Joe, a little boy from
the lane, and Mr. Jennings, a well known police officer. Joe was stopped on the
streets by Jennings, who told him to empty his pockets. Joe did as he was told,
and nothing substantial was found in his pockets. Jennings was looking for drugs.
He made Joe promise to let him know if he saw any of the younger boys dealing
up with drugs.

Scene 3:
Three new characters are introduced, by the names of Cordelia, her son Tad and
her sister Jesmina. Jesmina was taking care of her sister Cordelia, who was very ill.
Cordelia laments that her husband was sent away for 6 years in prison for
peddling drugs. She also begs Jesmina to never leave her.

Scene 4 :
Papacita and Girlie still seem to be at loggerheads with each other. Girlie says that
she is going to look for a job in town. Papacita questions why her attitude is so
sour. He went to try to comfort her, and was rejected.

Scene 5:
Two more new characters are introduced in this scene, Brother Man and Minette,
who are both seen mending shoes. People saw brother man as a healer,
belonging to a cult known as the Ras Tafarites. Minette questions Brother Man
about what love was. He answered that love is everything. A bird crashed into the
window, and was going to die. He picked up the bird, and put it on the bench next
to him. He told Minette that the bird was one of god’s creatures, and it did no
harm, so it should be allowed to rest there.
Scene 6 :

Papacita and Girlie have a physical and brutish fight. They fought until it turned
into a kind of love play, which Girlie later on begs for.

Scene 7 :

Minette leaves to prepare dinner for Brother Man when Joe, comes to collect the
shoe they were mending. Joe sees the dead bird and questions Brother Man as to
where he got it. He told Brother Man he wants it to cook it, because it was a
nightingale and it tasted sweet. Brother Man gives him the bird and a sixpence
piece, and told him he was a good boy. Minette then recounts her experience
with saving Brother Man saving her off the streets. She feels as though she owes
him because he gave her everything. She also contrasts the characters of Papacita
and Brother Man.

Scene 8:

After the love play between Papacita and Girlie, they have another, more serious
physical fight. Papacita slaps her across her face, and she stabs Papacita on his
hand. He ran out the house, slamming the door behind him.
Scene 9:

Jesmina recounts her meeting with Shine, and how perfect everything was. She
then feels remorse at the fact that since Cordelia’s husband, Jonas, was taken
away for drugs, everything changed for the worst. She Believes that a certain
dark cloud was now over her life.

Scene 10 :

Brother Man refuses to have dinner unless Minette ate with him. While eating,
she asks him why he never got married. Thinking that she was implying
something, he answered that marriage was only for some men, and not for
others. She feels abashed and apologises.

Scene 11:

Papacita went to the pharmacy to get his wound dressed, cursing Girlie all the
way. On leaving, he met a man name Mullings, who invited him to the bar for a
beer. After having a few, he laments on how he hated the rain.
Scene 12:

Papacita got home late, to find a crying Girlie on the bed. On seeing her there
with her pillow wet with tears, a wave of emotion and remorse overcomes him.
He is unable to explain the feeling inside of him.

Scene 13:

Minette Reads the bible after dinner, before Jesmina comes over to chat. Jesmina
started to cry, and could not explain why. They were then interrupted by Bro
Ambo, who was looking for Brother Man. Brother Man was not home, but arrived
soon after. Minette decided to walk Jesmina Home. Bro Ambo asks Brother Man
to keep some of his obeah materials at Bro Mans house before the police raids
him. Brother Man refuses his request.

Scene 14:

Jesmina reaches home and Cordelia is sleeping. She goes to her room, to find a
bearded man in there. He questions her about where she kept the drugs. She told
him it was in the kitchen, but that was a ploy. She switched off the light switch
and jumped out the window screaming MURDER as she ran down the streets. She
ran to Brother Man’s house who offered her a place to stay there for the night.
Brother Man went with them to check out the house. He carried Minette and
Jesmina back to his house and then went for a stroll in the lane. While he was
standing up by a post, he noticed Papacita walking up to his house, and throwing
rocks at his window. He was bemused by this action.
LANE 2

Scene 1 :

Minette went to the shop to buy materials for Brother Man. She met Papacita
there who harassed her until she had to leave. He tried wooing her and was
somewhat successful as she did seem a bit interested.

Scene 2:

When Minette reached home, Brother Man realized that she had forgotten to
buy beeswax for him. She could not believe she had forgotten it, and it brought
back a saying that her mother used , which was people only forgot things when
they had other things on their minds.

Scene 3:

After being healed by Brother Man, Cordelia found herself feeling extremely
indebted to Brother Man.. She had extreme belief in the abilities of Brother Man.
This was why when her son Tad got ill, she went straight to Brother Man. He did
all he can,but could not heal the child. Brother Man brought money for her to
carry him to the doctor, but all the doctors said, was to nourish the child properly.