Research Essay
The balance between justice and injustice is easily disrupted when corruption is introduced to authorities holding power in a nation. The corruption is often well hidden underneath layers of legislation and official paperwork, and eventually discrimination can be introduced and wrongly justified by those in power. “Sizwe Bansi is Dead” explains the injustice that a black man living in South Africa must go through in order to have justice in his life. “Corruption as Injustice” covers the different types of corruption as well as how they contribute to injustice in society. It also explains how there are different areas that are affected by this injustice, such as an economy.
Throughout Athol Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona’s play, “Sizwe Bansi is Dead,” there exists the ongoing conflict of deciding what is right or wrong, or in other words, the struggling balance between justice and injustice. The main character, Sizwe Bansi (who does not appear until later in the play), is given the choice of adopting an entirely new identity in order to greatly improve his and his family’s quality of life; however this comes at a moral cost that is not considered as deeply by other characters in the play. When faced with this decision, he takes into account the chance he had to hive his family a better life, but this causes him to forever leave behind much of his past and background, including his real name.
The biggest conflict throughout the play is Sizwe Bansi contemplating stealing the identity of a Robert Zwelinzima, who was found dead by Sizwe and Bantu down an alley. Sizwe’s passbook, a government document given to black people in South Africa, is preventing him from working where he wants to, as he does not have the required stamps and endorsements. These passbooks were created by the white officials who run the country, in an attempt to control the black population. They unjust, and are directly violating one’s rights by denying them the freedoms that white people have. This creates a racial hierarchy, making it seem like white people being ‘a step up’ from black people is normal, and how it should be. Because they are under control by government authorities, it is very difficult to speak one’s own mind, and causes these black people to live in constant fear of these authorities that are supposedly keeping justice within the nation.
Another reason for injustice found in the play is the raids the police conduct throughout towns in South Africa. There is a sort of irony behind this, because as a legitimate authority, the police are meant to withhold justice within a population, however; the police are what enforce the injustice within South Africa. The police have the authority to check any black man’s passbook whenever they request to, and this is done to ensure that they are living and working only where they are permitted to. These raids display a juxtaposition, as it contrasts the justice that the white authorities are attempting to upkeep along with the injustice that the black population is experiencing as a natural outcome to this discrimination. The people that the police catch during raids are doing no harm to anyone, they are only trying to live or work where they want. Unfortunately, this is often against the conditions set on their passbooks, resulting in capture by the police.
Jong-Sung You’s paper “Corruption as Injustice" displays a connection between justice/injustice, corruption, and authority. This paper explains some of the reasoning behind corruption and why it exists, as well as how it is caused in society. It attempts to “present a new perspective on corruption by exploring corruption as a problem of social justice.” There are many definitions used to describe corruption as it occurs in a variety of ways, but the one definition used to explain corruption in a way that relates to “Sizwe Bansi is Dead,” is simply “moral decay,” in that the morals of those in power are deteriorating because of something else they are trying to achieve. Most modern literary works see corruption as an economic problem, while there is also the problem of social injustice that exists where corruption occurs.
Corruption is a subset of injustice. Although it falls under the category of injustice, not all forms of injustice are necessarily corruption. According to Oscar Kurer, “corrupt acts are characterized by a holder of public office violating non-discriminating norms in order to gain a private advantage.” This applies to the injustice side of corruption, however in reality discrimination towards certain groups of people can actually be hidden among regulation involving the economy. The economic side of corruption means that an authority is using its power to influence an economy in some way that pleases an outside force, which could be a person, a political group, or even a race. It is often seen in third-world countries around the globe, where poverty is a result of a dictator or dictator-like ruler imposing his will on a nation for his own financial benefit. Heavy regulations, high taxes, and harsh labour laws are commonly seen where there is some form of economic corruption exists.
How this ties into “Sizwe Bansi is Dead” is that there is a sort of hidden economic corruption involved in the play that discriminates against South Africa’s black population. The government uses passbooks to control the lives of these people, including their involvement to the nation’s economy. There is a large amount of white people living in South Africa that are 'higher on the social ladder.’ This means that they have many more privileges than the blacks, who are treated very differently. In this case, this discrimination is much more than the differences between white collared and blue collared workers in South Africa; it extends to nearly every aspect of their lives. Because the government wants there to be a separation between whites and blacks, blacks are forced to keep a passbook which shows what they can and can’t do. Endorsements are given that dictate exactly where they are allowed to live, work, and travel. If they are caught in violation of these endorsements, they are punished. Because there is such a struggle to find work, many black people do not have the opportunities that white people do. Many are forced to work in mines, where their work can cost them their lives. By imposing regulations on the black population in South Africa, they are preventing them from having a large effect on the economy, and instead giving job opportunities to mostly white people. As seen in Sizwe Bansi’s life, where one is allowed to work can affect their life greatly. Siwze wants to be with his wife, but is unable to due to the conditions of his current passbook. He realizes that the way that he can make this happen is by stealing the identity of Robert Zwelinzima when the opportunity arises one night. Robert’s passbook would potentially allow him to work where he wanted, which he is forced to do because of the injustice of passbooks.
These two pieces demonstrate a form of corruption and some of the possible reasons behind it in modern society. In South Africa, it was seen that injustice occurred because of discrimination against the black population that was brought about by the government, and enforced by lawful authorities. By not allowing black South Africans to live and work where they desire, which is a right that white citizens had; they were forcing this injustice to happen. When faced with his own happiness and the morally tough decision to take a dead man’s identity, Sizwe is pressured into deciding that the discrimination against his people was enough and that adopting a new identity would assist in bringing him and his wife back together. He decided to stand up to the authorities and paperwork that was forcing him to do what they wanted, for no just reason. Styles, a narrator in the beginning of the play; says, “You must understand one thing. We own nothing except ourselves. This world and its laws, allows us nothing, except ourselves. There is nothing we can leave behind when we die, except the memory of ourselves.” This quote shows that injustice and discrimination is all the black people of South Africa know. They were raised with it, and for used to it. Sizwe Bansi chose to stand up to this silently, and attempt to create a new, better life for himself at the cost of his morals.