Set in a prison in South Africa during the time of apartheid, ‘‘The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses’’ presents many of the elements one might expect from a ‘‘typical’’ political story about oppression, or about prison. The prisoners are black, occupying the lowest rung on the racial and racist ladder established by the state-sponsored system of…
Tag: Bessie Head
The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses – Setting
When Head published ‘‘The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses’’ in 1973, South Africa was about halfway through the era of apartheid, which lasted from 1948 to 1994. Although Head herself was living in Botswana when she wrote this story, many of her friends and acquaintances were, like the men of Span One, in prison as a…
The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses – Literary Devices
Antihero Many stories from cultures the world over feature a hero, typically a large, handsome, physically strong man who defeats his enemies and gains wealth and glory through a combination of physical combat, virtue, and shrewdness. In ‘‘The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses,’’ on the other hand, the protagonist, Brille, might be better labeled an ‘‘antihero.’’…
The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses – Themes
Apartheid ‘‘The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses’’ is set in South Africa during the years of apartheid, the statesponsored system of laws that officially divided all residents into four racial classifications and reserved power and wealth for the white minority. The ten black men in Span One are all political prisoners, arrested for being part of…
The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses – Characters
Brille ‘‘Brille’’ is the nickname given to the story’s protagonist by his fellow prisoners; his real name is never stated. Brille is a black political prisoner being held in South Africa because of his activities in resistance to apartheid. He is a small man, described as ‘‘a thin little fellow with a hollowed-out chest and…
The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses – Summary
As ‘‘The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses’’ opens, the narrator describes rows of cabbages, white clouds, and a blue sky on a still day. Not until the third sentence does the reader learn that this is not an idyllic farm but a prison; the cabbages are grown by prisoners who work long days and are not…
When Rain Clouds Gather – Analysis – Essay
In When Rain Clouds Gather, Head tells the intertwining stories of several characters and circumstances. Readers follow the successes, failures, and challenges of a South African refugee, a British expatriate, local chiefs, a British inspector, and several Golema Mmidi villagers. Interspersed throughout this storytelling, however, the author (either through her narrator or her characters) often…
When Rain Clouds Gather – Setting
Apartheid Like her protagonist in When Rain Clouds Gather, Head also emigrated from South Africa to Botswana to escape the harsh conditions of apartheid. Although South Africa had been segregated for a long time, apartheid, the system of strict segregation laws that defined South Africa for more than forty years, only officially began in 1948….
When Rain Clouds Gather – Literary Devices
Figurative Language Throughout When Rain Clouds Gather, Head uses long passages of figurative language to enhance her story. Figurative language is the opposite of literal language, when an author expresses exactly what he or she means by using concrete words in the narrative. An example of Head’s use of figurative language is found in the…
When Rain Clouds Gather – Themes
Tribalism versus Progress Tribalism in Head’s novel refers to the concept that everyone must follow the dictates of the tribal chiefs, who rule according to long traditional practices. These principles include the power of men over women; the division of labor, in which men tend to the cattle and women grow the crops; as well…