Act 1, Scene 5

In this play, a useful life means social justice and standing firm for black rights in racial politics. The play asks about the individual's responsibility in relation to questions of social justice. Mr. M believes that a broken or prejudiced political system must be attacked from the inside, with knowledge. In contrast, Thami believes that such a political system must be destroyed with force. Isabel's relationship to the political issue of apartheid was perhaps most analogous to the audiences who first saw Fugard's play. They were bystanders to the political issue, perhaps directly benefited by the dominant political system. Isabel becomes aware of the political problems that she ignored as a child, but does not involve herself in actually dismantling the system, involving herself in neither Mr. M or Thami's ideologies of change.