AFRICAN DRAMA
ATHOL FUGARD: Sizwe Bansi is Dead.
Discuss the use of symbols in the play.
Explanation
In the play, symbols are used to represent the various predicaments of black people. There is the symbol of the photographic studio which becomes a temporary refuge for blacks who are crippled economically and socially and who indulge their fantasy in taking pictures. Sizwe Bansi, as an asylum seeker, finds this studio a temporary place of refuge.
The “cockroaches” symbolize the oppressive white settlers; the “Doom” applied by Styles on the cockroaches represents all the ineffective actions taken to free South Africa from racial discrimination.
The “cat” is used to remind the blacks that they need a greater force to free themselves from the oppressive regime; the “passbook” that the blacks are made to carry is a symbol used to highlight the evils of apartheid. Without a valid passbook characters like Sizwe Bansi are limited in their movement and in securing gainful employment.
Death, itself, is used symbolically to represent rest and peace for the oppressed blacks. The harsh conditions faced by the blacks make them wish to die. There is also Buntu’s house which becomes a rehabilitation centre and Buntu himself is made a rehabilitation officer for Sizwe Bansi.