Black Man With Watermelon
Black Man With Watermelon appears in each scene. Ironically, he comes back to die a different death in each.
LAND HO!
Before Columbus proclaims that land has been found. This is always good for any sailor; ironically, it means death for the Black Man. Once Columbus proves the earth is not flat, he put the white people in their place which causes the white men to begin 'putting the Black Man in his place,' or, the beginning of the murder and torment.
No Comfort
The Black Man With Watermelon wants to get some air because he can't breath. But, the irony is that he no longer is breathing because he has been killing by being hung. He tries to live though he is dead.
Why
Yes and Greens Black-Eyed Cornbread says that history must be written down, that it is for them now. Ironically, though it is for them, it is primarily for the future generations that will come so that they will know why they exist.
"Somethins Burnin"
Black Man With Watermelon says, "Somethins burnin. Thuh page." The irony is that though the heat of the plot is burning through to the end of the play which ends mere lines away from this statement, what is burning is history. The history of their people because it has not been recorded, but burned from the pages of time.
