Ochoa 1 Ochoa 2 Ana Ochoa Professor Surendar ENC 1102 March 6, 2020The Oppression Through Literature Oppression is a common theme in many stones. This theme refers to the injustices that people have had to go through given their color, place of origin, and their income levels. This oppression, as seen in most stories, can be imposed by people from other races such as the Whites oppressing the Africans or even the Africans oppressing each other simply because they hold a senior position in the government or in the community. The theme of oppression is often used in stories to illustrate the inequalities that exist in the society when one group considers itself to be superior and thus, feel they should control everything while enjoying at the expense of the general population. Highlighting oppression through stories is important in literary works as it allows readers to realize the effects of their actions, whether done knowingly or unknowingly in the day to day life. Bessie Head was a South African writer who is usually considered Botswana’s most influential writer. She wrote novels and short stories that are infused with spiritual questioning and reflection. She used the theme of oppression in her story to emphasize the dehumanization and cruelty suffered by many South Africans during the era where racism was the daily bread in their lives. “The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses” is a short story about a group of South African political prisoners called Span One, who work at the prison farm collecting cabbages. Due to their few political crimes, they took control of the prison, breaking the rules and doing what they wanted. His days of control ended when a new warder arrived at the prison called Warder Hannetjie, an extremely strict and brutal guard whose actions are dehumanizing. One of his worst abuses was to beat up a man with glasses for a misdemeanor called Brille. Due to their mistreatment in prison, all prisoners lived in fear and felt deprived of their liberty by this new guard, until they decide to blackmail the guard blaming him with the authorities of stealing fertilizer to place it on his farm. Hannetjie tries to buy Brille's silence by offering tobacco for him and his group, however, Brille again accuses him with the authorities of offering them smuggled tobacco. Finally, Hannetjie and Brille reached an agreement that Hannetjie would stop being so mean to the other prisoners while the Span One group would help him steal supplements for his farm, where both Hannetjie and Span One begin to change for good between them themselves and with the other prisoners. In the story, oppression is reflected in racial segregation and dehumanization. This story is set in South Africa after World War II, when racial segregation was inevitable in those days. Violence and discrimination are very common factors in prisons today, however, at the time in which this story is based, it was a nightmare for prisoners because they lived under heavy punishment and.

1. Ochoa 1
Ochoa 2
Ana Ochoa
Professor Surendar
ENC 1102
March 6, 2020The Oppression Through Literature
Oppression is a common theme in many stones. This theme
refers to the injustices that people have had to go through given
their color, place of origin, and their income levels. This
oppression, as seen in most stories, can be imposed by people
from other races such as the Whites oppressing the Africans or
even the Africans oppressing each other simply because they
hold a senior position in the government or in the community.
The theme of oppression is often used in stories to illustrate the
inequalities that exist in the society when one group considers
itself to be superior and thus, feel they should control
everything while enjoying at the expense of the general
population. Highlighting oppression through stories is important
in literary works as it allows readers to realize the effects of
their actions, whether done knowingly or unknowingly in the
day to day life.
Bessie Head was a South African writer who is usually
considered Botswana’s most influential writer. She wrote novels
and short stories that are infused with spiritual questioning and
reflection. She used the theme of oppression in her story to
emphasize the dehumanization and cruelty suffered by many
South Africans during the era where racism was the daily bread
in their lives.
“The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses” is a short story about a group
of South African political prisoners called Span One, who work
at the prison farm collecting cabbages. Due to their few
political crimes, they took control of the prison, breaking the
rules and doing what they wanted. His days of control ended
when a new warder arrived at the prison called Warder

2. Hannetjie, an extremely strict and brutal guard whose actions
are dehumanizing. One of his worst abuses was to beat up a man
with glasses for a misdemeanor called Brille. Due to their
mistreatment in prison, all prisoners lived in fear and felt
deprived of their liberty by this new guard, until they decide to
blackmail the guard blaming him with the authorities of stealing
fertilizer to place it on his farm. Hannetjie tries to buy Brille's
silence by offering tobacco for him and his group, however,
Brille again accuses him with the authorities of offering them
smuggled tobacco. Finally, Hannetjie and Brille reached an
agreement that Hannetjie would stop being so mean to the other
prisoners while the Span One group would help him steal
supplements for his farm, where both Hannetjie and Span One
begin to change for good between them themselves and with the
other prisoners.
In the story, oppression is reflected in racial segregation and
dehumanization. This story is set in South Africa after World
War II, when racial segregation was inevitable in those days.
Violence and discrimination are very common factors in prisons
today, however, at the time in which this story is based, it was a
nightmare for prisoners because they lived under heavy
punishment and deprived of their rights. Therefore, oppression
is one of the most prominent themes in the story.
Langston Hughes was an American poet, novelist playwright,
and columnist. He uses oppression as a theme in his story to
represent the freedom and slavery, using black and white
characters to create a dynamic of what a racially divided society
scenario would be like and to demonstrate the different forms
that racism can take.
“Slave on the Block” is a short story about a white couple
named Michael and Anne Carraway, the couple lived in New
York and considered themselves very open about racial
relations, however, they did not have a good relationship with
their black neighbors. One day a black boy named Luther
arrives, who was a relative of one of the couple's workers,
asking them if they had any jobs they could offer him. The

3. couple decide to hire him to take care of his garden and also to
make portraits of him since Anne was a painter. Luther meets
Mattie, the Carraway maid, and they begin to build a friendship
that eventually becomes a bit problematic. During the day, Anne
paints Luther's paintings when he falls asleep, until one day he
decides to paint him as a slave about to be sold, thus calling his
painting "the boy on the block." With the passage of time,
things began to get intense in the house with the Carraway and
with Mattie and Luther, the employees began to misbehave and
disobey the orders of the Carraway. However, they could not
fire them because Anne wanted to finish painting her painting
called "the boy on the block". Finally, Michael's mother comes
home for a long time, Luther and Mattie begin to treat Michael's
mother better than their own bosses, until one day Luther says
something very offensive to Michael's mother. They then decide
to fire him and Mattie decides to leave with the saying that he
no longer supports the Carraway, which confuses Anne, since
she always considered that her treatment was fair and correct
with her employees.
In this story, oppression is reflected in discrimination and
slavery, that we are all human beings and deserve to be treated
as such. Throughout history, the behavior of the Carraway was
not entirely fair to their workers. Therefore, at the time that
Luther and Mattie reveal themselves before their bosses, it was
the moment where they felt their freedom sleeping away and
declared to defend themselves.
Erskine Cadwell was an American novelist and short story
writer. Most of his stories reflect protests against the racial and
economic oppression in the South during the Great Depression.
He uses oppression in his history to reflect racial prejudice and
lack of humanity, showing the dangers of violence as something
common and indifferent that can lead indirectly as intentional
violence.
"Saturday Afternoon" is a short story about a man named Tom
Denny, owner of a butcher shop along with Jim Baxter, who was
resting in a block of meat on a Saturday afternoon. One day,

4. Jim went to wake up Tom to chase an African American named
Will Maxie, as he allegedly said something offensive to a white
woman. Will had always been careful with his business and was
always respectful of whites, which generated envy among many
people in his city because he was making a lot of money. The
crowd found Will, so they tied him with chains to a tree and set
him on fire, while other men from the town dedicated
themselves to selling homemade Coca-Cola and whisky to
"enjoy" the execution. Finally after the torture is over, Tom and
Jim hurry off to work, waiting for the next customers to buy
meat for Sunday.
In this story, oppression is reflected in the indifference to
violence and racism. It is illustrated in the characters of Jim and
Tom and the sellers of whisky and Coca-Cola during the
execution as if it were an entertainment area. Racism is also an
important part of the story. The violence that is represented in
the story has no effect on the characters, but particularly on an
African American man. In addition, the characters in the story
call Will Maxie with racist nicknames, and none of them
question Will Maxie of being guilty for talking to the white
woman.
In conclusion, oppression is something that brings a lot of
suffering to the people oppressed. It leds to suffering and
restrictions on one’s ability to enjoy their rights. These stories
show that people are often born into oppression and it takes
long for someone to escape such bondage. While trying to free
themselves, one usually goes through difficult steps which
affects them physically and emotionally as there are other
people who simply cannot escape it. For instance, in the story
"Saturday Afternoon" it is shown how they kill and torture a
man who didn't even take the time to know his side of the story.
It is also reflected in "the Prisoner who Wore Glasses" where
prisoners were tortured under the hands of a guard who also did
horrible and unjust things behind the authorities. The
oppression in “Slave on the Block" is reflected in the attitudes
of the Carraway, forcing and treating their workers as slaves,

5. without them realizing that at some point they were going to
reveal themselves and defend their own rights. Thus, oppression
comes with a lot of suffering and it is only rebellion that saves
someone from inhumane life of indignity caused by those who
abuse their power.
Works Cited
Bessie Amelia Head (2000). South African History Online.
Retrieved on September 10, 2019
from https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/bessie-amelia-head
Carl Van Vechten, (2020) Langston Hughes, Poetry Foundation.
Retrieved March 7, 2019
from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/langston-
hughes
Encyclopedia Britannica(2014). Erskine Caldwell, American
Writer. Retrieved April 10, 2019 from
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Erskine-Caldwell