Identify three traumatic events from Boesman's past in Boesman and Lena that his drinking sharpens.

Though still quite a recent event, the destruction of Boesman and Lena’s shack by the authorities is no less traumatic. Like so many other people in this racist society, they’ve had their home destroyed to provide prime land for the ruling White minority. This is apartheid-era South Africa, and Black and mixed-race families often had their homes and communities destroyed to make way for White neighborhoods and settlements. One can only imagine how traumatic this must have been for all concerned, including Boesman.

Further trauma from Boesman’s past comes in his memories of the stillborn children that Lena bore for him. One senses that Boesman blames Lena for her miscarriages, which goes some way toward explaining why he bears so much bitterness and resentment toward her.

Finally, Boesman remembers the numerous occasions when he landed in prison for committing violent crimes. As we see on a number of occasions in his abusive interactions with Lena, Boesman is a violent man with a temper. He wants to escape from the past and live in the present, but ironically his capacity for violence won’t let him.

Identify three traumatic events from Boesman's past in Boesman and Lena that his drinking recalls.

All of these traumatic events are in some way related to Boesman’s experience as a mixed-race man in apartheid-era South Africa. He and Lena have been bulldozed out of their home under racist legislation that sought to reserve prime tracts of land for the ruling White minority.

Official racism is undoubtedly responsible in some way for the miscarriages and stillbirths that Lena has experienced, as neither she nor Boesman are able to access proper healthcare on account of their race.

And Boesman’s past is a further source of trauma in that it conjures up memories of his going to prison for committing violent crimes. It is no wonder that Boesman is forever telling Lena that she should be concerned with the present, not with the past.