The main plot of this piece is centered on the Nine-night ceremony. In Jamaica it is believed by the Negroes that “nine nights after death, the spirit rises out of the grave and returns to its familiar haunts,”(Beckwith) visiting his friends and relatives. It is customary at this ceremony that the friends and relatives of the deceased celebrate, reminisce and reflect the life of their loved one. The ceremony “aims to free the dead, of the past, so that the spirit may move forward to the next stage in afterlife.”(Renu Juneja). This traditional ritual impels the characters to re-enact their history and the role played by slavery, taking them on a slave ship and to an auction through a series of flashbacks that awake a long and deep 'echo in the bone'. One should note that Scott uses this ceremony as a gateway into the past, Crew’s personal past, as well the ancestral past of the African race in the Caribbean. By Crew possessing Sonson the audience as well as the other characters on stage is now exposed to the issues which angered him and plagued his mind. It is certainly obvious that Crew felt oppressed and enslaved by the ‘White Man’ specifically referring to, Mr. Charles. Even though the blacks were said to have been emancipated, it seemed to be more of a phrase than an actuality. After all the society was still stratified along colour or racial lines, the whites, still very influential while the blacks very dependent on them. It is through this ceremony that we are able to unlock and discover pieces of the past and not just ignore and “… make the dead stay dead” according to Brigit. This ceremony also reveals the strong connection between Crew and his ancestral heritage, and emphasizes that he never forgot his history; he “possessed” his past. “… I suffer too long- three hundred years!” Crew remarks after he has killed Mr. Charles, he ranted that he was not going to be imprisoned. One may think that Crew’s act was an act of breaking a cycle, proving to the white man that he was no longer the one in charge, and helping to finally emancipate his race. Walcott argues that it is necessary to wipe the slate clean to escape from “servitude to the muse of history.”
In analyzing the play, one is unable to overlook the fact that the characterization is indeed peculiar, most characters have multiple roles throughout the piece and this is not because the play was a low budget one, but instead to show the relation and connection between the characters in the present as well as the past, which is significant, but one must admit this can be a bit problematic, especially for someone reading the play and not watching it. However, one must realize that there is no separation between the characters and their ancestral past, as it determines their actions and who they will become. Note however, that Madame is the only character who maintains her role throughout the play’s entirety, and this is not to be taken lightly. Madame represents a static character with dynamic proportions. In other words, even though she never changes her role, the role she plays has remained constant as the times changes around her. She is a spiritual, and a culturally aware individual. Scott emphasizes the connection especially when one investigates Sonson’s character profile. The fact that Crew, possesses Sonson is indicative of something, it was in no way coincidental. They possess similar traits and characteristics, in other words Sonson can be viewed as Crew’s reincarnation. The fact that Sonson is just like is father is also a representation that the past is present in the future, because even though Crew is deceased he lives on through his son. Stone an iron-monger, adopted multiple roles, he played the white man aboard the slave ship, the white man as the potential slave buyer, the white mans in the woods near the estate, and also Mass Charlie (Mr. Charles). Some might wonder why Stone was chosen to play the roles of the white man, after all Stone was black. However this question can be easily answered. Stone was used to play the roles of the white men because he somewhat represented the power the whites had over the blacks, an excellent example would be when he snapped his fingers to get what he wanted, without having to utter a word. It can also be deduced that Scott uses, Stone to play the roles of the whites, because a stone in its literal sense represents something hard, that is not easily destroyed unless put under immense pressure, and this was also true of the whites.
Continuities between past and present are repeatedly evoked throughout the plays entirety, and this is also true with the prop selection. Props are vitally important to drama, they aid in the visual enhancement of the piece, and in the case of this play there is some form of symbolic representation. One very outstanding prop in this piece would have to be the coiled chain hanging at the back of the stage, creating somewhat of a backdrop, and this backdrop never changes. This chain is symbolic as, according to John Thieme it represents “continuities across centuries and particularly the corrosive legacy of the slave past frustrate the possibility of attaining total freedom in the post- Emancipation present.” The chain represents a symbol of hanging from the institution of slavery. It does not move, it is the fixed backdrop, and is preset throughout every scene. Just highlighting the fact that the past haunts the present whether we want to believe it or not. Another significant prop would be the machete. The machete represented the plantation system, during slavery, where the black field slaves, worked the field for centuries cutting cane, to the benefit of the white planter. The machete in this case was used for the prosperity of the white man .Note keenly though that the same machete that was used for the prosperity of the white man was used for his demise. Crew committed a violent act when taking the machete to kill Mr. Charles, he was tired of the oppression, the dehumanizing, the emasculation he just wanted to end it, and that he did.
An Echo in the Bone, is a true representation of ‘evoking the past’. It is indeed evident that Scott takes a rather different approach in dramatizing and highlighting the need to visit ones past to figure out the present. This he was able to achieve through a complex set of variations, on the transformative power of role making, the plot construction as well as his selection of props. So after studying and analyzing the play, one is probably left contemplating the idea, does time really change? Or is it just a revelation of the past?