Boesman and Lena (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Athol Fugard
- First Published: 1969
- Type of Work: Play
- Type of Plot: Protest
- Time of Work: The late 1960’s
- Setting: South Africa
- Genres: Social realism, Drama, Problem play
- Subjects: African Americans, 1960’s, Self-discovery, Africa or Africans, Racism, Abused persons, Communication, Poverty or poor people, Death or dying, Existentialism, South Africa or South Africans, Apartheid
- Locales: South Africa
Characters Discussed
Boesman, a “colored” (mixed- race) South African in his fifties. He and his wife, Lena, wander along the mudflats of a South African river after being driven away from their home by white authorities as part of a slum clearance. Boesman’s personality is shown in how he reacts to this situation: He accepts his and Lena’s bleak life with a hardened demeanor. That this dispossession is the latest in a series of such incidents in Boesman and Lena’s lives helps to explain Boesman’s cynical personality. His manner is exemplified by his refusal to stop...
[The entire page is 747 words long]
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See Also:
Athol Fugard (Cyclopedia of World Authors)Athol Fugard (Dictionary of World Biography)Athol Fugard (Drama)
See Also:
- - Boesman and Lena summary and study guide in the eNotes.
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