Athol Fugard And Realism Theatre English Literature Essay
Athol Fugard is regarded as one of South Africa ‘s greatest realist dramatists. His plants frequently dealt with subjects that were seen as controversial and tabu in their clip. He was person who was non afraid to force boundaries and battle against the norm of society. He believed that one could do more impact if they stood up for what they believed in instead than accepting the life they were given. Some of his dramas were known to be semi-autobiographical and pictured glances of his ain life.
Athol Fugard was really successful non merely because his plants were published from the 1960 ‘s all the manner through to the 1980 ‘s, but besides because he wrote dramas which mass audiences enjoyed watching. His dramas were most celebrated as realist play which reflected society at the clip. He was obviously unhappy with the socio-political state of affairs of his state and found that the lone manner he could protest was through his authorship which realistically showed the biass of society at the clip. The abrasiveness of Apartheid is shown through most of his dramas in order to cast visible radiation on the awful times African people faced.
Realism theater is the antonym of Romanticism. It is a signifier of theater which depicts world and can portray political events with certain sentiments. This absolutely describes Athol Fugard ‘s manner. Fugard used pragmatism to protest against the authorities and found it to be a manner in which he could stand up against what he believed to be morally incorrect. He used affectional portraitures of mundane state of affairss to do audiences believe about their ain society. It held a mirror up to the South African society at the clip and the authorities did non desire one dramatist ‘s thoughts infecting the heads of the so called ‘inferior races ‘ , viz. the Black and Indian people.
‘Master Harold and the male childs ‘ is one of Fugard ‘s best plant which was set in South Africa during the Apartheid epoch. It was originally banned by the South African authorities, led by the National Party ( NP ) , because it shuns the racism and hate of mundane apartheid society.
The characters of the drama are typical of South African ‘s at the clip with the black retainer being unable to talk proper English, the immature white male child ‘s male parent who is enduring from an dependence to alcohol and the African credence of leting a white ‘master ‘ to handle them as inferior and inflict hurting on them without any logical thinking. The two chief subjects shown throughout this drama are choler and hatred. Sam, the one African retainer, who has been a long agony victim of these biass, has attempted to exceed the hate and choler. He acts as a alternate male parent to Hally by learning him valuable life lessons, leaving wisdom on the male child and by making little, sort Acts of the Apostless like constructing a kite for him, all while Hally ‘s male parent drank himself into a daze. Hally ‘s male parent became an alky after he lost a leg in the second World War. The policies of the South African authorities in the mid 1950s allowed for a certain sum of hatred and choler between Whites and inkinesss. As shown in this drama when Hally finds out his autocrat of a male parent will be returning from the infirmary he decides to mortify the retainers, Sam and Willie, by coercing them to name him ‘Master Harold ‘ and so continues by unleashing old ages of suppressed hurting and choler onto his two African friends. The drama is left unfastened ended to let the audience ‘s ideas and imaginativeness, on what could perchance go on, run rampantly.
The drama played an of import function in demoing the audience all things wrong with their lives. It showed the white people that moving as if they were a superior race would acquire them nowhere in the hereafter. It showed the African people how they should no longer let the Whites to take such immense control over them and how self-government would necessitate to be created in order to travel off from this ultimate control the white race had. Fugard knew that by composing a drama such as this, his audience would be able to associate to all the current personal businesss in South Africa. The second World War had merely ended and this links up with Hally ‘s male parent holding merely fought in the war. Apartheid was playing a major portion in many persons ‘ lives as all people were now classified into specific races and so divided into their ain classs. From this categorization, the thought of high quality vs. lower status rapidly grew.
Another celebrated drama written by Fugard is Blood Knot. This drama shows us how categorization into different race groups were about tear households apart. The two brothers live together in a one room hovel in a summation, coloured country of Port Elizabeth. Although Morris and Zachariah are of classified into different race categories they continue to back up each other through the difficult times they have to digest. Zachariah is illiterate but when he decides to get down directing letters to a female pen-pal, he dictates his letters while his brother Morris writes them. The subject of illiteracy vs. literacy in this drama shows the audience that people with a darker tegument are less likely to be educated than people with that of a igniter tegument. This has the long term effects of Zachariah ne’er being able to use for a proper occupation, or larn how to read and compose subsequently on in life. Morris is so disquieted that the constabulary will happen out they have written letters to a white adult female that he wants to fire all grounds instantly. This merely shows how terrified the African people were of the White people, and because of what? Their tegument coloring material? When Ethel decides to see them in Port Elizabeth, Zachariah is so aroused but is worried she will non wish him for being black and decides to direct his fairer skinned half brother, Morris, in his topographic point. When Ethel decides to get married and instead chorus from sing Zachariah, he is profoundly hurt. Morris helps his brother through this as if there were no race barriers spliting them.
This was yet another drama of Athol Fugard ‘s which was banned by the authorities. The two histrions who performed this were both arrested and new censoring Torahs were rapidly implemented which stated that racially assorted dramatis personaes and audiences were purely prohibited. The authorities shortly began on a violent disorder with the debut of new policies in order to demo the African people who was in control. This drama was to left hanging, there was no existent decision as Athol Fugard would prefer to hold his audience think for rather some clip after watching such a show. The drama is set in a summation, coloured country of Port Elizabeth where these two work forces live in a one room hovel. They have hardly any money and after Zachariah spends their life nest eggs on a new suit for his brother, Morris is worried about how they will go on to purchase nutrient and other footing goods without any money. Aspects such as this are able to impact the audience and show people how different others lives truly are.
Whether a Black adult male or a White adult male was watching this drama, in one manner or another they would both be able to take something from this. Their heads would be unfastened to Fugard ‘s thoughts about inferior and superior races, and how they are merely ways of the authorities leting the control over the South African people.
Fugard ‘s dramas have non merely caused people to believe outside of the box, but have besides allowed us as the audience to see what life was truly similar during Apartheid times. We are able to look at the dictator aspects the South African authorities brought into drama and how they used the thought of superior vs. inferior races to put themselves on the top of the societal hierarchy. Fugard is able to open our eyes to what our state was one time similar and is invariably reminding us of what we should seek to ne’er return to, a topographic point of segregation, unneeded hatred and changeless maltreatment against people of a different race. No race is better than any other and Athol makes this clear throughout each and every one of his singular dramas.
