Anela Myalatya (mr M) is a 57 year
Mr M
old black teacher and headmaster at
Zolile High School
Believes that education is the most
powerful weapon in the fight for
freedom and equality
Passionate about teaching and
believes that black south Africans can
end apartheid through education and
hard work – not violence
Believes in power of the dictionary
and debate
Dislikes vandalism, breaking the law
and boycotts
Has a lot of respect for Thami
Isolated from his own people because
he does not try too see or understand
their perspectives
He has dedicated his entire life to his
learners and is not a rich man
Isabel Dyson is an 18 year old, white,
Isabel
English speaking girl
Lives in a sheltered live in the fictional
town of Camdeboo
Goes to Camdeboo school for girls
and aspires to be a writer
She is smart and driven, good at
debate
She is also sensitive, has empathy for
the way apartheid shaped her life
She gets strongly influenced by her
contact with Thami and Mr M and her
eyes open to what is going on in the
country
She is always affected deeply by
Thami breaking contact with her as
well as Mr M’s murder
She becomes the voice of hope at the
end of the play and is determined to
do something worth while with her life
in honour of her friendship with Mr M
Thami Mbikwana is an 18 year old
Thami
black south African learner in Mr M’s
class at Zolile Highschool
He is highly intelligent and is Mr M’s
star student
According to Mr M he is a natural
leader and the audience learns of his
, eloquence when he addresses his
comrades
As the play develops Thami becomes
more and more disillusioned by the
circumstances and the community in
which he lives
We get to know him as a scholar who
is eager to learn and is positive and
he develops into a young man who is
sick and tired of the Bantu education
system
He rejects the academic future Mr M
has planned for him in favour of a
future as a revolutionary
He is very passionate about changing
his own future as well as that of his
fellow South Africans
Themes:
The effects of an unfair social- and educational system:
This play captures the effects and consequences of an unfair
political systems on the lives of ordinary people
The decisions made and implemented by the apartheid
government irrevocably changed the lives of black South Africans
Except for the racial segregation of the apartheid government,
there was also the Bantu Education Act that ended the autonomy
of the black schools and placed them under the control of the
apartheid government
According to this act, black learners were taken out of and
separated from the white education system
Subjects and contents taught was greatly reduced and the
African culture and identity was not allowed to be taught
Examples from the text that shows the theme:
The violent boycott of schools that takes place because the
learners and members of the struggle were not able to accept the
Bantu education system any longer
Mr M
old black teacher and headmaster at
Zolile High School
Believes that education is the most
powerful weapon in the fight for
freedom and equality
Passionate about teaching and
believes that black south Africans can
end apartheid through education and
hard work – not violence
Believes in power of the dictionary
and debate
Dislikes vandalism, breaking the law
and boycotts
Has a lot of respect for Thami
Isolated from his own people because
he does not try too see or understand
their perspectives
He has dedicated his entire life to his
learners and is not a rich man
Isabel Dyson is an 18 year old, white,
Isabel
English speaking girl
Lives in a sheltered live in the fictional
town of Camdeboo
Goes to Camdeboo school for girls
and aspires to be a writer
She is smart and driven, good at
debate
She is also sensitive, has empathy for
the way apartheid shaped her life
She gets strongly influenced by her
contact with Thami and Mr M and her
eyes open to what is going on in the
country
She is always affected deeply by
Thami breaking contact with her as
well as Mr M’s murder
She becomes the voice of hope at the
end of the play and is determined to
do something worth while with her life
in honour of her friendship with Mr M
Thami Mbikwana is an 18 year old
Thami
black south African learner in Mr M’s
class at Zolile Highschool
He is highly intelligent and is Mr M’s
star student
According to Mr M he is a natural
leader and the audience learns of his
, eloquence when he addresses his
comrades
As the play develops Thami becomes
more and more disillusioned by the
circumstances and the community in
which he lives
We get to know him as a scholar who
is eager to learn and is positive and
he develops into a young man who is
sick and tired of the Bantu education
system
He rejects the academic future Mr M
has planned for him in favour of a
future as a revolutionary
He is very passionate about changing
his own future as well as that of his
fellow South Africans
Themes:
The effects of an unfair social- and educational system:
This play captures the effects and consequences of an unfair
political systems on the lives of ordinary people
The decisions made and implemented by the apartheid
government irrevocably changed the lives of black South Africans
Except for the racial segregation of the apartheid government,
there was also the Bantu Education Act that ended the autonomy
of the black schools and placed them under the control of the
apartheid government
According to this act, black learners were taken out of and
separated from the white education system
Subjects and contents taught was greatly reduced and the
African culture and identity was not allowed to be taught
Examples from the text that shows the theme:
The violent boycott of schools that takes place because the
learners and members of the struggle were not able to accept the
Bantu education system any longer
