Under Construction @ Keele 2016 Volume 2 Issue 1 | Page 50

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were watching them, nobody was watching us.’41 This alludes to the Homi K.
Bhabha’s contention that ‘[t]he fantasy of the native is precisely to occupy the
master’s place while keeping his place in the slave’s avenging anger [original
emphasis].’42 Styles dramatises Ford’s visit:
Let me tell you what happened. The big doors opened; next thing the
General Superintendent, Line Supervisor, […] like a pack of puppies!
[…] In came a tall man, six foot six hefty, full of respect and dignity […]
I marveled at him. Let me tell you what he did.
(Three enormous strides) One…two…three… (Cursory look around as
he turns and takes the same three strides back).
One…two…three…OUT! Into the Galaxy and gone! That’s all. Didn’t
talk to me, […] or anybody […] And what did I see when those three
Galaxies disappeared! […] ‘Double speed on the line! Make up for
production lost!’43
Ford’s visit provides no benefit to the workers as evidenced through his ‘cursory look’
and the brief stay at the factory where black workers’ survival was jeopardised.
Instead, the owner’s supremacy is visible, shown in his physical stature and his
desire for respect. The allusion to the ‘galaxy’ implies his massive, unreachable
power. The metaphor ‘puppies’, whilst recalling the domestication of dogs as loyal to
men, also represents the non-reciprocal relationship between Ford and the workers.
Ford’s visit increases the risk of death for the workers, as they have to ‘double’ their
labour to cover the lost production.
However, everything at the factory – including the working conditions and the
physical and psychological conditions of workers – was not openly revealed to Ford,
exhibiting Bradley’s hypocrisy and dishonesty. Ford’s visit itself was a deception, as
displayed through his lack of genuine interest in any matters concerning the workers.
Similar to Bradley’s tactics of exploitation, Ford’s ignorance as the owner of the
factory recalls the state’s marginalisation of the natives. Styles’ anecdote, which he

41

Fugard, 1999, 154.
Homi K Bhabha, ‘Foreword to the 1986 edition: Remembering Fanon: Self, Psyche and the Colonial
Condition’, Fanon, 2008, xxviii.
43
Fugard, 1999, 155. This extract also resonates with Michel Foucault’s conceptualisation of power,
put forth in Discipline and Punish, trans. Allen Lane (London: Penguin: 1977).
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