Theme Of Dehumanization

Within this passage, an initial theme that reveals itself is the negative consequences of racial power hierarchies between the Black characters of the play and the White figures they frequently reference. Suggestion of this thematic trend is made apparent through the recurring image of dehumanization of the Black speakers compared to their White counterparts. Dehumanization is “the process of depriving a person or group of human qualities” and the illustration of this occurs when the character of Mbongeni discusses how he, as a Black man, is the White people’s “dogs” (OED). This use of the term dog denotes dehumanization as it serves to dissociate the Mbongeni as being human. Specifically, it suggests that like a dog, Mbongeni and other who
are Black are something animalistic and so, able to be easily controlled or owned through the command of those who are White in the same way that one can be the “master” of a dog. Additionally, this notion of dehumanization as creating negative social stratification between these two racial categories is also seen in the recurring image of objectification. For instance, in this scene, the characters of Mbongeni and Percy are attempting to proposition White men for work on the street. Thereby, just as objectification is “the action of degrading someone to the status of a mere object,” both characters are selling, or promoting themselves as useful products for the benefit of their White employers in-order to function in society (OED). Furthermore, this notion of selling oneself produces connotation to the image of prostitution. And, through this association, the thematic disparity in power dynamics is especially evident in that by comparing the characters to prostitutes, it subsequently proposes that they too hold a position of degeneracy within society so as to lack any level of structural authority or presence. Notably, just as the act of prostitution is, by definition, “the corruption of one’s abilities,” by repeatedly being dehumanized, the characters of Mbongeni and Percy experience a similar corruption in their access to higher stations within their socio-political system and command over their treatment as human beings with individual authority (OED).