The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses

“The prisoner swung round, blinking rapidly, yet at the same time sizing up the enemy. He was a new warder, named Jacobus Stephanus Hannetjie. His eyes were the color of the sky but they were frightening. A simple, primitive, brutal soul gazed out of them.”

Hannetjie’s introduction illustrates how Span One demonizes, and even dehumanizes, him because of his brutality. The primitive nature that Span One sees in Hannetjie reveals how disconnected he is from reality: He views Span One as animalistic, and he will act and treat them in the same way. This passage is an example of how Head inverts the motif of nature to depict a terrifying person whose abuses are outside of Span One’s control.

“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. It never seemed to occur to the authorities that this very reasoning was the strength of Span One and a clue to the strange terror they aroused in the warders.”

This passage highlights how apartheid contributes to the setting and themes of the story. The prison warders fearing that Span One will convert Black warders to their side shows that the prison knows Span One is innocent and right. Yet their refusal to acknowledge this reality indicates that they would rather remain in power than treat other people with equality. This ties into the theme of The Duality of Indoctrination and Dehumanization because the discrimination of apartheid has become so instilled in the warders that they are unable to deduce the implications of what Span One’s strength means about their innocence.

“Span One was assertive and it was beyond the scope of white warders to handle assertive black men. Thus, Span One had got out of control. They were the best thieves and liars in the camp. They chatted and smoked tobacco. And since they moved, thought and acted as one, they had perfected every technique of group concealment.”

This passage furthers the themes of Community Versus Individualism and The Tension of Apartheid and Racial Discrimination. The mention of white warders being unable to handle assertive Black men illustrates how, despite their guilt or conscience, white warders would rather abuse Black men than face their own racism and oppression. However, Span One’s ability to unite creates a fear in white warders because they know they are outnumbered. The only way that Span One can hope to overcome this racism is by uniting against those in power who seek to dehumanize them.

“As political prisoners they were unlike the other prisoners in the sense that they felt no guilt nor were they outcasts of society. All guilty men instinctively cower, which was why it was the kind of prison where men got knocked out cold with a blow at the back of the head from an iron bar. Up until the arrival of Warder Hannetjie, no warder had dared beat any member of Span One and no warder had lasted more than a week with them. The battle was entirely psychological.”

The obvious innocence that exudes from Span One is baffling to the warders because they are unsure how to motivate or punish them. The guilt most prisoners experience serves to aid in their incarceration because the warders can use it to their advantage. However, Span One is almost untouchable because they are aware that they are being imprisoned unjustly, and this makes them bold.

“The next thing Warder Hannetjie whipped out a knobkerrie and gave Brille several blows about the head. What surprised his comrades was the speed with which Brille had removed his glasses or else they would have been smashed to pieces on the ground.”

This passage furthers the theme of The Duality of Indoctrination and Dehumanization as Brille, who is prepared to experience violence, removes his glasses to protect them. Although this is the only physical form of violence that appears in the story, the factual rather than emotional description that Head gives underlies the normalization of violence that Span One has witnessed and experienced in prison. The use of Brille’s glasses as a symbol serves to highlight how his perception will shift as the narrative progresses but foreshadows that his perceptiveness will still be his greatest strength against Hannetjie’s repeated offenses.

“‘Never mind, brother,’ they said. ‘What happens to one of us, happens to all.’”

Span One emphasizes and develops the theme of Community Versus Individualism. By showing the unification of Span One, despite Brille’s mistake getting them all punished, Head shows the importance of their unity, which reinforces Brille’s desire to keep them all safe.

“He was to be the bogeyman, and when it worked he never failed to have a sense of godhead at the way in which his presence could change savages into fairly reasonable human beings.”

This passage reveals why and how Hannetjie justifies dehumanizing Span One. Although the passage describes how Brille treated his children, it foreshadows how Brille will act toward Hannetjie, and it emphasizes how Hannetjie has acted toward Span One. The rush of power and divine-like superiority gives Hannetjie a sense of justification in his own exceptionalism, as well as reinforces the belief that those in Span One are vastly inferior to him.

“‘Let’s face it,’ he thought ruefully. ‘I’m only learning right now what it means to be a politician. All this while I’ve been running away from Martha and the kids.’”

Brille admits to himself that he used his political career to avoid the chaos of his home. However, he also realizes that his experience with Hannetjie and his mindless allegiance with racial discrimination have given him insight into his enemy’s belief system in a way that he had never understood before prison. This realization motivates him because he chooses to make his imprisonment a time to cultivate what he has learned from politics and use it to his advantage in balancing the power dynamic between himself and Hannetjie.

“And the pain in his head brought a hard lump to this throat. That was what the children did to each other daily and Martha wasn’t managing, and if Warder Hannetjie had not interrupted him that morning, he would have sent the following message:

‘Be good comrades, my children. Cooperate, then life will run smoothly.’”

This passage reveals Brille’s shift in character toward becoming more assertive. Before experiencing Hannetjie’s brutality, Brille would have told his children to cooperate for their own benefit, but now he realizes that advice is not valid because it does not ensure safety. The message he would have sent to his children shifts the entire narrative of the story. If Brille had not experienced abuse from Hannetjie, he never would have developed into the strong character that he becomes by the end of the story.

“‘Prison is an evil life,’ Brille continued, apparently discussing some irrelevant matter. ‘It makes a man contemplate all kinds of evil deeds.’”

Brille has reconciled his shift in character with the destructive nature of prison life. Before, Brille would never have considered retaliating against Hannetjie, but now he realizes that he must retaliate in order to survive and retain some sense of agency. Although Brille has never wanted to enact evil before, this quote shows that he has resolved to assert himself to preserve his humanity and survival.

“That is what I mean about evil. 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.”

Brille understands that what he is going to do is evil from Hannetjie’s perspective because Hannetjie is just a child and does not truly understand his own actions. Yet Brille accepts that he cannot be responsible for changing Hannetjie’s mind; instead, he must focus on his own survival and the survival of his fellow comrades in Span One.

“‘I’ll tell you something about this Baas business, Hannetjie,’ he said. ‘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.’”

This passage is the climax of the story because everything in the narrative has built toward it. It highlights the racial tension that exists between Hannetjie and Brille but also reveals the shame that Brille feels in not standing up to Hannetjie the first time. Brille’s statement signifies a tone of hope that does not exist in the rest of the story. His mention of his 15-year-old son demonstrates how Brille is concerned about his son’s maturity and how he will grow up in a society that hates him. Brille’s ability to defy Hannetjie in this instance shows that he refuses to be broken by the system that opposes him. He still wholeheartedly believes that apartheid will end and continues to stay hopeful and committed to the cause for the sake of his children.

“‘Brille,” he said.’ ‘This thing between you and me must end. You may not know it, but I have a wife and children, and you’re driving me to suicide.’

‘Why don’t you like your own medicine, Hannetjie?’ Brille asked quietly.

‘I can give you anything you want,’ Warder Hannetjie said in desperation.”

This passage reveals the amount of empathy and self-awareness Hannetjie lacks since he tries to reason with Brille because he has a family. Hannetjie is unable to make the connection or even speculate that Brille has a family too and that he might have been feeling a similar way after Hannetjie’s abuse. Brille quietly reminds him that what he is doing is no different than how Hannetjie has acted in the past, and yet Hannetjie is still unable to fully grasp the amount of suffering he has put Brille and Span One through.