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Sizwe Bansi’s wife Nowetu stays in King William’s Town and takes care of their four children while Sizwe looks for work in Port Elizabeth. Due to limited job opportunities in the rural environs of King William’s Town, Nowetu cannot find work. Though Nowetu does not actually appear in the play, much of the play involves Sizwe narrating a letter he is writing to her, and Sizwe’s desire to provide for her and their children motivates much of the play’s action.
Nowetu Quotes in Sizwe Bansi Is Dead
The Sizwe Bansi Is Dead quotes below are all either spoken by Nowetu or refer to Nowetu. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Sizwe Bansi Is Dead
Quotes
BUNTU: I’m also married. One child.
MAN: Only one?
BUNTU: Ja, my wife attends this Birth Control Clinic rubbish. The child is staying with my mother.
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MAN: It will tell you in good English where he stays. My passbook talks good English too . . . big words that Sizwe can’t read and doesn’t understand. Sizwe wants to stay here in New Brighton and find a job; passbook says, ‘No! Report back.’
Sizwe wants to feed his wife and children; passbook says, ‘No.’
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MAN: A black man stay out of trouble? Impossible, Buntu. Our skin is trouble.
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Nowetu Quotes in Sizwe Bansi Is Dead
The Sizwe Bansi Is Dead quotes below are all either spoken by Nowetu or refer to Nowetu. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Sizwe Bansi Is Dead
Quotes
BUNTU: I’m also married. One child.
MAN: Only one?
BUNTU: Ja, my wife attends this Birth Control Clinic rubbish. The child is staying with my mother.
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
MAN: It will tell you in good English where he stays. My passbook talks good English too . . . big words that Sizwe can’t read and doesn’t understand. Sizwe wants to stay here in New Brighton and find a job; passbook says, ‘No! Report back.’
Sizwe wants to feed his wife and children; passbook says, ‘No.’
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MAN: A black man stay out of trouble? Impossible, Buntu. Our skin is trouble.
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