Pinocchio the Shepherd is a monodrama written by Abdel Momen Ahmed. The play represents a monologue of a puppet master who prepares for the visit of the local ruler. The man speaks with his dolls, the audience and has a “dialogue” with the Sultan in the final scene. The monodrama starts with the conversation between the puppet master and his doll. The man complains about the “behavior” of his main actress and calls her grievances unfounded. “There are people in this country who have lived a life less fortunate than a doll” (“Elegy for the Fifth String” 24). The puppet master gave an example of a boy who was severely punished by his father because of a missed sheep. Following scenes makes readers to suggest that it was an own experience of the performer.
The monodrama describes the complexities of the preparation for the Ruler’s visit. It shows that the one gesture, like a sign of victory, can cause serious problems, because it annoys the Sultan. The puppet master tried to shuffle off the blame on to his dolls, but could not do it. The second scene ends with his interrogation of the guilty puppet. Next scenes gave insight into the puppet master’s past. Performer’s mother died during the act of delivery and his father blamed him for this. The man was cruel to the boy, and the child used self made dolls to create a weaker being that he would be able to torment in response. “The most beautiful thing about you is that I have created you and I am your master, the one in control of your affairs” (“Elegy for the Fifth String” 28). The third scene describes events that could be a preliminary to the punishment from the first one. Scenes 4 and 5 show narrator’s attitude to women and family relationship that exists in the monodrama’s world. They describe the stereotypical Muslim treatment of women. The final part showed a challenge that gave the play its name. The puppet master was a shepherd and the doll gave him Pinocchio’s traits, so the man’s nose became longer when he lied. This transformation made the performer to tell Ruler the truth in spite of his attempts to avoid this revelation. “Honesty is a rescue and lying is a scandal. You stupid thing, honesty with the rulers is a sin” (“Elegy for the Fifth String” 33), - the puppet master supported this idea through the whole monodrama. In the final scene, he finally told the truth and felt himself free; but the man understood that all people are like marionettes and they cannot be rescued. All of them are controlled by someone else and act according master’s scenario.
The main theme of the monodrama is restrains that exist in societies and their impacts on them. The narrator mentioned sometimes people create these “strings” by themselves and do not want to abandon them because of the feeling of safety: “How tasty a prison can be that fills your stomach, and how miserable freedom can be on an empty stomach” (“Elegy for the Fifth String” 25). Lie is one of these “strings” and the puppet master did not want to “cut” it until circumstances made him. It helped the man, his family and other people to cooperate with the society, and the truth could easily damage the illusion they all created and wanted to believe in. People often do not recognize their “masters’” impact on their success, like it was shown in the first scene. While the author did not say it directly, I think the comparison with marionettes showed it is impossible for society to live without restrains. These dolls cannot move or stay straight without strings because of their construction. “In the world of the marionettes every one of us has his strings in the hands of others. There isn’t a single person who is free” (“Elegy for the Fifth String” 34), - these words have a negative image in the monodrama. However, they also show the complexity of the construction that was created by restrains. If each person has strings of someone else in hands, several cuts will lead to severe consequences for the society or its part. It is impossible to work off “strings” because they became a frame of the structure. Restrains return after single or mass protest actions and make people to follow existent orders. This idea creates a feeling of despair – people do what they were told to do and return to a “dark box” when they finish their task. However, it is the only possible way of existence in the marionettes’ world. People have an impact on the actions and behavior of each other and need “strings” for a normal functioning.
The Pinocchio the Shepherd grabbed my attention because its main idea can be applied to any developed society regardless of country and culture. The issue of choice and free will appears in many works, and this particular monodrama showed they cannot exist in the “pure form” in modern society. People are connected by many “strings” and need to take them into account in their decisions. I also become interested in the monodrama because of its interpretation of these links. People often see the scheme of pyramidal hierarchy in descriptions of a company or a government. It means that “the top” has an ultimate power in decision making. The monodrama demonstrated a type of “cycled” or “circled” hierarchy, where a senior puppet master has own manipulator. The work also showed that connections between individuals are mutual. Puppet master decides how the doll will move, but this power makes him or her responsible for puppet’s mistakes.
Works Cited
Ahmed, Abdel Momen. “Pinocchio the Shepherd”. Elegy for the Fifth String. The winning plays of the International Monodrama Competition Fourth Session. Ed. David Palfreyman. n. d. 23-34. Microsoft Word file.
