~The
Prisoner Who Wore Glasses~
Bessie
Head
(1937-1986)
SOUTH
AFRICA/BOTSWANA
Bessie
Head's career as a writer was played out almost exclusively as an
exile in Botswana, her adopted homeland. Born of a white mother and a
black father in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, she suffered the
childhood trauma of being “reclassified”, that is, removed from
her mother's world and brought up as a Coloured. Her mother had
suffered the equally devastating humiliation of being treated as
insane, for daring to have a relationship with a black man. The
emotional scars of Bessie Head's childhood and early adulthood were
recorded in her masterpiece, A
Question of Power
(1973), a fictional study of madness brought about, one might say, by
the violence of the apartheid system. This and her two more memorable
works: When
Rain Clouds Gather (1968)
and Maru
(1971)
and the works that followed have earned her the distinction of
Africa's major female writer. She died in Serowe, Botswana, in 1988.
“The
Prisoner Who Wore Glasses” differs from most of Ms. Head's work due
to its South African setting, an environment she purposely avoided in
most of her other stories and novels- no doubt because it was so
painful. Equally unusual in this story is the sex of the characters,
all of whom are men, incarcerated in a South African prison for their
political activities. Yet the subtext is clear: apartheid is
tantamount to incarceration.
“Every
oppressed man has this suppressed violence, as though silently
awaiting the time to set right the wrongs that afflict him.”-
Bessie Head, A
Woman Alone: Autobiographical Writings.
The
text of the story is given below:
NOTES
Meanings
of Difficult Words:
- Knobbly: shaped like a knob.
- Warder: a prison guard.
- Kaffir: Usually used disparagingly, kaffir is a term for a black South African.
- Baas: it is a form of address meaning “master" or “boss”.
- Assertive: confident, forceful personality.
- Comrades:
- Knobkerrie: a short stick with a knobbed head.
- Perpetrate: to commit.
- Godhead: divinity, the state of being a god.
- Bedlam: a scene of uproar and confusion, an asylum.
- Bogeyman: a terrifying or a dreaded person.
- Conviction: firmly held belief or opinion, quality of showing that one is firmly convinced of something.
- Tirade: long speech of angry criticism or accusation.
Few
Important Lines:
- They were grouped together for convenience as it was one of the prison regulations that no black warder should be in charge of a political prisoner lest this prisoner convert him to his views.
- As political prisoners thy were unlike the other prisoners in the sense that they felt no guilt nor were they outcasts of the society.
- “Be good comrades, my children. Co-operate, then life will run smoothly.”
- “I am a father of children and I saw today that Hannetjie is just a child and stupidly truthful. I'm going to punish him severely because we need a good warder.”
- “You may not know it but I have a wife and children and you're driving me to suicide.”
- “We want you on our side. We want a good warder because without a good warder we won't be able to manage the long stretch ahead.”
Important
Points:
In
1940's black Afrikaans were political prisoners for being frequently
assertive, speaking out against the government or protesting against
government policies. Racism is how Brille ended up in jail. The story
focuses on the blacks, whites and the Afrikaans at the time of 'White
Man Supremacy'. The political prisoners are supposed to be very
daring, their jail is separate and their treatment is different. They
are always forced into work because you have to channel their energy
and keep them busy during the day otherwise they could rebel or plot
against the authorities.
Brille
has a very humble family background. He did what he did for his
children. He had a control over his children from the start, he was
their head and he could make them into fairly reasonable human beings
while he was around. He knew how to deal with them. Brille's glasses
represent his physical short-sightedness but his mental
far-sightedness.
Span
One did not let any warder control them. They are powerless yet they
are united, they have strength and they work together. This is a
subtle message for the black race.
Hannetjie
turned out to be the first warder who dealt with them using his mind,
not his strength or his position of authority over them.
A
sort of prison house psychology is shown. The battle between the
warders and prisoners was entirely psychological, it all came down to
who intimidated who. The story focuses on one message; cooperation
will lead to a peaceful life.
There
was a shift of power among the powerful (Hannetjie) and the powerless
(political prisoners). It is however, somewhat ironic that the warder
is the one benefiting the most from his and Brille's agreement, as he
gets the best reputation among warders, he gets fertilizer for his
farm, and the cooperation of the comrades, therefore, he gets to keep
his job and sustain his family. The comrades are simply getting food
to survive and everything they wish to do within the boundary of the
jail. Span One ended up controlling the warder. They negotiated a
deal for mutual benefit.
People
should be united and they should learn to compromise and share in
order to survive in this world. Things are changing rapidly in the
world and one must act fast to become united. Racism is causing the
identity of many at stake, it is targetting the ideology of many and
brewing cultural imperialism. Colonization was spreading quickly
during that time and the blacks were oppressed. The story gives an
idea of how people react under racism and how they should react. It
is motivating the readers and improving the thinking process to a
broad perspective.
Theme
is
the central meaning or dominant idea in a literary work (Myer 2145).
A theme provides a unifying point around which the plot,
characters, setting, point of view, symbols, and other elements of
work are organized (Myer 2145). There are several themes to
this short story, but the most important theme is race
discrimination. This story took place around the 1940’s when
black South Africans were political prisoners for being frequently
assertive. Some examples of imprisonment would be speaking out
in public against the government or protesting government policies.
Brille went to prison for having political beliefs, because he wanted
peace and equality between blacks and whites. This story
reflects the time when racism was a big problem in Africa.
Even though Brille went to prison because of his political beliefs,
he still did not change what he believed in.
The
following are links to further analysis:
Main
Themes:
- Racism
- Discrimination
- Equality
- Cooperation
- Development of Self
Questions:
- When “The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses” was originally published in 1973, critics of South African apartheid saw little hope for political change within the country. Was Bessie Head concurring with that perspective or presenting a more hopeful one?
- What, in fact, does Head suggest are the ways of coping with such an oppressive system?
- What is the significance of Brille's glasses?
- Why were the warders intimidated by the political prisoners?
- What incidents early in the story provide clues about Brille's personality?
- Early in the story, Brille says that Warder Hannetjie is not human. Do you think he changes his mind by the end of the story? Explain
- How does Brille's memory of his family give him insight into Warder Hannetjie's character?Credit-Muneeza Rafiq
"Afrikaans" implies a white person who speaks the language called Afrikaans which is similar to Dutch. What you mean is "africans"
ReplyDeleteWell done! Great questions for an exam!!!
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ReplyDeleteI want themes explanation
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