Summary
Act II, Scene 1
Isabel and Thami sit together. Isabel has a pile of books and papers and tells Thami that she's made copies of a condensed biography for some authors. She begins to read the one she has made about the three Bronte sisters, but finds that Thami is not paying attention to her. She asks if she should go on, but Thami says that he needs to talk. She asks him to get whatever he is going to say over with, but he says that he wants to choose his words carefully so she doesn't get the wrong idea and take it personally. After waiting for him to get to his point, she guesses that he is going to say they should break up their competition team and he says yes. She tells him that she has been feeling strange for a few weeks, like something had to go wrong. When she spent time with the black driver Samuel, she felt oddly fake and realized she had been talking to him like he was a child, which led to a big argument with her father. She asks Thami if she's changing, since her dad said she is, but Thami doesn't help her. She asks if he's told Mr. M yet and Thami says he hasn't.
Isabel asks to talk more about why Thami is quitting. She tells him that she knows there is "unrest" (p.59) and he responds that his group does not call it that, but rather "'Isiqualo'...The Beginning" (p.59). She says she still doesn't understand why this prevents them from studying literature together, but Thami says it's much larger than just them; the people of the location are going to start boycotting all classes. Isabel asks if Mr. M knows and Thami says that he wasn't at the meeting because he isn't welcome in meetings organized by "the Comrades" (p.60). Isabel asks how long he thinks it will last, and Thami seems to think it will last months, saying they will keep boycotting until the government dismantles the current education system and negotiates with them. Isabel asks if they might resume studying after the boycott, and Thami is unsure.
Isabel seems to come to terms with the end of their team, saying there are worse things they could have done with their time. She asks Thami if they can still meet as friends. Thami is unsure again, and as Isabel keeps talking, she realizes that he does think their friendship is "an old-fashioned idea" (p.61). She tells him to go, but when he turns to leave, she calls him back. She says that it simply doesn't make sense that they can't be friends. He tells her that he is not supposed to mix with any whites, and has already put himself in danger by meeting with her when he could be seen by people, and has already been seen by her maid. Isabel challenges the irony of his Comrades controlling his relationships rather than granting him more freedom.
Mr. M enters the room and, having heard what Isabel last said, pushes Thami to justify what his Comrades are doing and asking of him. They argue back and forth, Thami speaking eloquently about how the government has been keeping black people out of society by giving them a poor education, and Mr. M telling him that he knows and has been trying to help people from within the system for his entire adult life. He chides Thami for reciting and even writing the Comrades's party lines, saying that he's heard about how Thami spoke the night before at a secret meeting. Thami says that he does not need the big English words Mr. M taught him and Mr. M cautions him to remember that words are sacred and keep humans separate from other animals. He urges Thami to lead the others back into the classroom. Thami says he won't and that he would be seen as a traitor for suggesting they do so.
Mr. M tells Thami that the government has given him orders to write down who does not show up for his class the next day. Thami asks if he will do it and Mr. M says that is none of his business. The tension intensifies when Thami tells Mr. M not to get into his business, then, and Mr. M says that he will do so because he is a man and Thami is a "silly boy" (p.65) who "will grow up to be a stupid man" (p.65) without a proper education.
Thami almost leaves without saying anything, but then pauses. He asks Mr. M if he knows that people called him a collaborator at the meeting and that he tried to stop them from saying those things. He tells Mr. M that he can write down his name on the list tomorrow, and then he leaves. Isabel moves to comfort Mr. M but he holds up his hand to stop her. She shouts "This fucking country!" (p.66) and leaves.
Act II, Scene 2
Mr. M is alone onstage. He tells the audience about trying to get to school the next morning. Every road was blocked by policemen, there were overturned buses, looted vehicles and buildings, and people everywhere shouting. He stopped on a corner and saw a child from Standard Six writing a political message on a wall. The child asked him earnestly about his spelling. A police van drove by full of schoolchildren yelling to him to tell their parents where they are. Mr. M tried to close his eyes to make everything go away, but he had to open his eyes when stones and tear gas bombs started to fall around him.
Analysis
As with any play, a break in acts presents a major shift. In My Children! My Africa! there is not a good deal of time between the end of Act I and Act II. The shift happens within Thami, who makes the decision to leave school, including Mr. M and Isabel, behind. This change is revealed in dialogue by the middle of the first scene of Act II, but a shift in tone will likely be directed from the beginning of the act.
A motif in the play is the difference between the language used by the South African government and newspapers and that used by the people of the location, especially those with whom Thami has planned to physically fight against apartheid. For example, in this section of the play, Isabel uses the term "unrest" (p.59) and he tells them that his group does not call it that, but rather "'Isiqualo'...The Beginning"(p.59). Later in the play, they have a parallel discussion of the words murder and self-defense, taking the importance of these word choices to another level since these words have legal definitions and ramifications.
A key moment in the play comes when Isabel leaves the stage, yelling "This fucking country!" (p.66) Her shout is out of character, since she is strong-willed but not generally disrespectful. The shout can be interpreted as her coming to terms with how overwhelming the tension between Thami and Mr. M, and their competing ideologies, has become. It is important to note that she uses the word "country" (p.66) rather than referring to Thami and Mr. M, to the government, or to any issue in particular. She has only recently become aware of how the history of South Africa truly affects black and poor people in contemporary South Africa, so it seems that all she can muster is a curse at the country itself and all the problems included therein.
One of the great ironies of the play, and of the anti-apartheid movement in general, is pointed out in Act II, Scene 1; Thami and the Comrades are seeking more freedom, but Thami's freedoms are actually limited in this pursuit. That is to say, the Comrades begin to control his access to education and the places where and people with whom he spends time. Thami defends these limitations as necessary to the cause, but Mr. M attempts to push him on the issue even after Isabel drops the issue.
Mr. M's monologue to the audience in Act II, Scene 2 is one of the most imagery-filled parts of the play. He describes an area we have not seen in the play—the streets of the location. Mr. M wanders around crazily on the first day of the boycott, trying to get to school. Finally, he tries to close his eyes and wake up again to a resolved situation, but the yelling and throwing of stones and tear gas convinces him that it is not a dream. This motif of dreaming and waking up can be found throughout the play and symbolizes gaining awareness of the severity of a situation.
