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The Island
by
Athol Fugard (characters list (John (one of two…
The Island
by
Athol Fugard
characters list
Winston
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he passbook is used to segregate whites, blacks, and other groups, and so is a serious crime because it defies the tenets of the entire system of apartheid.
John
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formed a close brotherhood with winston,
whom he share a cell.
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Hodoshe
A symbolic character who is never seen, Hodoshe literally means "carrion fly"
He is a symbol of the brutality of the regime and we know he is present whenever we hear the sound of the piercing prison whistle.
Themes
apartheid
Apartheid also enables the regime to imprison its opponents,
all in the name of segregation.
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The theme of racial segregation is the key theme in the play, and it applies specifically to the apartheid system in South Africa.
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The system brutally segregated its citizens by colour; people were white, coloured or black and were strictly segregated and given varying rights according to their ethnicity.
political oppression
John and Winston do not have freedom of speech. If they did, they would not be in prison. The regime is oppressive and kills or incarcerates anyone who is in opposition of their government and its policies. Being against the government is not only a political position, it is a crime for which a person can be arrested and imprisoned.
Winston has had great faith in political disobedience as a tool of change, but becomes disillusioned when he realizes that because he was trying to effect change, he has changed only his own life. In the play it is clear that those who exact oppression are very difficult to overcome.
conscience and guilt
There are two examples of conscience in the play; John and Winston both know that the system of apartheid is wrong and both feel that they can no longer stand by without trying to change it, and challenge the status quo.
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