The play is set in modern day South Africa where there are still class divisions of "White," "Colored," "Black," and "Asian" people. This is the basis for Buks' vulnerability because he is a "Colored" man who rents the land of a "White" landowner. Even at his advanced age, Buks is still at the mercy of "White" men just as his father before him had been. Fugard is a prolific playwright and this is another example of his work writing about the inequities and injustices in life in South Africa.

Fugard also inserts some South African language and expressions into the play to add authenticity. Veronica tells her grandfather that she has "Glenryck Maalvis Chilli-chilli en Sneeuberge aartappel en wortels" for dinner, and when Veronica tells The Author how she furtively watches Mrs. Jooste's television, she says that the old woman likes music, "hop skip en...