The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses

Although “The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses” deals with issues of oppression, loneliness, and violence, the main conflict revolves around The Duality of Indoctrination and Dehumanization. The historical context of apartheid is evident in the internal struggles of the protagonist Brille, yet Head pushes this theme further by showing the effect of indoctrination: In giving Hannetjie childlike qualities, Head raises the question of Hannetjie’s true character, revealing how discrimination dehumanizes everyone within this oppressive system. Even Hannetjie, whose whiteness benefits from the oppression of Span One, is entrapped within it due to his indoctrination from the Nationalist Party.

Brille’s “fanciful” nature undergoes growth and development as his belief of cooperating for the sake of safety is challenged by Hannetjie’s chaotic abuse. Hannetjie’s unjust beating of Brille shows how Hannetjie’s indoctrination encouraged dehumanization of non-white individuals. Before Hannetjie beats him, Brille removes his glasses to save them from being smashed by the club; this interaction references the story’s title, which indicates that the major conflict centers around Brille’s perceptiveness in the face of oppression. This also signifies that, while Brille’s perceptiveness will remain intact, this experience may shift his perspective in a way that will be different after he puts his glasses back on. Since Brille’s glasses symbolize his ability to perceive truth, his protection of his glasses reveals that he is preserving his humanity and dignity, while simultaneously signaling that Hannetjie has not succeeded in crushing his individuality.

Through Brille’s character development, Head outlines another central theme of the short story: Community Versus Individualism. Although Brille is the only named character in Span One, the group of prisoners shows the resilience that lies in community over isolation. Rather than losing their individuality, Span One has survived in prison because of their ability to find strength in each other. The threat of isolation is heightened by the setting of the prison itself, which conveys a mood of isolation and loneliness in how the prisoners are constantly battling their fear of abandonment. Their strength in unity is sharply contrasted with the stark individualism of Warder Hannetjie. Even though the prison’s policy is to group the Black political prisoners with only a white warder, the text reveals that this regulation is why Span One is so strong. Since Span One draws together in solidarity against their oppressive white warder, they have a common enemy and, therefore, a common union. The only time Span One is threatened is when Hannetjie puts a prisoner in isolation and begins to disrupt their ability to communicate. Even at the end of the story, Span One benefits from converting Hannetjie to their side. Their ability to use Hannetjie to their advantage, as well as aiding him in his struggles, shows the benefit in unity and the strength in communal living.

The contrast between the setting of the prison yard and the open expanse of nature on the other side of it symbolizes the prisoners’ external longing for freedom as well as their internal longing for equality. Head begins the story with a depiction of how the “large white clouds drift[] slowly across the deep blue sky” to highlight the stark difference in the prison yard (Paragraph 1), while the story is set in a cabbage field full of prisoners laboring under a hot sun. The beauty of Brille’s surroundings causes him to stop and contemplate the meaning behind the clouds moving toward his old home, but soon Hannetjie brutally reminds him of the constricting nature of their imprisonment.

Throughout the narrative, The Tension of Apartheid and Racial Discrimination is always present. The conflict between Hannetjie and Brille exists because of racism and the institutionalization of apartheid. Brille’s political beliefs are the reason for his imprisonment. This racial discrimination emerges during the climax when Hannetjie demands that Brille carry his jacket. This interaction mirrors the dialogue from the beginning of the story when Hannetjie beats Brille into submission, but when Hannetjie tells Brille to call him Baas again, it is without conviction. This reveals that the system of apartheid has begun to unravel for Hannetjie. As he begins to understand a fraction of the abuse that Span One has experienced in their lifetimes, he is forced to face the depth of his racism and discrimination against Brille. Despite Hannetjie’s authority, Brille is unfazed by Hannetjie’s racist demand the second time around and boldly stands up to him: “One of these days we are going to run the country. You are going to clean my car. Now, I have a fifteen-year-old son, and I’d die of shame if you had to tell him that I ever called you Baas” (Paragraph 46). This triumphant moment silences Hannetjie because he realizes he is completely in the wrong. The arrogance and brutality exhibited during the story’s rising action are absent in the falling action. Brille’s defiance against Hannetjie reinstates Brille’s sense of humanity and dignity as he refuses to be treated as a second-class citizen. Instead, Brille’s statement speaks for the entirety of Span One: They will continue to fight for equality until they succeed.