Death and the king's Horseman

I think that sacrifice is mixed with tragedy. Only through Elesin sacrificing himself can the ritual be completed. Of course, Elesin cannot complete this successfully, due to both external and internal circumstances. It is Olunde who makes the ultimate sacrifice by taking his own life so he can fulfill the Yoruba ritual. This foreshadowed in the conversation regarding self-sacrifice between Olunde and Jane, who have very different ideas about the nature of this act. Jane finds the captain's sacrifice distasteful, but Olunde views it as a life-affirming and heroic act.