Prisoner Who Wore Glasses

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In the short story The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses there is one particular African prisoner Brille who, for the most part, dictates how his entire span will be treated. Brilles span was referred to as span one which is another name for the prison work forces who worked in the field picking cabbage all day. Brilles span is known as the worst in the camp because they are political prisoners who have little to no guilt, they were not ostracized from the community and are also assertive, and very knowledgeable. Therefore they go through several warders a year due to the fact they are so hard to get along with. This short story shows the happenings between prisoner Brille and Warder Hannetjie. Brille teaches the warder some very valuable life lessons which include; regardless of race or status there is a certain level of respect that all humans deserve, in other words you get more bees with honey than with vinegar. Upon Warder Hannetjie's arrival the prisoners are immediately intimidated. One states, "We are in for trouble this time comrades," when asked why? he responds "because he is not human!" The new warders eyes were as blue as the sky however there was a tremendous brutal soul beneath them. The story never says how long Brille has been in prison, but the text infers that it must have been a good while. He had never experienced any violence directed towards him until Warder Hannetjie came. Hannetjie hit him in the head several times with a "Knobkerrie" because of his smart mouth and stripped the entire span of meal privileges for three days. This infuriated Brille and he promised his comrades he would steal them some food. He got caught stealing grapes for his starving comrades, who worked in fields all day, and was then thrown in isolation for a week. After his release he found Warder Hennetjie stealing fertilizer, Hennetjie bribed him with tobacco to keep his

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