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The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses By Bessie Head

448 Words2 Pages

Leadership can be contagious; people who learn how to lead, can transform the most average thing into a superior being. Bessie Head wrote “The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses” about a warder, Hannetjie, who uses brutal force to lead a span of workers, until he realizes he needs to change to be successful. Bessie Head uses the change in the warders leadership to provide the readers with the advice that leaders lead by example.
The first sign that Hannetjie needed to change his ways is when he punishes the entire Span One for eating cabbage while working, while he smokes tobacco and eats as he pleases. Hannetjie told the workers,“Alright the whole span goes three meals off”(Head 1025). Hannetjie was beginning to use brutal force to ensure the prisoners work hard. Instead of working hard they get the warder in trouble by making accusations that punish him severally. His quote here is an example of how he does not set a good example for the prisoners by committing acts they are not allowed to. …show more content…

Head writes that the warder gets fined and punished for stealing bags of fertilizer, leading to the prisoners slacking off and not working hard. “ I saw Hannetjie in the shed today I caught him in the act of stealing 5 bags of fertilizer and he bribed me to keep my mouth shut” (Head 1027). Hannetjie was so ignorant of what he was doing, that he did not realize he had just punished the prisoners for doing the same act. This shows how hypocritical he is, and helps the readers understand why the prisoners do not work hard for

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