27 pages • 54 minutes read
The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses
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Summary: “The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses”
“The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses” by Bessie Head is a short story about political activists incarcerated during the South African apartheid. Inspired by her childhood in South Africa as a biracial child when interracial union was illegal, Head’s work deals primarily with racism and its psychological and emotional impact. “The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses” discusses themes of The Duality of Indoctrination and Dehumanization, Community Versus Individualism, and The Tension of Apartheid and Racial Discrimination. The short story was originally published in 1973 after Head escaped to Botswana during the height of South African apartheid. Unlike Head’s largely autobiographical novels, such as When Rain Clouds Gather, Maru, and A Question of Power, this fictional story focuses on a male protagonist.
This study guide refers to the free online text that is available on the Xpress English website.
Content Warning: The source material contains hate speech, racial discrimination, racist violence, and suicidal ideation. This study guide obscures the use of the k-word, a South African ethnic slur that appears in the original source material.
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Related Titles
By Bessie Head
