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What are the similarities between Antigone and The Island? Winston setting fire to it demonstrated his opposition to the regime, and because it was a transgressive symbolic gesture, it lands him a life sentence. The passbook was a tool that the government used in order to segregate its citizens by race. Winston's crime is that he set fire to his passbook in front of the police. He received a ten-year sentence for his membership, with no other criminal charges, which is why his sentence was commuted. Membership in groups like this was considered a crime. John was a member of a political group that was against apartheid, and therefore against the government of South Africa. What crimes did John and Winston commit that led to their incarceration? This pantomime helps to contextualize the horrible conditions under which the men live and the abuse they suffer in the island prison. The activity is designed to exhaust the men physically, but it exhausts them emotionally and mentally also, wearing down their desire to resist, and also forcing them to conform to the will of the regime.
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As they pantomime the action, the pile of sand never gets any smaller and it becomes clear that theirs is an impossible task. In the mimed scene, Winston and John are digging sand. What is the purpose of the mime scene at the beginning of the play?