The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses

by

Bessie Head

Glasses Symbol Icon

The eyeglasses that Brille wears in the story take on several layers of symbolic significance. Initially, Brille’s glasses symbolize his weakness and vulnerability as a prisoner. He is described as “a thin little fellow with a hollowed-out chest and comic knobbly knees,” and having poor eyesight adds another layer of physical debility to his character. In fact, Brille is described as squinting and blinking several times. His poor eyesight causes him to drop some cabbages, an offense that leads to the prison guard, Hannetjie, savagely beating him.

As the story unfolds, Brille’s glasses come to symbolize his unique ability to perceive people and situations and to look beyond the surface. Despite being “shortsighted,” Brille is able to “see” Hannetjie’s true nature more clearly than other prisoners, immediately appraising him as “brutal” and “not human.” Right before Hannetjie beats him, Brille removes his glasses so they don’t get shattered, symbolically preserving his ability to see beyond the superficial and think for himself in spite of Hannetjie’s attempt to subdue him. While recovering from his injuries alone, Brille turns his sight inward and experiences an epiphany regarding his view of politics, realizing that he had used politics as an escape. He then sees clearly how to handle Hannetjie; as he tells his comrades, “I saw today that Hannetjie is just a child […] I’m going to punish him severely because we need a good warder.” While carrying out his plan, Brille literally sees Hannetjie stealing, and this observation leads him to perceive a way to manipulate the guard. Again, despite his literally poor eyesight, Brille is singled out from the rest of the prisoners as “their good old comrade who w[ears] the glasses” and the only one who “sees” a way to deal with life in prison and forge a lasting beneficial relationship with the Hannetjie. In this sense, Brille’s literal improved sight with his glasses parallels his exceptional symbolic sight and ability to see the true nature of others, which leads to an improved situation for Span One.

However, in the end, Brille’s glasses symbolize the story’s ironic outcome. His ability to perceive clearly, despite literal poor eyesight, leads to a beneficial alliance with Hannetjie. On another level, though, like Brille himself, this alliance is still “shortsighted.” It does not make incarceration any better for the rest of the prisoners and Span One’s improved behavior just reestablishes the status quo at the prison, as these once-defiant political dissidents end up supporting the system that led to their incarceration in the first place.

Glasses Quotes in The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses

The The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses quotes below all refer to the symbol of Glasses. 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:
Apartheid, Racial Oppression, and Dehumanization Theme Icon
).
The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses Quotes

Scarcely a breath of wind disturbed the stillness of the day, and the long rows of cabbages were bright green in the sunlight. Large white clouds drifted slowly across the deep blue sky. Now and then they obscured the sun and caused a chill on the backs of the prisoners who had to work all day long in the cabbage field.

This trick the clouds were playing with the sun eventually caused one of the prisoners who wore glasses to stop work, straighten up and peer shortsightedly at them. He was a thin little fellow with a hollowed-out chest and comic knobbly knees. He also had a lot of fanciful ideas because he smiled at the clouds.

Related Characters: Brille, Span One
Related Symbols: Glasses
Page Number: 125
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses PDF

Glasses Symbol Timeline in The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses

The timeline below shows where the symbol Glasses appears in The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses
Apartheid, Racial Oppression, and Dehumanization Theme Icon
...a “chill” down that backs of the workers on the farm. A thin man with glasses looks up at the clouds, imagining that they could carry a message to his children... (full context)
Apartheid, Racial Oppression, and Dehumanization Theme Icon
Idealism, Politics, and Resisting Oppression Theme Icon
...his authority over Brille, whose moniker is a nickname coming from the Afrikaans word for glasses. Unable to judge distances well because of his poor eyesight, Brille drops the cabbage he... (full context)
Apartheid, Racial Oppression, and Dehumanization Theme Icon
Idealism, Politics, and Resisting Oppression Theme Icon
...on the head with a club. Before being assaulted, Brille deftly manages to remove his glasses so that they don’t get shattered. (full context)