1

SEM IV PAPER 202 405

ATHOL FUGARD

MY CHILDREN! MY AFRICA!

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

ACT I

The set up is Zollile High School where a debate is taking place with the students engaging with various
pressing social concerns. The white girl, Isabel argues in favour of women’s empowerment and
education while the young African boy Thami thinks it is completely secondary to the greater cause of
racism and poverty in South Africa. The debate ends with a volley of words and speeches made by both
sides paving for the next scene where Isabel introduces herself more broadly to the audience. She also
unburdens her mind and feels lucky that she is born white and enjoys luxury and happiness, but at the
same time she has a lot of sympathy for the poor African friends and wants to uphold their cause. Scene
Four is most significant as it is the unraveling scene about the most important character in the play, the
middle-aged school teacher, Anela Myalatya or Mr. M as he is better known to his students. Scene Six is
also important as it introduces us to the character of Thami and the overall impression is that of an
atmosphere of anxiety and debate over serious social and political problems in the country. The
educational system and the syllabi predicated on colonial education is also challenged and interrogated
in favour of an education system that acknowledges African culture and traditions.

ACT II

There are five scenes in this act. It is a very tense situation as in this act the divisive nature of Thami’s
hostile relation with Mr. M and Isabel intensifies leading to the murder of Mr. M. The play ends with the
paradoxical notes of hope and despair. While we see Mr. M as a tragic figure victimized by
circumstances with his own people refusing to hear his moderate views and tolerate his presence, we
also see the hopeful figure of Isabel as she decides to carry forward the ideological legacy of Mr. M. Act
II is nearly of the same length as Act I, and the two acts with their eleven scenes more or less convey
the well-rounded progression of ideas of a five-act play.

PLOT

The plot of the play is quite simple and straightforward. It is a narrative where we see that it begins with
Mr. M and Thami disagreeing on how to achieve national self-reliance leaving the colonial influence
behind and how to change the future of South Africa through education and extermination of Western
influences. Isabel as a British resident and a pupil of the same school also joins the debate and the
arguments intensify. In the first Act we see the Exposition scenes are enacted where all the three
2

characters are introduced and their specific ideologies are detailed. Then we find that the rift between
Thami, Mr. M and Isabel over the issue of African future widens and that constitutes the ‘Development’
section of the text.

Then, we find that in the next Act the Crisis, Denouement and Climax are enacted and embodied. The
‘crisis’ section occurs when Thami completely ignores the advice and good suggestions of his beloved
master, Mr. M and joins the militant Africans who murder Mr. M. Then, we find that the ‘Denouement;
scenes are about Thami’s defense of his own action. Finally, in the climax we find that it is Isabel who
ironically carries the mantle of Mr. M forward rather than Thami. Thus, the plot ends with how a young
white female student takes up the noble teachings of the black male teacher instead of the bright young
black boy Thami whose talent and potential is wasted in the mindless violence he indulges in against the
whites and the moderates. The plot re-configures the racial and gender equations led down at the
beginning of the play and whose how the future of South Africa can be very unsettling and uncertain.

THEMES

The play touches upon the most vital theme of the future of South Africa after they have obtained
political independence from foreign rule. It is a very complicated political issue with the country
standing at the crossroads of change and emancipation as well the fear of political turmoil and all round
anarchy. The nation was virtually divided on this issue – the moderates and the pacifists thought that
was necessary to continue to assimilate Western forms of living and thought and systems of governance
with native African ones, while the extremists wanted to destroy any trace of Western influence. The
play deals with this theme in the most explosive and provocative manner; where the death of Mr. M is
the most unfortunate outcome of such political and ethical contradiction and divisive ways of
imagining the future. Fugard mainly explores this issue in the field of education where two students and
one teacher are at war over the future of the education system and the nation at large. Fugard tries to
show how the revision of the educational values and the overhauling of the educational system matter
to a newly freed nation. Apart from the themes of political future of the nation and the role of education
in nation formation the play also deals with the issue of racism reverse racism, counter-racism , gender
rights and educational values associated with them.

CHARACTERS

The play is minimalistic and highly content-driven. The emphasis is on the thematic dimensions and
ideological complexities of the plot rather than crowding many characters on stage. Hence, visibly there
are only three characters in the play demonstrating three very radically different ideological standpoints.
This sparse treatment and presentation allow the playwright to concentrate on the serious and critical
political issues discussed by the three characters in the play.
3

MR M

He is a black African middle-aged teacher working in the school for the poor and deprived blacks mainly.
In that high school, he has a very influential and vital presence among the young students who feel
inspired by his vision and are also at awe of his knowledge and magnetic personality. He has also very
patient and hard-working nature and he believes in striking a balance between the African ways of
thinking and living and the Western ideologies. He has received Western education and he believes in
the best educational of the West. He does not want the Africans to overthrow Western traditions and
their influences overnight. He is very widely read and believes in Confucian values, he calls himself a
‘black Confucius’ in the sense that he sees education as a powerful weapon to undo ignorance and
corruption and poverty. He has not been very well-to-do in his life because of his sense of moral
integrity and honesty but has faith in the future. He lives poorly but with a hope for change and
emancipation. As a teacher he aspires to live in the minds of his students who will survive him, and
unfortunately falls prey to violence and gets murdered. The murder of Mr M by the African extremist
nationalists is the most tragic incident in the play. He is much aggrieved that his best student Thami
breaks away from him and despite his repeated admonishments joins the militant groups, and thus
becomes instrumental in killing Mr. M. Mr. M gets no material success he life, yet he keeps on shining
for his moderate values, calm nature and visionary presence.

ISABEL

Isabel is the most intriguing character in the play in the sense that she is neither black nor a boy, but
she manages to outshine many because of her determination and moral integrity. She comes from a
much better family background but she never flaunts it and keeps on engaging with the problems of the
poor and underprivileged black Africans. Despite, class and ideological differences she always tries to be
Thami’s friend and empathizes with his sufferings. She also has genuine respect for the moderate values
of Mr. M and continues to bear his mantle as the play ends. Unlike Thami who refuses to learn from the
good values and vast learning of Mr. M, Isabel continues to carry Mr. M’s memories in her heart. She
does not see Mr. M as a mere poor black teacher; she tries to identify with his visionary thinking. She
strongly believes in women’s emancipation and also in a transnational union of the blacks and the
whites in South Africa. She thinks that the future of Africa lies in creating a harmony beyond racism and
reverse racism and the violence, strife and dissension generated by it.

THAMI

Thami is the most problematic and rebellious character in the play. He represents talent, poverty and
violence at the same time. As a young boy he takes Western education very seriously and becomes a
repository of Western literature, philosophy and history. But later he learns to challenge and unlearn it
as he thinks that those books do not include or discuss the black Africans and their history of sufferings
or their native cultures. Initially he respects the erudition and personality of Mr. M, but gradually starts
opposing his moderate values. For him Mr. M is a compromised character who has taken the lead only
in serving the purpose of spreading Western education. Thus, he cannot reconcile himself with the
4

values of Mr. M and overthrows him as the harmful pacifist. Thami represents the extremist and militant
nationalists in South Africa who wanted to undo everything associated with the West in Africa through
any means possible and establish African values and systems of governance and culture. Thami proves
to be the most self-destructive character in the play also as despite his teacher’s warnings he wastes his
talent and potential in engaging with mindless violence and mayhem that ultimately shakes the
foundations of a newly born nation.

TITLE

The title of the play, “My Children! My Africa” is expressive of the clarion call raised by the leader-cum-
teacher and moral guide of the students, Mr M who wants to secure the future of the country through
an eclectic policy that combines the best values of scholars all over the world. He did not believe in
regionalism and nativism because these are narrow concepts that confine the knowledge and
imagination of the youth. It is necessary to balance nativism with internationalism, to be able to
appreciate the good qualities of foreigners and to form a hybrid society with maximum resources and
enrichment for all. He also wants to undo racism and reverse racism that proves to be destructive and
harmful for societal and national progress. This play deals with the issue of nation-building, and the call
to the youth raised by Mr. M becomes a call for the future. It is also indicative of his failure and anxiety
to implant these hybrid values in his best black students who turn militant, rebellious and waste their
potential in engaging with mindless destruction and racial rivalry. The apostrophizing gesture of the title
also conveys a sense of urgency as to how to solve the problems and contradictions of nation formation
in the newly freed post-colonial and neo-colonial countries of the African subcontinent.