The book "Writing from south Africa" ventures many different pieces of writing during the brutal period of Apartheid in South Africa. Two stories, "The Dignity of Begging"(William Bloke Modisane) and "The Prisoner Wore Glasses"(Bessie Head), are quite alike but then again quite different in numerous ways.
Williams's short story was written in the year 1951, whilst Bessie writes her story in the year 1986. The setting of both the stories are in South Africa, however if looked at carefully you can note that The Dignity of Begging takes place on the streets of Johannesburg whilst the other story takes place in a prison camp in an unmentioned place.
The main characters in both the stories show great dignity and hope for a better future. In the Dignity of Begging you can spot this by looking at Nathaniel's (Main Character) dream at the end of the story. He dreams of winning a horse-race bet and returning back to his parents, whilst in the second piece of writing Brille, as he was called, demonstrates his hopes for the future of South Africa when he tells the Warden of how his son will be ruling the country and the warden would wash his car. The Characters are however different in profession, for Nathaniel finds it profitable to be a beggar, which shows his lack of commitment, whilst Brille shows great pride and effort for he is a politician.
Both of the authors show a clear, but different, point of view in both of the stories. In the first story William writes about how life was difficult for the black community during apartheid, for even a beggars job was better than a normal job. In the second story Bessie tries to show a great sense of pride and confidence among the black community, even though they were treated so harshly. Bessie also tries to maybe enlighten people on the point that, if only the blacks are heard, then it would be possible for the blacks and whites to learn and work together.