Intimations of the End of Apartheid in South Africa: A Critical Look at Athol Fugard’s My Children! My Africa!

Abstract

From the point of view of the content and style of presentation, South African literature is also known as protest literature.  This literature was devoted to the strident criticism of the unhealthy South African- Socio Political atmosphere.  South African writers or playwrights, as the case may be, differ in their approaches to the condemnation of the apartheid policy.  The difference notwithstanding, the commitment of the writers was focused on revealing the truth about the misery and dehumanization inflicted upon the blacks in South Africa by apartheid policy.  This paper examines the intimations of the end of the apartheid era in South Africa using Athol Fugard’s: “My Children! My Africa”, where Thaimi (a black boy), Mr M (a black teacher), and Isabel (a white girl) were used to showcase the different perspectives of Athol Fugard’s way of putting an end to apartheid.  The history of how apartheid became a stigma in South Africa, the day-to-day practice, and how apartheid bred the seed of its own decay are points to note in this paper.