Exploring Apartheid And The Erasure Of An African’s Identity: A Critical Analysis Of Athol Fugard’s ‘Sizwe Bansi Is Dead’ And ‘Master Harold And The Boys

Abstract

This study critically examines how apartheid and the erasure of an African’s identity are presented in ‘Master Harold’ …and the Boys and ‘Sizwe Bansi is Dead’. Purposive sampling was employed since the selected plays addressed the themes of apartheid and the erasure of the African’s identity which is the main focus of this study. The study used qualitative research design as it is based on data expressed in the form of words, descriptions, accounts, opinions and feelings. Content analysis was also used to make inferences concerning apartheid and the erasure of the African’s identity. The study employed two theories. The post-colonialism theory is employed to explore that form of social criticism that bears witness to the unequal and uneven process of representation, power, agency, history and subjectivity as well as what grows out of and away from colonialism. Marxism as a theory views the idea of class struggle within the two races presented in the two texts. The study found that Fugard employed these two plays to attack the ruthless apartheid system that dehumanised the South African black population. During this period black South Africans had been used by white South Africans as cheap labourers, a practice that made black South Africans appear vulnerable. The study further found that the black South Africans were robbed of their identity which they later reclaimed in a criminal way. The study recommends that future researchers could consider examining the role of the white women in collaboration with their male counterparts in preserving apartheid and also to examine the themes of hybridity and mimicry and their effects on the black man in the apartheid era.