Apartheid Laws and the Oppressed in South Africa: An Example of the Death of Sizwe Bansi by Athol Fugard

Abstract

From a historical and socio-political point of view, the possible situation in South Africa is that of the black majority living under an oppressive apartheid system engineered, manipulated and controlled by a white minority. Racism is the internal effect of the segregation policy of the white minority that has reduced blacks to the weak of the country. Racism here refers to a state of feeling alienated or separated from one's environment, whether culturally, socially, economically, politically or otherwise. Its impact on the social well-being of individuals cannot be overemphasized. South African playwright Athol Fugard's plays have a deep sympathy for the living conditions of black South Africans. The main literary themes of his plays include apartheid, oppression, extortion, and servitude. These and the inherent effects of apartheid laws on South Africa's oppressed are the main focus of Athol Fugard's plays. Sizwe Bansi is Dead is used as a case study in this submission.