Backdrops (Symbol)
Styles employs several backdrops while taking pictures of Sizwe. One is of a world map, while another is of a futuristic cityscape. Styles tells him that it will make him appear very important and help him eventually get a promotion. He attempts to use these backdrops as a means of bolstering a certain impression of Sizwe. In this way, the backdrops become a symbol of photography's capacity to distort and deceive, as it creates a false image of Sizwe.
Jacob's Story (Allegory)
Buntu tells a story about his friend Jacob. He says that Jacob spent years laboring on various farms, working long hours and making little to no money. Due to the labor laws in the country, he was consistently exploited. He tells Sizwe that Jacob did this for years without a break, and that his death provided him with his only real rest. Jacob's story works as an allegory of political oppression, showing how Black South Africans were often forced to spend their entire lives toiling under a system that sought to keep them powerless.
Passbook (Symbol)
The passbook plays an essential role in the story. Sizwe is nearly deported after receiving a stamp on his passbook requiring him to leave Port Elizabeth. In order to escape this fate, he steals a passbook from a dead man and impersonates him. This desperate situation centers entirely on the passbook's function as a tool to control and, ultimately, ruin the lives of people like Sizwe. The passbook functions as a symbol of the cruel bureaucratic practices of apartheid.
Pride (Motif)
Pride is a recurring motif throughout the play. Buntu criticizes Sizwe for wanting to keep his name, saying that a man with a family cannot afford to be so prideful. He says that he is not thinking of the good he can do for his family and is selfishly thinking of himself. He tells Sizwe his name only has value to him. In the end, Sizwe chooses to renounce his name, giving up his sense of pride so he can continue his life in Port Elizabeth and send money to his family. Pride appears as a motif in the play, showing Sizwe's struggle to balance his sense of self with his desire for survival. Buntu, unfortunately, does appear to be right: Sizwe cannot afford to keep his pride in the face of the overwhelming injustice of their socio-political situation.
Styles' Photograph of His Father (Symbol)
Styles mentions early on that he only has one picture of his father. It was taken when he fought in World War II. He says he has nothing else of his and that it is his final reminder of him. He mentions this while fondly recalling how a son was greatly moved by a picture he had taken days earlier of his now-deceased father. He says that he hopes the picture gave solace to the man and his extended family. The scene is very sentimental and also sad, as it shows that Styles has this single piece of memorabilia. This photograph symbolizes both Styles's desire to preserve people's lives through his work and the fragility of memory.
