The Emperor Jones

Scene 5 unfolds in a large circular clearing, at the center of which a tree stump stands. Jones sits on the stump, agitated and fearful. He begins to pray for forgiveness, confessing his past wrongdoings, including killing Jeff and the prison guard. Jones begs for protection from the haunting visions and the incessant tom-tom drumbeat.

As he removes his worn shoes, a group of figures wearing 1850s Southern attire silently enters the clearing. Among them are well-to-do enslavers, an auctioneer, and a crowd of curious onlookers. They congregate around the stump and survey Jones and the enslaved individuals beside him: three men, two women, and a nursing mother with her baby. Jones, noticing these figures, anxiously ascends the stump to distance himself from them.

The white enslavers appraise the enslaved people like commodities, exchanging judgments and witty remarks. At the stump, the auctioneer singles out Jones for his physical strength and good temperament, inciting enthusiastic bidding among the enslavers. Initially petrified, Jones musters the courage to challenge the situation, vehemently proclaiming he is a free man.

Overwhelmed by rage and fear, Jones pulls out his revolver and fires rapidly at both the auctioneer and one of the enslavers. The forest’s walls close in and darkness envelops the scene.