Study Guide

# 2008 University of South Africa All rights reserved Printed and published by the University of South Africa Muckleneuk,
Pretoria EED102G/1/20092011 98315552
All rights reserved. No part of this Introduction and Scheme of Work may be reproduced in any form except with the permission of the University of South Africa. Students who have enrolled for tuition may quote excerpts for academic purposes. Although every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders, this has not always been possible. Should any infringement have occurred, the publisher apologises and undertakes to amend the omission in the event of a reprint.
ENN311 Style
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CONTENTS
Page WELCOME STUDY UNIT 1 Short Stories: The Fiction Factor STUDY UNIT 2 Talking about drama STUDY UNIT 3 The play: Happy Natives STUDY UNIT 4 Using Drama in the English Classroom STUDY UNIT 5 Introduction to Poetry STUDY UNIT 6 Poetry: Poetry Works 1 STUDY UNIT 7 The novella: Fools STUDY UNIT 8 A Guide to Writing a Literary Essay 140 63 70 90 105 (v) 1 34 41
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Welcome! _________________________________________________________________________________________________
DEAR STUDENT
Welcome to this course of literary study in the BEd. I hope that you will enjoy this year with us and that everything you learn will enrich your studies and contribute to making you a better educator. You are about to embark on an exciting journey into the world of literature. In many respects this course is quite different from the other ones you will study for your degree, because its emphasis is not primarily on methods of teaching, or professional skills. Instead, this is a predominantly academic course, in which you study some of the concepts which are common in many undergraduate courses in universities throughout the world. More particularly, you will be studying the ways in which texts are constructed and how meaning is made. Above all, you will be required to think independently and originally. You will discover that very often there is more than one right answer to a question and that persuasive arguments can be made for apparently opposing values; however, you will also discover how to substantiate and justify your ideas in such a way as to be convincing and assertive. Your prescribed literature: . . . Coetzee, Greig. 2002. Happy Natives. Scottsville, South Africa: University of Natal Press. Levey, David (ed.). 1990. The Fiction Factor. Pretoria: University of South Africa. Ndebele, Njabulo, S. Fools. Cape Town: Francolin Publishers.
We enjoy hearing from our students, so please contact us to sort out any questions or difficulties you may have with this module. Don't leave problems to develop to the point where they can't be solved let's try to clear them up as early in the year as possible. All our addresses and telephone numbers are in Tutorial Letter 101 and, if you are keen on the Internet, you can write to us by e-mail. A personal appointment is also possible if you live near Pretoria. It is crucial that you read the whole of Tutorial Letter 101 very carefully. We often find that questions arise because our students haven't read this important document. Note, in particular, the scheme of work for the year in other words, the assignments. Try
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WELCOME!
to do as many of them as you can, because they cover the entire syllabus and that is the best form of exam preparation you can do. While I'm on the topic of exams, please ensure that you take responsibility for gaining admission to the examination this year. The credit system is explained in Tutorial Letter 101 and is really quite simple: each assignment is worth a certain number of credits. The total required for your D.P. (that is `Due Performance', and admission to the exam) is 100. Merely passing the exam is not, of course, the goal that you should have uppermost in your mind. This module is a course of academic study, specifically designed for the education of educators. Your primary aims should be to develop yourself academically in other words, in knowledge, insight and skills. You are here to gain an education and that is our primary goal as well. In what ways can the study of literature achieve such a goal? We believe that educators are professionals whose responsibility is the intellectual and personal development of the young people in their classes. This responsibility goes beyond the classroom itself and a good educator is someone who becomes closely involved in the life of the school as a whole. This implies that you should be concerned with more than just teaching your lessons, although you should present them to the best of your ability. The reading of literary texts helps you to develop your own skills of reading, writing and organising your ideas. These are essential for good teaching and many of our educators' own skills are weak in these areas. We aim to help you overcome any weaknesses you may have in these areas. But we'd also like to see you coming to grips with the issues that literary texts deal with the ideas, themes, problems, conflicts and emotions that the characters in stories encounter. The kind of awareness and sensitivity that is necessary for a full understanding of such issues is also what is needed in a educator who is in touch with her learners and able to see how complex many of their situations are. Finally, our aim is to encourage you to develop a personal response to what you read and we hope that this will continue outside the Unisa modules. We hope that you will come to enjoy reading and will be able to convey that delight to your learners. People who read avidly stand a better chance of success in life. In this module, we have focused mainly on books from and about Africa. We feel that most of our students are from Africa and that the familiar is the best place to begin. There is a lot of work to be covered. We wish you good luck and much enjoyment for the year!
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STUDY UNIT 1
Short Stories: The Fiction Factor ___________________________
Welcome! In the first part of this study guide, you will be introduced to three prescribed short stories. The short stories are: . Àfter Twenty Years' by O. Henry (pages 3337 of The Fiction Factor1) . `The Divided House' by Alan Paton (pages 11826) . `The Suit' by Can Themba (pages 13448)
Àfter Twenty Years'

Preliminary work Before we read the story and discuss it in detail, I am going to offer you a few questions that will help you prepare for the experience of reading. If you have already read the story, try to do these exercises anyway, as they are also designed to develop writing skills as well as to help you to get the most out of your dictionaries. Firstly, pause for a moment and think about the following questions: . . . . . What were you doing twenty years ago? (If you are not yet twenty years old, try to recall, or imagine, what you were doing ten or fifteen years ago.) Has your life changed a lot since then? Why? How? What do you think you will be doing in twenty years' time? Do you still know people who were important to you twenty years ago? Think about someone you work with, or a friend or neighbour. Try to imagine what he or she will be like in twenty years' time.
I am sure that you were struck, as I was, by how much has changed over the last twenty years, both personally and historically. Most of us have moved from childhood to adulthood: some of us have changed homes, careers, countries. Twenty years ago I was a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl living a sheltered existence with little idea of the dramatic events that had recently taken place amongst my peers in Soweto ...
1. David L. (ed.) 1990. The Fiction Factor. Pretoria: University of South Africa.
SHORT STORIES: THE FICTION FACTOR
Compare your recollections with those of another writer: read the poem À young man's thoughts before June 16th' on page 48 of your poetry anthology, Poetry Works 1.2 . Where were you during June 1976? . Did the Soweto uprising of 1976 affect you in any immediate sense? . In what ways has the uprising affected you in the 21 years since 1976?
In English we have an expression: A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then. Do you know what is meant by this expression? Look up the word water in your Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (which I will refer to as the OALD from now on). Scan down the entry and you will find a blocked abbreviation that looks like this:
IDM This sign tells you that what follows is a list of idioms and their meanings. Can you find the idiom about water flowing under a bridge? Write down the meaning of this idiom in the space below. ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... Do you think this is an effective idiom? If the many events that take place in your life are likened to rushing water, what does the bridge represent? Would you agree that à lot of water has passed under the bridge' in the last twenty years? For the speaker of the poem À young man's thoughts before June 16th' they certainly have: in broad terms, South Africa has seen some massive changes in education, social conditions and government; in personal terms, we can only speculate (imagine) what has happened to the speaker himself. The last lines of the poem are rather ominous (they suggest that something bad is going to happen):
o sing my sad song sing for me for my sunset is drenched with red
Is the sunset drenched with blood, do you think? Does this imply (suggest) that the speaker will die in the June 16th riots? Reading the story effectively Now we are ready to read a story about two men for whom à lot of water has passed under the bridge': Àfter Twenty Years'. Try to read the whole story at once, and don't dwell on words or phrases that you don't understand: we'll deal with those later. Record some of your first feelings about the story. Very often our first impressions (look up this word in your OALD) are important in helping us think about how the
2. Robin Malan (comp) 1995. Poetry Works 1. Cape Town: David Philip.
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story is written and what its effects are. Your list might include the following impressions:
I liked this story. It was exciting. What happened at the end of this story surprised me. I found the language in this story difficult to understand. This story was about people in a time and place that are of no interest to me. I had no sympathy for the people in this story. I knew what was going to happen at the end of the story.
I hope that you had a few more that are not listed here. Whatever your first impressions of the story were, I am sure you had them. Reading makes us REACT! We might be bored, confused, excited or shocked but all of these responses mean that our emotions have been activated. Like it or not, we have entered into a new and different world of experience. Now, the task of a student of literature is to find out:
HOW a writer has made us think things and feel things about what he or she has written and HOW he or she has created this imaginative world called (in this case) a short story.
In order to begin this detective work, we have to go over the evidence again, this time making some early notes about what we find. Read the story for a second time, underlining words or phrases that you do not understand, so you can return to them later with your dictionary at hand. You should also make a note of what parts of the story strike you as very interesting, or strange. Sometimes people feel that we shouldn't write in books. I think that if we own the book and if we are using it for study purposes, then we should feel free to write all over it if we wish. Making our own marks on the page helps us to understand the story and to make it ours. However, if you do feel bad about doing this, and if you have access to a photocopier, why not photocopy the story it's not very long and scribble on that instead? Below you will find an example of one of the pages of the story that I `made my own'. You will also find examples of this way of reading and working with a text in your poetry anthology.
he seems guilty, even apprehensive
As the policeman walked up to him the man spoke up quickly. Ìt's all right, officer,' he said reassuringly. Ì'm just waiting for a friend. It's an appointment made twenty years ago. Sounds a little funny to you, doesn't it? Well, I'll explain if you'd like to make certain it's all straight. About that long ago there used to be a restaurant where this store stands --- ``Big Joe'' Brady's restaurant.'
Is he doing too much explaining? Ùntil five years ago,' said the policeman. Ìt was town down then.' he knows the restaurant Jimmy can see Bob's face The man in the doorway struck a match and lit his cigar. The light showed a pale, square-jawed face with keen eyes and a little white scar near his right eyebrow. His scarfpin was a large diamond, oddly set. Suggests violence a criminal wealthy Jimmy is dependable Setting
`Twenty years ago to-night,' said the man. Ì dined here at ``Big Joe'' Brady's with Jimmy Wells, my best chum, and the finest chap in the world. He and I were raised here in New York just like two brothers, together. I was eighteen and Jimmy was twenty. The next morning I was to start for the West to make my fortune. You couldn't have dragged Jimmy out of New York; he throught it was the only place on earth. Well, we agreed that night that we would meet here again exactly twenty years from that date and time, no matter what our conditions might be or from what distance we might have to come. We figured out that in twenty years each of us ought to have our destiny worked out and our fortunes made, whatever they were going to be.' dictionary
Jimmy decides not to reveal his identity

Ìt sounds pretty interesting,' said the policeman. `Rather a long time between meets, though, it seems to me. Haven't you heard from your friend since you left?' meetings
Did you notice that when you read the story for a second time, your understanding of what happens (the plot) was rather different from your first reading? You probably understood some of the language that you missed the first time. You also probably found yourself looking for clues, early on in the story, about who the main people (the characters) are: on rereading we are aware that the policeman is actually Jimmy, which we do not realise the first time we read the story. This awareness may make us begin to wonder why Jimmy does not immediately reveal his identity. Now would be a good time to test how many of the story's details you have understood. See how many of the following comprehension questions you can answer correctly (the answers are at the end of this study guide).
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Comprehension Quiz 1 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Who is the writer of Àfter Twenty Years'? Outside what kind of store do the characters meet at the beginning of the story? What used to be built there? When was this building replaced? 3 What is the name of `the man from the West'? What is the policeman's name? Who is the man from the West waiting for? Does Jimmy arrive punctually at the meeting? When does Jimmy discover that his friend is a wanted criminal? Who is `the tall man in a long overcoat'?
Paraphrase If you were to summarise, or retell, this story to someone who had not read it, you would be paraphrasing it. Paraphrase is an important step in understanding and thinking about a text, because we are rehearsing the events in our memories. Can you summarise the story in a few lines? Write down your paraphrase in the space below: ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... Your paraphrase may look something like this:
Àfter Twenty Years' is about a meeting between two men, Bob and Jimmy, who were friends twenty years ago but who have not seen each other since. When they were young men they agreed that they would meet in twenty years' time outside a particular store in New York the precise spot where they parted. The story begins with a policeman meeting Bob, who is waiting for his friend, as agreed. Bob tells the policeman about his career in the West, about Jimmy and their pact. After a short conversation, the policeman leaves. Then another man arrives. Bob assumes that this is Jimmy, but soon discovers that the newcomer is a policeman too. The second policeman
3. As a general rule, we should always use the present tense when we write about a story: `What is the name of the man from the West?' and `When does Jimmy discover that his friend is a wanted criminal?'.
arrests Bob, who, it turns out, is a criminal wanted by the Chicago police. At this stage, right at the end of the story, the reader and Bob both find out that the first policeman was, in fact, Jimmy Wells. Jimmy had recognised his friend as the wanted man and had asked a colleague to perform the arrest. Another way of paraphrasing might be to create a time-line, like this:
Beginning Policeman on his beat Meets Bob Bob lights Bob cigarette tells story of meeting Jimmy after 20 years Jimmy recognises him as wanted criminal Plain clothes policeman pretends to be Jimmy Bob realises he isn't Jimmy End Bob is arrested and reads Jimmy's note
Time-lines like this one provide you with a useful summary of what happens in each story, so you can use them for revision purposes. Are these different summary techniques satisfactory? They certainly contain most of the facts of the story, but none of the emotions. They are also only of use to someone who has not read the story. When we write about literature, we need to go beyond paraphrase, as we are writing for an audience who know the facts of the story. We are not storytellers, or paraphrasers, but, as I have suggested, detectives who are going to analyse the text, to discover some of the deeper, underlying points of interest in the story.
In literary criticism we discuss the ways in which a text WORKS.
Some early impressions: Who? Where? How? Our detective work on HOW the story is transformed from being printed words on a page into a world in our imaginations will find clues right from the start, with the story's title. The title of this story, Àfter Twenty Years', sets off in our minds many of the ideas and emotions which we thought about at the beginning of this exercise: about how time passes, about how we have changed, and about how we will change in the future. Then we read the first paragraph of the story, and we take our first steps into this imaginative world. Think for a moment about how the way you approach a person will determine their response to you and to what you have to say. If I came up to you and whispered, Èxcuse me, but I think I have lost my way and I'm feeling dreadfully ill, and would you help me?', how would you react? Your response would be very different if I stormed in front of you and shouted ÀLL IS LOST! HELP!' My point is that the language we use and the way we use it creates different responses in people. The same might be said for writers and the responses they hope to evoke in their readers. Their vocabulary (words), their tone (how their words might sound) and even the way in which the words are presented on the page, all cause us to make decisions about what is being said and what is going to happen. In the first paragraphs of a story, the writer has to grab our imaginations and set them working, or we might be tempted to move on to the next story, or switch on the television, or go for a walk. Let's look more closely at the opening paragraphs of Àfter Twenty Years':
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The policeman on the beat moved up the avenue impressively. The impressiveness was habitual and not for show, for spectators were few. The time was barely ten o'clock at night, but chilly gusts of wind with a taste of rain in them had well-nigh depeopled the streets. Trying doors as he went, twirling his club with many intricate and artful movements, turning now and then to cast his watchful eye down the pacific thoroughfare, the officer, with his stalwart form and slight swagger, made a fine picture of a guardian of the peace. The vicinity was one that kept early hours. Now and then you might see the lights of a cigar store or of an all-night lunch counter; but the majority of the doors belonged to business places that had long since been closed.
Now fill in the table below. In the left-hand column, you will find extracts from the passage which tell us something about the policeman. In the right-hand column, you will find some suggestions about what impressions we have of the policeman. I have done the first line for you: see if you can add to my points and fill in the remaining blanks: Extract `... the impressiveness was habitual.' `twirling his club with many intricate and artful movements ...' He is observant. He looks dependable and honest. `... guardian of the peace ...' Can you see how paying attention to the words chosen by the writer to describe the policeman gives us a clear sense, very early in the story, of the kind of man the policeman is? We would not expect this policeman to be corrupt, and what happens at the end of the story is entirely in keeping with these first impressions. The opening paragraphs of the story have introduced us to one of its main characters. It also tells us quite a bit about where the story is set. The references to an àvenue', a `cigar store', àn all-night lunch counter' and `business places' suggest that the setting of the story is a city, probably an American one. Later we discover that it is New York. Can you find the reference? Write out the sentence in the space provided below: ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... Another significant factor in the setting of the story is the reference to `Silky' Bob as a criminal from Chicago. During the Prohibition in the 1930s, Chicago was known for its gangsters, the most famous of whom was Al Capone. (Look up the words prohibition and gangster in your OALD.) The fact that the story is set in America and written by an American writer means that there are a number of words and phrases which might not be entirely familiar to us,
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Impression He is confident and self-assured.
and this gives us an opportunity to do some work with our dictionaries. In the following multiple-choice exercise . . . try to find the selected phrase in the story, and see if you can guess what the phrase or word means look up the highlighted word in your OALD select the answer that refers to the correct definition of the phrase.
1. òn the beat' (p. 33) (a) beat1 8 (b) beat2 3 (c) beat2 1(a) 2. `make certain it's all straight' (p. 34) (a) straight1 3 (b) straight1 8 (c) straight1 4 3. `the West is a pretty big proposition' (p. 35) (a) pretty adj (b) pretty adv (c) pretty IDM 4. Ì kept hustling around over it pretty lively' (p. 35) (a) hustle 2 (b) hustle 3 (c) hustle 4 5. `... going to get my pile' (p. 35) (a) pile1 1 (b) pile1 2 (c) pile2 6. `Going to call time on him sharp?' (p. 35) (a) sharp adj 1 (b) sharp adj 4 (c) sharp adv 1 Notice that in order to make the right choice of definition, you had to know how the word was being used in the sentence, that is, in context. This means that you have to guess at its meaning based upon what the other words in the sentence are doing. Then you have to test your guess against the entries in the dictionary in order to be sure. The beauty of having a dictionary like the OALD is that it helps us to understand how words can be used in different ways by people of different cultures. Notice, too, how many of the Americanisms in this story are used by `Silky' Bob, and hint at the fact that he could be a gangster, even before we know this for sure. The language used by
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the writer is one of the most effective ways in which his words on the page become a vibrant world in our imaginations. Who is telling the story? Imagine, for a moment, that Àfter Twenty Years' was told by `Silky' Bob to one of his fellow prisoners in New York City Jail. His view on what takes place might read like this:
Boy, was I sore. That Jimmy Wells. I mean, you think you know a guy. There I was, keeping an appointment I'm known for my punctuality, in my line of business being late or early for that matter can be a matter of life and death, no mistake. Anyway, so there I was, cooling my heels. Jimmy and me, well, we'd made a pact, see? To meet, after twenty years. Same place, same time, all that. So I'm waiting, and along comes the fuzz, and I feel under some pressure to explain my presence. So, lighting up a smoke, I do. He seems happy, he goes. Then whaddaya know, along comes another, and arrests me. Turns out the first guy was my Jimmy. Ha. There I was, telling him what a great guy he was, how I could always trust him, you know, salt of the earth and all that, and what does he do? Squeals. Squeals. You think you know a guy, even if a lot of water has passed under the bridge after twenty years. Boy, was I ever wrong about him.
Jimmy, on the other hand, would have another view on matters. Try to tell the story from his point of view, using the space provided below. (You might like to use the following words in your recreation of the story: dilemma, friendship, honourable, decision, conflict.) ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... Now compare the two `stories'. Can you see how the person telling the story will see events mainly in terms of how they affect him personally? In Àfter Twenty Years', however, we do not know the identity of the storyteller. We usually do not assume that the writer of the story and the storyteller (the narrator) are always the same. The narrator of this story is watching the events that take place, but is not personally involved. He is an observer, not a character. A narrator of this kind is called a `third9
person narrator'. We can tell when a story is told by a third-person narrator when all the characters are referred to as he, she or by their names. Do you think that a narrator who is not involved in the story's plot will be more reliable than one who is involved? Why? Or why not?
We are going to talk about a different kind of narrator when we study Alan Paton's `The Divided House', so it is important that you understand what is meant by a third-person narrator now.
Planning a paragraph At points throughout this study guide I have asked you to respond to multiple-choice questions and a comprehension quiz. I have asked you to copy down extracts from your dictionary and to fill in blank spaces. You have also done some creative writing, when you told the story of Àfter Twenty Years' from the point of view of Jimmy Wells. All of these exercises are designed to help you understand how the text works. The next stage in studying literature is putting together all of this information in a logical, well-expressed way. Later in this study guide, you will learn how to plan and write an essay, which is the form in which we usually write about literature and how it works. But at this stage, I would like to give you some practice in planning and writing a short response, in the form of a paragraph. (An essay is made up of a series of paragraphs: they are the building blocks of the essay.) Let's begin by looking at an example of a good paragraph. The paragraph was written in response to the following instruction:
In O. Henry's short story Àfter Twenty Years', we are given a number of subtle indications that Bob is a criminal before this is stated as a fact. Write a paragraph in which you explain how this effect is achieved. Although `Silky' Bob's identity is confirmed only at the end of Àfter Twenty Years', there are suggestions the alert reader of the story will pick up that `the man from the West' is a character of dubious morality. `Silky' Bob, obviously unsettled by the presence of the policeman, `quickly' (p. 34) explains his reasons for lurking in a dark doorway before he is asked to. He speaks in the language that we might imagine could be typical of a gangster, using words such as à pretty big proposition' and `hustling around ... pretty lively' (p. 35). Furthermore, he seems suspiciously and flamboyantly wealthy, as the `scarfpin' set with a `large diamond' (p. 34) and the `handsome watch' with a lid `set with small diamonds' (p. 35) testify. In a story as lean in details as Àfter Twenty Years', the reader is immediately made aware that these particulars are significant.
So what makes a good paragraph?

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Paragraph checklist . A good paragraph presents one main idea. Can you say what the main idea in the paragraph above is? Write down your response in the space below:
......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... . A good paragraph presents this main idea in a topic sentence which tells the reader what the paragraph is going to be about. In this case, the topic sentence is the first one. (Tip: you can often modify the main sentence in the question or instruction and use it as a topic sentence. This will also ensure that your response is to the point.) In a good paragraph, the topic sentence is supported by a discussion which expands on the main idea. How is the topic sentence supported in this case? Write your response in the space below (I have done the first example for you): (a) `Silky' Bob is made nervous by the presence of the policeman. (b) ............................................................................................................................. (c) ............................................................................................................................. . . . In a good paragraph, statements are supported by references to the text, which are properly acknowledged. A good paragraph may end with a statement that reinforces the topic sentence (although this is not absolutely necessary). A good paragraph is presented in the correct format. The first line is indented, and there are no free lines or spaces until the end. A line is left free between one paragraph and the next. A good paragraph contains more than one sentence, and those sentences are logically ordered and grammatically correct.
Did you notice how the examples from the text are integrated into the grammatical structure of the sentences? Compare sentence A and sentence B: C Sentence A: Furthermore, he seems suspiciously and flamboyantly wealthy, as the `... scarf-pin' set with a `... large diamond' (p. 34) and the `handsome watch' with a lid `set with small diamonds' (p. 35) testify. B Sentence B: Furthermore, he seems suspiciously and flamboyantly wealthy, as the `scarf-pin was a large diamond' and à handsome watch, the lids of it set with small diamonds' testify. In sentence B, the quotations have simply been included into the sentence without any consideration for whether they make grammatical sense in that sentence or not. In
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sentence A, the writer has quoted selectively, and uses ellipses (three dots) to indicate that words have been left out in order for the quotation to make sense. See if you can write a short response to one of the following statements. Write your answer in the space provided below.
Topic A: Write a paragraph in which you show how the setting of Àfter Twenty Years' contributes to our sense of who the characters are. OR Topic B: Is the impression we receive of the policeman in the first two paragraphs of the story supported or contradicted by later events? Give reasons for your answer.
......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... Check your paragraph against the paragraph checklist provided earlier in this tutorial. Summary If you have worked systematically through this lesson on Àfter Twenty Years', and if you have completed all the reading and writing exercises, these are the important things you have started to learn about the study of literature: . . . . . how to read a story effectively, making notes about what you read and checking information how to use a dictionary to find out how a word or phrase might be used in the American form what the following literary terms mean and how they work: plot, character, setting text, third-person narrator, context how a writer manipulates language and uses vocabulary to produce a certain effect how to plan and write a good paragraph.
You might feel a little unsure about some of these skills and ideas, in which case you should work through this lesson again. However, we will be discussing them again and
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again throughout this module, and we will continue to explain what they mean until you understand them thoroughly! `The Divided House' Preliminary Work Do you remember how we began our study of Àfter Twenty Years' by thinking about some of the main issues presented in the story before we actually read the story itself? We shall do the same with `The Divided House'. (The reason for approaching a story this way is that students often find it easier to understand a text if they read it from a position of knowledge, rather than from a position of ignorance. We begin by asking students about what they know, then move on to the unknown. You may find this approach very useful in your own teaching.) In your notebook, write down your responses to the following questions: . . . . . . When you were at school, what was your attitude towards discipline and schoolwork? Did you imagine that you would have a particular career? Are you fulfilling that dream now, or have circumstances changed? Do you sometimes feel divided within yourself, between good and evil? Do you know what will-power is? (If not, look up this term in your OALD.) Do you have strong or weak will-power? Are you easily able to distinguish between what is good for you and what might be bad for you? Do you agree that things that are bad for you are often the most tempting?
Anyone who has been on a diet, tried to give up smoking or to run five kilometres three times a week knows that self-discipline does not come easily! As a UNISA student you are probably very familiar with the difficulties of avoiding temptation, as studying through distance education requires a very special kind of self-discipline and self-motivation. The story we are about to read deals with all of the issues I have raised in my questions above: education, will-power and the difficulties we have in deciding between good and evil. I would like you to read the story in the same way as you read Àfter Twenty Years'; that is: . . . . read the story once, without stopping, until you reach the end pause for a moment and think about your first impressions of the story; jot these ideas down in your notebook read the story a second time, this time more slowly, underlining words or phrases that are unfamiliar and make notes in The Fiction Factor, or on a photocopy of the story, marking passages that strike you as important or interesting.
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What were your first impressions of the story? These were mine:
I found this story rather sad. I had a lot of sympathy for both of the main characters. I enjoyed reading a story set in my own country. The final paragraph seems to require careful attention I had better go back to it.
Before we go any further, you need to test your comprehension of the story, as well as your knowledge of some of the words in the text which are unfamiliar to you. Dictionary work . . . . Find where the words listed below are in `The Divided House'. Try to guess what they mean by examining their context. Look up the words in your OALD. Write down the correct meaning in the space provided under each word.
reformatory ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... absconded ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... irony ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... earnest ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... exemplary ......................................................................................................................................... .........................................................................................................................................
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insolence ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... a hard blow ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... anguish ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... gravity ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... impassive ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... follies ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... penitent ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... Comprehension Quiz 2 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. What is the young boy's name? Why is the boy popular amongst his schoolmates? What position in the school is held by the person telling the story? What is meant by the word freedom in the first paragraph (p. 118)? What are `the free hostels' (p. 120)? Who says À voice? What voice?' on page 119? Who says `Down at the trees by the stables' on page 122? Who says `Sometimes his manner is strange,' on page 122? What is `the terrible weed' (p. 125)? Who is the narrator of this story?
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Paraphrase Having read the story carefully, you are probably able to summarise, or paraphrase, the events of the story. Write down your paraphrase in the space provided below: ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... Compare your paraphrase with mine:
In `The Divided House', the Principal of a boys' reformatory school in South Africa tells the story of one of his pupils, a young boy called Jacky. When Jacky arrives at the school, he is initially given his freedom to wander around the reformatory farm as he wishes, but soon finds the temptation to abscond too great, and he runs away. He is caught and his privileges at the school are withdrawn. The Principal is, however, persuaded that Jacky has great potential and soon allows Jacky his freedom again. Jacky proves to be hard-working and an excellent football player; he also expresses a fervent desire to become a priest. However, Jacky is never able to resist temptation for long, and he is caught smoking dagga, a very serious offence. The school's `Special Court' decides that he may no longer attend lessons; this, however, does not prevent him from falling into a life of crime. Indeed, it has the opposite effect. The young boy is eventually sent to prison and in spite of receiving a letter from Jacky telling him that he still hopes to become a priest, the Principal is pessimistic about Jacky's hopes for the future.
I am sure you would agree with me that this paraphrase is useful for reminding us about what happens in the story, but it does not tell us enough about the deeper, more complex issues presented in the story. So let's move on to an analysis of HOW the story WORKS. The title We often learn a lot about a story from its title. Because a short story is short, the writer has to make sure that every detail of his text contributes to its general effect. So he or she often chooses a very striking title that conveys many suggestions to the reader.
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What do you think of when you think of a divided house?
The phrase a divided house may make you think of a building or a house with a break in the middle, a bit like this:
The picture above is what we would call a literal interpretation of the phrase a divided house. (Look up the word literal in your OALD.) Alan Paton's story is not about a split, broken or divided building in the literal sense, is it? But if we imagine a house as representing a person, or a group of people, then we find ourselves thinking about a divided house in its figurative sense. (Look up the word figurative in your OALD.)
What do you think the figurative suggestions of a divided house are? Here are some suggestions: a political party in turmoil a family torn apart a person who has to decide between two conflicting duties.
These figurative connotations come a lot closer to Paton's meaning, I think especially the last two. Not only is the title for this story rich in figurative meaning, but it would also have a special meaning for any reader who is familiar with St Matthew's Gospel in the Bible. Here is the relevant passage:
Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out the devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
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And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
(St Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 12, verses 2230)
. . .
Does this passage from the Bible seem applicable to Paton's story? Why? In what ways? Which character in the story seems to you to be a divided house? Jacky? The Principal? Both? In the Bible, the phrase a divided house also refers to the church which is torn between two factions. Does this reference have any bearing on Paton's story? (Keep in mind that the reformatory is run by the church and that the story is about temptation and the conflict between good and evil.)
If you were to draw a diagram of all of these figurative connotations, it might look something like this: A House or Home Split in Two LITERAL MEANING Personal Conflict Jacky FIGURATIVE CONNOTATIONS Temptation DIVIDED HOUSE St Matthew 12 BIBLE REFERENCE Good vs Evil Jacky wants to be a priest Conflict in ChurchPrincipal
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This diagram is called a mind-map: it is a picture of all the ideas we have about something and how they are often linked to one another. A mind-map is a useful step in understanding a text and in planning a written response. What a lot of associations are created by those three simple words in the title! If you were asked to write a short response on the significance of the title of Alan Paton's short story, `The Divided House', do you think you would be able to do so now? The conversations in `The Divided House' Look at pages 2832 of The Fiction Factor. Here you will find a story by Bessie Head, called `Looking for a Rain God'. Without reading the story itself, simply look at the appearance of the paragraphs on the page. You will notice immediately that there appears to be no speech in this story (other than the voice of the narrator him- or herself). Now compare Bessie Head's story with Paton's `The Divided House' contains a good deal of direct speech; to use a more suitable term, the story contains a lot of dialogue. If we pay attention to the dialogue in a story, we will find another way in which the text WORKS.
When you read `The Divided House', you may get a little confused about who is speaking. In order to make the identities of each speaker clear, pencil in their names in the margin, as I have done in the example below. Bear in mind that each character speaks in turn, so begin with a statement that you know is said by one of the characters, and work out the dialogue from there.
P=PRINCIPAL J=JACKY P J P J P J P J P J P J P Ànd what did you say?' Ì said, ``Father, what is the work?''' `Yes?' Ànd He said, ``Jacky, I want you to be a priest.''' I sat and considered it, and then I said to him, `That's a new kind of work for you.' If there was any irony, he took no notice. Ìt's a new kind of work,' he said. `How far have you been in school, Jacky?' `Standard four, father.' À priest has to go further than that.' Ì'm ready,' he said. `You're asking,' I said, `to go to the school?' `Yes, father.' `Then you can go to the school.' So Jacky was put in Standard Five in the School, and though not brilliant, he worked hard and well. In a few days he was back with the Head Teacher. `What is it, Jacky?' `Father, I am asking to go back to the free hostels.' Àbsconders don't go back to the free hostels,' I said. `They go back to the main building.'
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P J P
What is the effect of the dialogue in `The Divided House'? See if you can list three impressions you had about the dialogue in this story: 1. .................................................................................................................................... 2. .................................................................................................................................... 3. .................................................................................................................................... When we find dialogue in the story, the sense is created that the story is taking place before our eyes: the story seems to be happening in the present. This, in turn, creates an element of suspense. Further, the direct presentation of the dialogue has the effect of making us feel as if we are present, in the room where the conversation takes place. This increases our sense of emotional involvement in the story. Finally, because a character's words are not mediated through a narrator, they are possibly more reliable indications of what that character thinks and feels. For example, Jacky's words are few and respectful, suggesting that (in spite of his inability to adhere to the reformatory's rules) he has real respect for the Principal's authority. The Principal's gentle tone and thoughtful manner of speech imply that although he is a figure of authority, he is sensitive and sincere. Who is telling this story? Pause for a moment and return to the section on the narrator of Àfter Twenty Years'. You may remember that in O. Henry's story, there is a `third-person narrator'. In the space provided below, write down the distinguishing characteristics of a third-person narrator. ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... You may have noticed that the person telling the story of `The Divided House' is not a third-person narrator: . . . he is a character in the story he tells the story from his point of view he uses the pronouns Ì' and `we'.
We call this kind of narrator a first-person narrator.
What is the effect of first-person narration on the story, and on our understanding of the text? Write down your ideas in the space below. ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... .........................................................................................................................................
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......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... When we told the story of Àfter Twenty Years' from the point of view of `Silky' Bob, and then from the point of view of Jimmy Wells, we discovered that the person telling the story will often emphasise different things, may leave certain details out of his or her account, and may introduce other details that change our sense of what happens. So when we come across a first-person narrator, we must remember that . . . he or she cannot `see into' the thoughts and feelings of any of the other characters he or she may be biased (look up this word in your OALD) he or she is offering a very personal interpretation of the events that take place in the story.
However, I would not want to suggest that simply because a first-person narrator offers a very personal view, he or she is necessarily unreliable. The narrator needs to encourage the reader to believe that he or she is authoritative and trustworthy. How does the narrator of `The Divided House' try to convince us that his view of what happens in the story is reliable? Write down your response in the space provided below (you might like to include some of the following terms in your answer: authority, sympathy, sensitive, acknowledges failure, concern). ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... Does this short story have a special message? Very often a writer of a short story has a special reason for writing a story. O. Henry did not want simply to record what happens when two friends meet again after twenty years: it seems as if he wanted us to think about the morality of the two men's behaviour, and to test our own moral values against those of the characters in the story. He wanted us to put ourselves in the position of Bob and Jimmy and to imagine what we would do in similar circumstances. This deeper, more complex and personal side to the story is often called the `the moral of the story': . . . look up moral in your OALD find the definition of `the moral of the story' write down that definition in the space below
......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... However, the message or moral in a story is not always entirely clear and may even be ambiguous. This means that there may be more than one interpretation of what
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happens. In the following passage, you will read an interpretation of Àfter Twenty Years' that is very different from the one I presented earlier.
It is important to carefully assess Jimmy Wells's behaviour in concealing his identity and sending a colleague to arrest Bob. Some readers view Jimmy as having integrity and doing the right thing by having Bob arrested. But Jimmy could be seen as a treacherous individual who betrays his friend's trust. Jimmy puts his professional role before his humanity and loyalty as a friend. This makes all the early references to his character distinctly ironic. In fact, his sending of the colleague to do the work of arresting Bob may be seen as cowardly. Moreover, Bob might be a crook in the eyes of the law, but he is still a true friend, as his keeping of the pact and his compliments about Jimmy show.
You would be forgiven for throwing up your hands in despair at this stage. `But what is the right interpretation?', you ask. I have deliberately kept this point of view out of our main discussion of Àfter Twenty Years', because I wanted to make sure that you felt confident about the material, and I did not want to confuse you at that early stage. But I think you will agree that the above interpretation is quite convincing in many ways. My point is that there is rarely a single, absolutely correct interpretation of a story and that writers often include in their texts information that can be read in a number of ways. This makes our reading of the story creative and imaginative. We move from being passive receivers of a text to being co-creators of the story. However, as always, we MUST SUPPORT our views by close references to the text itself. Ambiguity in a story can also arise from allusions (look up this word in your OALD) and indirect statements that require us to think carefully about all the possibilities of what is being said. Vagueness and difficulty in a short story need not be seen as bad things, or problems, but rather as elements in the story which keep our imaginations working. In a sense, these appeals to our imaginations give the story a life beyond the words on the page. In Àfter Twenty Years', some ambiguity rests in our assessment of Jimmy Wells's behaviour. In `The Divided House', the message or moral of the story is what holds our attention most forcefully. The final paragraph, in particular, concludes the story by offering a broader message that seems to have a relevance beyond the details of the story itself. . . . . . . . . Read the last paragraph of `The Divided House' again. What do you think the moral of the story is? What `struggle' is still being waged? Whose struggle is still being waged? Why does the narrator write `so far as men knew'? What does he mean when he says that Jacky would `give up hope and ghost'? What ènemy' will `have sole tenancy of the divided house'? What does the narrator feel about Jacky by the end of the story?
Paton has deliberately used sweeping and vague terms in this final paragraph in order to suggest that what is at stake here is not only the fate of a young boy, but also the effectiveness of the reform system and the church in general. His tone is one of deep
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regret and, I think, a sense of personal failure that the good in Jacky has been `defeated' and the bad `recompensed' (p. 126). Short stories are particularly suited to the communication of a moral or message because they are short, they very often have only two or three main characters, and a simple plot. This means that the message does not become obscured by detail and lots of information. The fact that a short story often has a message for the reader makes the short story a very interesting and useful subject for teaching at primary and secondary school level. Learners can read the story over a relatively short period, and they can get on with the interesting business of talking about what they have read. To conclude this section of the tutorial letter, here is a report from a educator about why she likes teaching short stories:4
The basic aim in teaching short stories is to provide experiences which are likely to encourage pupils to continue reading short stories for the rest of their lives. Pupils generally require help in understanding and thus relating to the characters, events and ideas presented by the author. Pupils who turn to short stories in magazines and books most probably do so for the pleasure they provide in illustrating how people either solve their problems or succumb to them. This increases the readers' understanding of themselves and others, providing a variety of experiences which they themselves will never have at first hand, mirroring personal ideas and feelings, playing up conflicts within individuals as well as human conflicts with nature and society. Such things very often create suspense and reveal such qualities in the characters as love, jealousy, cowardice, courage, greed, fear, envy or unselfishness. The many great collections of short stories of the world often show that people of various cultures frequently have more in common with each other than is generally realised.
Summary If you have worked carefully through this study guide and if you have completed all of the writing and reading exercises, these are the things you will have learnt: . . . . . . how a title works what a first-person narrator is and how he or she affects our understanding of the story the effects of dialogue how ambiguity is created in a text and what we do about it how a story can present a message or moral for us to think about what the following literary terms mean and how they work: literal, figurative, connotation, ambiguity, suspense.
You have also revised skills in dictionary work, reading, writing and paraphrasing.
4. Brown V.J.M. and Marshall M.C. 1996.Exploring and Teaching Fiction. Manual 1 for Course 3 of the Further Diploma in Education: English. Pretoria: University of South Africa, p. 58.
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`The Suit'
Read the following newspaper article, and answer the questions that follow:
Man held after wife's suicide

SOPHIATOWN Ayoung husband was taken into police custody today after the body of his adulterous wife was found in their Sophiatown home. Neighbours contacted the authorities after the man, Philemon _____, was heard wailing from his bedroom, calling his wife's name. They observed that while alcohol could be smelt on the man's breath, he did not appear to be intoxicated. A man identifying himself as a family friend, Mr M. Maphikela, told reporters that the husband was ìn a bad way': Ì heard him screaming his wife's name. He was also saying, I pushed her, I pushed her' How. ever, the young wife, Matilda ______, had not been pushed. While police were unwilling to say how she had died, neighbours speculated that she had cut her wrists. It is believed that relations between the couple, previously thought of by friends as happily married, had recently soured. Mr Maphikela reported that Matilda was suspected of having had an adulterous affair some time ago. Although the affair was believed to be over, the husband had been emotionally distraught. Did you find this article interesting? . . . Do you think the wife, Matilda, committed suicide, or did her husband murder her? Who do you think the suit belongs to? Would you like to know more about the people and the events that lead to this article? Police were seen taking from the scene of the apparent suicide a well-laundered man's suit, which the husband had been found attempting to tear into shreds. The sight of the suit being loaded into the boot of the police car provoked considerable interest in eyewitnesses, many of whom appeared to recognize this item of clothing. A friend of the deceased, a fellow member of the Married Women's Cultural Club of Sophiatown, said that the suit had been a constant presence in the household.The deceased and her husband, she said,`seemed to be playing a game with that suit. Matilda would take it every week to the Sixty Minutes [a local laundromat] and give it a place at the table at mealtimes. She even made it a guest of honour at her party yesterday.That suit! I thought it was a funny game. But Matilda didn't seem to enjoy it any more.' The body, wrapped in a candlewick bedspread, was taken to Sophiatown mortuary. The husband was lead weeping from his house and has been taken to the Jeppe Street police station for questioning. It is not known whether a charge will be laid.
I hope you answered `Yes' to the last question, because Can Themba's short story `The Suit' is all about these people and that mysterious suit. You may have guessed by now that the article on the previous page was not taken from a newspaper, but made up by
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me. You might like to try writing a newspaper article yourself, based upon the stories you have already read. They could have one of the following article headings:
`Silky' Bob caught by neighbourhood cop NY policeman nabs old friend Reformatory Principal testifies at boy's trial Would-be priest chooses life of crime
Writing about a story in this way is a useful exercise, because it . . . . makes us aware of how difficult creative writing is! gives us practice in writing both creatively and critically helps us to revise the story makes us aware of the difference between a summary of events and an analysis of how a story works.
You might like to try this method of introducing new work in your own classroom. In order to write the article I summarised some of the events that take place in `The Suit', but I had to leave out all of the complex emotions and motives experienced by the main characters in the story. You must be wondering about the reasons for Matilda's affair, about how Philemon reacted, about the meaning of the suit, and about why the story ends so tragically. So now you are ready to read the story itself. Remember: . . . read the story once without stopping record your first impressions in your notebook and read the story a second time, making notes.
By now, this way of reading effectively should be almost automatic! You should also be getting more familiar with using your dictionaries and working out what words mean in context, so in this tutorial I won't select words for you to look up: I shall hope that you will do this on your own. Notice that Themba uses a number of words in his story that would be unfamiliar to many of his readers: words such as `peristalsis', `matutinal' and `Te Deum', for example, are not common. If you look them up in your dictionary, you will find out what they mean; however, you will also notice that not knowing what one or two words mean in a story need not prevent us from understanding the story as a whole. This is why I first ask you to read the story once, without stopping and without consulting your dictionaries. This way you discover how to work out what words mean by their context. However, you will want to test your comprehension of the story. Here is a multiplechoice quiz?5 that is a lot more demanding than the ones you have worked through thus far, because it asks you for interpretation as well as factual details. You must choose ONE answer (either a, b, c or d) to each question. See how many you can do!
5 This multiple-choice worksheet is adapted from: Brown V. J. M. and Marshall Christine. 1996. Exploring and Teaching Fiction. Manual 1 for Course 3 of the Further Diploma in Education: English. Pretoria: University of South Africa, pp. 5052.
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Quiz 1. `The candlewick bedspread frowned'. This is an important detail of the setting because: (a) (b) (c) (d) it it it it shows that Matilda is an untidy housekeeper. reveals the presence of magic in the story. shows the disapproval of the narrator. indicates that something unpleasant is going to happen.
2. `He leaned over and peered at the sleeping serenity of his wife: to him a daily matutinal miracle'. Philemon's feeling about his wife is: (a) (b) (c) (d) critical. adoring. short-sighted. superior.
3. Philemon's feelings of happiness and contentment are emphasised at the beginning of the story: (a) (b) (c) (d) to to to to show us that he is an even-tempered character. show the reader that Matilda is very lucky. create a contrast with his future bitterness. teach us that you can never remain happy for long.
4. We learn something about Philemon in this passage: `how he enjoyed taking in a tray of warm breakfast to his wife, cuddled in bed. To appear there in his supreme immaculacy, tray in hand when his wife comes out of ether to behold him'. Philemon serves his wife breakfast in bed because: (a) (b) (c) (d) she is the dominant partner in the marriage. he wants to spoil her and to please her. she is a poor cook. he wants to be admired by her.
5. The words in fortissimo mean: (a) (b) (c) (d) like an Italian would speak. loudly. echoing. as if enclosed in a fort.
6. When Philemon hears Maphikela's news, he is: (a) (b) (c) (d) shocked. devastated. shattered. all of the above.
7. The setting of the lurching bus has been deliberately chosen to: (a) suggest Philemon's disturbed state.
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(b) introduce some local details. (c) show that Philemon is superior to the other passengers. (d) highlight the problem of reckless driving. 8. What is the effect of the words, Ìn the lightning flash that the eye can whip', which precede Philemon's observation of his wife and lover? The quotation suggests: (a) (b) (c) (d) an approaching storm. danger. intense cruelty. all of the above.
9. Philemon decides that he will punish his wife by making the suit a constant reminder of her guilt. This shows us that Philemon is: (a) (b) (c) (d) forgiving. mature. playful. sadistic.
10. Philemon forces Matilda to serve food to the suit. He wants to: (a) humiliate her. (b) train her in good manners. (c) tease her. (d) enrich her fantasy life. 11. The reason that Matilda joins the Cultural Club is that she wants to: (a) (b) (c) (d) restore her shattered self-esteem. find something else to do. show Philemon that she is as good as he is. learn more about her culture.
12. Matilda commits suicide because: (a) (b) (c) (d) she believes that Philemon will never forgive her. she can no longer live without love. she is in total despair after her humiliation at the party. all of the above.
Character Can Themba's story (and many of the questions above) make us think about Matilda and Philemon, the ways they behave and the reasons for their behaviour. The story makes us think about whether Philemon was right or wrong to punish Matilda for her infidelity. It also makes us think about whether we feel sympathy for the married couple, and whether our feelings towards them change. In other words, we think a lot about character in `The Suit'. Even the suit itself seems to become another character in the story!
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A short story writer has to make us create in our minds a picture of what his or her characters look like. In the space below, see if you can draw a picture of Matilda and Philemon. (It doesn't matter if you are not very good at drawing; but try to put in some details of what you think the characters look like.) Do you think that the writer creates in his reader some sympathy for Philemon. Imagine that this issue was the subject for an assignment or exam. The instruction might look something like this:
While there can be little doubt in the reader's mind that Philemon's punishment of Matilda in `The Suit' is cruel and extreme, the reader does not entirely lose sympathy for Philemon. Discuss how Can Themba creates this sympathy in the reader.
Planning a short response In order to write an answer to this topic, we need to: . . . . collect evidence to support our answer plan the line our argument will take organise our paragraphs carefully and put together a bibliography.
1. Collecting evidence. Go back to p. 11 of this Tutorial Letter, and revise the section on Some impressions: Who? What? How? Look again at the table in which I list the impressions we have of the policeman in Àfter Twenty Years', and the extracts from the text that support these impressions. This is one of the first steps we need to take in collecting our evidence for this task on `The Suit', too. Try to fill in the table below: I have done the first and last ones for you. Evidence Impressions
`he leaned over and peered at the Philemon seems to adore his wife: this sleeping beauty of his wife: to him a makes the shock of her adultery all the daily matutinal miracle' more painful, and creates some sympathy in the reader for his agony. òffering his wordless Te Deum to whatever gods for the goodness of life; for the pure beauty of his wife...' `He smiled at the odd caprice of the heavens...' `The fire he was making soon licked up cheerfully, in mood with his contentment'
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Evidence `he denied ... that he was one of those who believed in putting his wife in her place even if she was a good wife. Not he.' `Matilda, too, appreciated her husband's kindness'
Impressions
`The calm he achieved was tense ... but At this stage in the story, Philemon seems he could think now ... he could take a to reject passion for coldness and delibdecision.... erate cruelty. At this point, the reader's sympathy for Philemon begins to lessen. Ìn screwish anguish, Philemon cried, We might feel the return of sympathy at ``Tilly!''' this point? 2. Preparing our argument. Having collected our evidence that supports the view that the reader does have some sympathy for Philemon, we need to plan how we are going to present that evidence convincingly. At this early planning stage, we could sketch out our ideas in the form of a mind-map like the one below: Matilda Does out sympathy return? Sense of Harmony
Setting READER'S SYMPATHY FOR PHILEMON Why is this important?
Created at beginning of story
Do we lose sympathy? Why? When?
Told from Philimon's perspective Now we could present this mind-map in a linear form, that is, in the order in which it will appear in our written response:
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Introduction Refer to the topic, stating why it is important that we have sympathy for Philemon. Topic sentence one: The reader's sympathy for Philemon is created mainly in the opening pages of the story. (Supply evidence.) Topic sentence two: The reader is justified in being well-disposed towards Philemon because the setting and Matilda herself seem to support this. (Supply evidence.) Qualify? This part of the story is, however, told largely from Philemon's point of view.) Topic sentence three: Our sympathy for Philemon is not, however, sustained. (State why.) Topic sentence four: Nevertheless, some readers may feel a return of sympathy at the end of the story. (State why.) Conclusion Restate the main points made. Here you could refer to the ambiguities attached to the reader's sympathy for Philemon (refer to the section on ambiguity (on pages 2627 of this Tutorial Letter).
3. Write out the answer in properly structured paragraphs. Now you will have to revise the section on paragraph writing supplied earlier in this study guide. However, in the lesson on Àfter Twenty Years', we concentrated mainly on writing just one paragraph. In this exercise, however, you need to write a series of paragraphs. Therefore, bear in mind the following points: . . Each paragraph should discuss one main idea only. Each paragraph should follow on logically from the one that goes before it.6
You will notice from the linear plan above that I have structured the answer according to an introduction, four topic sentences and a conclusion. This means that there will be six paragraphs in you essay: one for the introduction and conclusion, and one each for each of the topic sentences. In the following pages, I have written the introductory paragraph, and the paragraphs for topic sentences 2 and 4. You should attempt to fill in the remaining paragraphs; that is, the paragraphs for topic sentences 1 and 3 and the conclusion. While there can be little doubt in the reader's mind that Philemon's punishment of Tilly in `The Suit' is cruel and extreme, the reader does not entirely lose sympathy for Philemon. It is important that the reader does feel at least some compassion for the central character of the story, in order that his reactions may be regarded as both
6. For further guidance on these matters, refer to `The ``Write'' Approach' (ENGALLY Tutorial Letter 301 for 1999).
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significant and in certain respects understandable. Without the reader's sympathy, `The Suit' would merely be about a tyrant and his victim. With the reader's sympathy, however, the story becomes layered with complexities and ambiguities that provoke and sustain our interest. The following essay will trace the ways in which Themba creates compassion for his main character. It also considers the extent to which these feelings are sustained. ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... Moreover, the reader is justified in being well disposed towards Philemon because the setting and Matilda herself seem to support this. The fact that `the fire he was making soon licked up cheerfully, in mood with his contentment' (p. 135) creates the impression of a man working with confidence in his environment, a man who deserves our approval and admiration. This suggestion of contentment is supported by the mention of a `water kettle humming' (p. 135), as if in harmony with Philemon's `huhhuh-huing one of those fugitive tunes' (p. 135). In keeping with the sense of harmony created by the setting in these early pages, Matilda, too, is described as àppreciat[ing] her husband's kindnesses' (p. 136). While it must be acknowledged that all of these circumstances are presented from Philemon's point of view, and might therefore be one-sided, there is little in the text to lessen the reader's sympathy for this apparently happy and loving husband. ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... .........................................................................................................................................
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......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... Nevertheless, some readers may feel a return of sympathy for Philemon at the end of the story. His `screwish anguish' (p. 148) may make readers who recall the kind and confident man of the story's early pages feel some compassion and acknowledge that in imposing such a severe punishment he, as well as Matilda, becomes a victim of his own behaviour. However, it is uncertain whether Philemon's final cry is enough to restore entirely the sympathy the reader felt for the character at the beginning of the story. ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... 4. Bibliography. Every piece of writing must contain a bibliography in which all of the sources used in the research and writing of the answer are acknowledged. Our bibliography would look like this:
Bibliography
Hornby, A.S. 1995. Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Fifth Edition. Edited by Jonathan Crowther. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Levey, David. 1990. ed. The Fiction Factor. Pretoria: University of South Africa. Themba, Can. `The Suit'. In Levey (ed.), pp. 13448. Summary In this lesson we have revised some of the concepts, terms and skills introduced earlier, such as the roles played by ambiguity, character and setting in a story, and how to collect evidence to support an impression of a text. We have also learned some new skills: .
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how to interpret a text to uncover some of its more complex suggestions
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. . . .
how how how how
to to to to
write a series of paragraphs construct and support an argument on a given subject plan a short essay and write a bibliography. Compiled by Karen Scherzinger
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TALKING ABOUT DRAMA
STUDY UNIT 2
Talking about Drama __________________________________________________________________
While you are probably very comfortable, at this point, working with fiction and poetry, studying plays may be unfamiliar to you. You may have an idea about drama one which makes you nervous. Rest assured, you are not the only one. Read what Mannie Manim (Fugard, 1992:xixii) has to say about his experiences of the theatre:
I was an usher/stage hand pulling the curtain, and up to that point had thought that theatre was only about people who spoke with English or American accents; that it was about people who lived far away and whom we had little or no chance of ever meeting. They were mostly unreal people in unreal situations.
Do you feel the same way? Well, you may find that the play, Happy Natives challenges it. This course will help you respond to the prescribed work as both a script (as the text is known in drama) and performance (acting out the play, usually before an audience). Many people, as1 Batley and Spencer point out, make the mistake of thinking that they can read drama from the printed page just as they read a novel or a poem. In other words, if we ignore the essential differences between these genres we are going to miss a great deal when we read a play. Batley and Spencer argue that if we know that drama has its own discourse, that is, its own structures, vocabulary and rhetoric, then we are able to interpret a play and visualise it as it might be in performance. We have to remember that a playwright writes a play to be acted, not just read.
Two Important definitions: Rhetoric in drama is speech style. Tone and language structures are usually those of everyday conversation because characters speak to each other in a way that makes their speech believable to the audience. Dramatic discourse is the kind of language we use in drama and the ways in which the language is used. There must be dialogue only, and this distinguishes drama from fiction and poetry. Discourse can also include stage directions.
1. Batley Karen and Spencer, Brenda. Study Guide FDEEN6H/1.
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In the first section of these notes, we will examine the technical aspects of a play. Some of the terms may seem strange to you these will be explained as we go along. Having your Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (OALD) on hand will prove useful. Also, refer to the Glossary at the end of this course. I suggest that you have a notebook where you jot down answers and thoughts as you work through the plays.
So what are we talking about when we talk about drama? The following discussion between two students may prove useful (McRoberts, 1981:9899):
S1. `Well, it's about plays and things, isn't it? Actors, a stage, costumes, lights, an audience ... .' S2. `Wait a minute. You're describing theatre, not drama. What about radio plays and TV plays? When you come to think of it, a film is in some ways a type of dramatic performance too.' S1. `Why don't we define a play as a story written to be performed?' S2. `Yes, that is useful. I was going to say it's any writing in dialogue form, but then I suddenly thought you could write down what we were saying as dialogue and still nobody would call it a play. This is not drama: it's just a discussion.' S1. `True. What's missing is excitement and interesting developments the story part of the play. Drama should be dramatic.' S2. `Yet not all plays are really dramatic in the sense of keeping you on the edge of your seat. I'm inclined to think that we go back to the ``story written to be performed''. Everything else can be built into that: different types of performance medium (theatre or radio or whatever), different emphasis (more performance medium theatre or radio or whatever), different emphasis (more dramatic action, or characterization, or discussion even), different styles and so on.' S1. `So how do we write a play then? Just take any good short story, or even a novel if you are ambitious, cut out all the description and the author's comments, and rewrite it as dialogue?' S2. `Yes, I suppose so. But come to think of it, that's not how it really happens, is it? The whole emphasis is different conversations are at least as important as action. And there are restrictions on what you can show on the stage, anyway.'
What do you think? Do you agree with what has been discussed? Are there some ideas that you would like to add? It would be useful at this point to jot down your thoughts in a notebook. If you have never been to a play, don't despair: jot down what you imagine it to be. If we were to extract the main points from the discussion, we could reasonably state that plays . . . tell stories; therefore the various guidelines that you used to explore other texts in previous courses still apply. are stories in dialogue form; therefore the emphasis is very much on what is revealed in conversation, in character and interpersonal relations. are dramatic stories; therefore the elements of action and conflict are important.
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are stories written to be performed; therefore everything must be conveyed through what can be said or acted out.
Open your text and even if you haven't read the play in detail at the moment, look at page xii and page 1. What do you see? Here is a point to consider: Why does the writer provide us with a list of characters right at the outset? Why does he not wait for us to discover them, as we did in the stories we studied? Answer the following questions: 1. How does the play begin? What is the purpose of this passage? ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... 2. How do we know who is speaking the various lines of dialogue? ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... 3. What is the purpose of the words set in italics? Who wrote these lines? ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... The play begins, not with dialogue but with a descriptive passage about the setting and the characters. This is commonly known as stage directions the instructions, details and notes that the playwright provides to assist actors, the director (person who organises the production and gives the play vision and purpose) and technical staff (people responsible for the scenery, lighting, costumes and make-up) to create the appropriate atmosphere and characters. Stage directions are a vital aspect of the modern play script. All directions (i.e. everything necessary to the play's staging except the actual dialogue) are printed to distinguish them from speeches: setting, time, set details, lighting are generally set in italics and acting directions in bracket. Can you find two examples each from the play? Write them down in the space provided. ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... .........................................................................................................................................
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Returning to the question of why characters are revealed right at the beginning of the play: unlike a novel or poem which can be examined at your own leisure, a play is specifically created to be performed in public at a pre-determined pace (the rate at which the play develops) this method of revealing the characters helps the playwright to condense the story. This does not mean that directors have to stick rigidly to these directions. Bear in mind that the written script is not the final play, it is merely a guide or foundation. Shakespeare's plays, although written in English and set during a period foreign to most of us, have been enjoyed throughout the world by many generations. That is because a good play does not rely on a specific set or time period to be good a good play is one which makes us look at ourselves and the world in a new way. In the preceding conversation, the word dialogue is used. Again, playwrights use a special kind of discourse. Unlike novelists, playwrights have to convey the bulk of information about characters, what they are like, what they are feeling or thinking, what is happening, and how they relate to each other via dialogue. Of course, the set design, props, costume and stage directions all help to enhance the dialogue. A stage contains a set. All action takes place within this set. In conventional theatre, there is a realistic set which helps to create an illusion. For example, if Happy Natives were staged in a conventional, traditional manner, then Scene Three (p. 6), where Mto is standing in the yard of his newly acquired home in the suburb of Woodlands, would be constructed with as much detail as possible. This would entail using furniture, props, etc. to create the illusion that we are actually looking at a home in suburban South Africa. Realistic details and real fixtures and furniture are common features of a box set. Illustration of a box set (Cohen 1981:106)
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Modern theatre set design often seeks to break this illusion. A sparse set without realistic furniture and props is one way of preventing an audience from becoming emotionally submerged in a play. Often plays with a socio-political message actively work against the illusion in order that the audience think critically about issues rather than just simply be entertained. The stage directions in Happy Natives are fairly open, leaving it up to the creative team of director and stage designers to decide whether they want to go the realistic, traditional route or whether they want to be more suggestive and abstract in their approach (for example, using boxes and frames to suggest different spaces). Stage properties or props is the term which refers to anything essential to the action of the play which does not come under the heading of costume, furniture or scenery. This would include, for example: Jimmy's gun; Mto's box when he is cleaning out the garage. Make a list of other props that might be required for the play. Costumes are a vital part of characterisation. They do not necessarily have to represent the historical time period. For example, the characters of Macbeth, one of Shakespeare's famous plays need not be in traditional/historical costume of England. Macbeth has been performed in a Zulu setting with traditional African costume being worn. One production set it in modern day corporate America, with the actors wearing suits and ties! Consider what costumes the characters of Happy Natives should wear and justify your choice. ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... Before we move on to an analysis of the play, let us examine another form of writing about theatre the play review! Play reviews can close a production on opening night or can put `bums on seats'! A theatre ticket is generally expensive and many people rely on theatre critics to help them decide which productions to attend.
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Read the following review of Happy Natives and consider the following: . based solely on the strength of the review, would you like to see this play? . is the critic being objective? . what comments are made about the direction of the play and why would this be of value to the theatre-goer? . how does the critic analyse the plot? . what commentary is provided on the acting? . how is the audience taken into consideration? (Consider the publication in which this review appears.)
HAPPY NATIVES
Soho Theatre + Writers' Centre, London WI Opened 3 September, 2002
South African Greig Coetzee's Edinburgh debut in 2000 gained him a Fringe First for his semi-autobiographical play, White MenWith Weapons. His offering this year, Happy Natives, is now on show at the SohoTheatre + Writers' Centre. Coetzee admits in the programme that the play, performed as a two-hander with James Ngcobo and himself taking a total of eight or so roles, could easily have become`à humourless diatribe'' It could indeed; it's the kind of ``whither South Africa?'' piece that asks how . integrated the Rainbow Nation truly is now, or whether Boer reactionaries, patronising liberals and even chippy black people are just rubbing together perfunctorily. But it's a lot cleverer and more complex than it at first appears. Even minor characters whom one might expect to be cartoons acquire depth and humanity.When an armed policeman tersely orders Ngcobo's main character Mto to fetch his ``boss'' only to be told that , no, Mto himself owns this house in a comfortable Durban suburb, we think we're in for a bout of Boer redneckery; in fact, though, the cop turns out quite affable in his brusque way, perfectly ready to talk turke and share gripes without degenerating into a racist ogre. This is the way Coetzee's play works throughout its 80 minutes; it's excellent at showing misunderstanding and suspicion as part of the fabric of life, but never becomes bludgeoning. Characters sound familiar fundamental notes, then carry us off along unexpectedly lively tunes, counterpointing seriousness with deadpan cynicism and dramatic irony from which no character of any race escapes. Mto is asked by a pair of white liberals to join them in making a government-funded theatre piece to attract inward investment to South Africa; consequently we see the differing perspectives of his neighbours as well as the theatre and government folk. The very title Happy Natives is a disdainful description of the kind of shallow, cliche d spectacle that seems to be expected; and no disrespect intended, but as Mto and his colleagues work on the piece, it's hard not to think of current West End jamboree Umoja, just about to move into Cats' old home at the New London theatre. In performance, under Christine Harmar-Brown's direction, Mto is the only character who is not visibly a caricature; Coetzee's exaggerated coquetry as the female producer had me
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especially wary. But this simplicity is the sugar that helps the cunningly blended medicine go down. Nine times out of ten a play like this would just be so much worthy culturalpolitical exotica, perhaps polished up to be a kind of theatre-in-education piece for grown-ups; Coetzee's gift is to make us genuinely enjoy thinking about such things. Written for the Financial Times.
Copyright ## Ian Shuttleworth; all rights reserved.

http://www.cix.co.uk/~shutters/reviews/02051.htm Now that you are familiar with some of the theatrical terms, we can proceed to analyse the play. So, in keeping with theatre supersitions, `break a leg'! (http://www.ihigh.com/drama/thingstuff/thingstuff_superstitions.html.)
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STUDY UNIT 3
The play: Happy Natives __________________________________________________________________________________________
Unsettling. Controversial. Disturbing. Provocative. Challenging. These are some of the terms I hope you use to describe the play after your initial reading. As we explained in your Tutorial Letter 101, the books we have prescribed are not easy to read. The issues in the texts often yank you out of your comfort zone, they confront and challenge your world view and do not expect Hollywood-style neat resolutions. You might take offence at the language used or discussions on race, sexuality and gender. Rest assured that you are expected to have a point of view. The skill lies in being able to critically analyse and debate these issues utilising academic discourse, regardless of your personal opinion. Let me stress that we are not espousing any particular point of view! We actively encourage debate and enjoy any critical engagement with the texts if it is structured as critical, academic argument as befits an English university student. SATIRE Happy Natives is a satire a literary work which holds up human vices and follies to ridicule and scorn. In other words, Happy Natives comments, in a humorous manner, on the serious and potentially explosive issues of stereotyping, racial profiling, cultural integration, misunderstanding and suspicion in the new South Africa. It employs humour, dramatic irony, caricature, reversal of expectation, contradictions and the unexpected. Jonathan Swift is credited with saying that `Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but there own' Can you explain this? .................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... Why would satire be such an effective medium through which to deal with these issues?
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THE PLAY: HAPPY NATIVES
Characters Revealed A playwright may use many different methods to encourage us to interpret the characters' personalities and motives. This is called characterisation and includes: . . Appearance: The physical description of a character can tell us a great deal, as can comments on the clothes they wear. Some playwrights provide detailed directions in this respect. How characters speak and what they do: The type of vocabulary used and the way a character puts sentences together will give us many indications about the person's age, background, attitudes and personality. A character's accent can also be a clue. How characters are described by others: Other methods of characterisation include: what characters say about themselves what the playwright says about them the reaction of characters to certain situations the reaction of characters to their environment their attitude to life their habits and moods
. .
(Cookson:1987, p. 14)
Now, in order to check whether you have understood all that has been discussed, attempt the following exercise. Look at the example below which shows how the information concerning the character has been extracted from the script. Looking at the play, continue to extract all the relevant information. Use the above points to help you. Character Information from text
I hope that you are now aware of the various methods of characterisation that the playwright uses to make us aware of the important facts about the people around whom the play's drama revolves.
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Backgrounds and Settings The setting or background of a play is never accidental; the playwright chooses it for a specific reason. We are all influenced by the environment we live in. Now consider the play and decide its setting and period (the time during which it was set). Complete the table below, providing further supporting details from the text. Setting Woodlands (suburb in Durban, SA) Supporting details Time
STEREOTYPES Hazel Barnes, on the back cover of your text, states that Coetzee shows us in Happy Natives that `no human being in fact fits into the images that the media would like to sell us ...'.What does the media have to do with a dramatic work? In order to answer this question we need to first understand a few basic concepts. Representation
As an experiment to help you understand this concept, watch a sample of prime-time (6pm9pm) TV programmes over a one week period and record your observations. In your analysis you should examine the following portrayal of: . . . . . women people of colour blue-collar workers (look it up!) people with disabilities elderly people
(adapted from Silverblatt, p. 29)
This portrayal of people in media is termed representation and is closely linked to stereotyping. A basic concept in understanding media, television, advertising and drama is that àll images are a representations of reality ... A representation is a construction made by the sender of the message. The selection of a particular image can influence or limit our reading [interpretation]'
(Greenaway, p. 26).
Ìn all media we are presented with views of the world ways in which to behave, ways in which we could live, the types of clothes that one could wear. The most obvious medium in which this is happening is in advertising, but we also respond to favourite pop groups, film stars, TV characters. Values are suggested by producers of all media products. Even though we might not be as
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aware of it as we are in adverts, all of the time we are being how to live our lives in a certain way by identifying with what we see on TV and in other media. What we should also remember is that the view of the world that we are given is not simply a `window'. This view is deliberately constructed through the whole production process of any media 1 product.'
(Kruger and Wall, p. 45)
View any relevant advert on television (beer, supermarket chain, etc.) and consider how the advertisers are trying to influence your formulation of multi cultural relationships. As consumers of media, Kruger and Wall remind us of the need to continually ask ourselves: If there is a message, where does it come from and who decides what it is? (Kruger and Wall, p. 55). In other words, we need (and this is a message repeated in all modules in English Studies) to be critical in our perspectives and interpretations.
Following this, the obvious question to ask would be, `What are stereotypes?' In the space below write down your own thoughts on this topic. Do not consult a dictionary at this stage. ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... Now, consider some common stereotypes that hold for the following groups of people (adapted from Tallim, p. 1). Be perfectly honest when expressing yourself and don't worry about the monster of political correctness. It is, after all, an exercise to examine these very stereotypes and concepts and there can be no critical, academic discourse if we are not frank about these issues: . . . . . Americans Government Officials Teachers Film stars Mothers-in-law
Stereotypes are general ideas of a person, created without taking the whole person into account. When we stereotype a group of people, we depict all of the individuals within that group as having the same characteristics even though they are probably all very different. People often use labels or categories to describe others and these labels can be based on such characteristics as clothing, looks, the way a person talks, or the groups to which he or she belongs.
1. Kruger, S and Wall, I. 1987. The Media Pack. London: Macmillan Education Ltd.
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When we make assumptions about an entire group of people, those assumptions are referred to as stereotypes. When assumptions and stereotypes influence our attitudes, we may find that making a fair judgement about someone or something is difficult. This influence is called a ``bias''. (http://www.xiangtan.co.uk/readingstereotypes.htm)
Jane Tallim, an education specialist with the Media Awareness Network, stresses that we should bear in mind that stereotypes (particularly those depicted in television/ music videos/advertisements, even textbooks), are fixed or conventional images of a person or group of people. They are also, she goes on to say, less real, more perfect (or imperfect) and more predictable than their real-life counterparts. Consider the following analysis of the typical male stereotype, adapted from Tallim's account (http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/lessons/elementary/ stereotyping/tr_stereotypes.clm): Typical Male Stereotype/Real Man . . . . . . adventurous masterful intelligent unshakeable does not cry or show overt emotion physically strong
Although this is a rather simplistic reduction of what constitutes a `real man', you can appreciate that such a stereotype presents viewers/an audience with a character they can easily relate to and identify with. (Consider which character in Happy Natives comes closest to matching this stereotype and why.) The implicit danger in stereotypes is that, if viewed often enough without any critical mediation or an alternative perspective, they can influence the way a viewer perceives, in this case, men in general. `Male stereotyping can narrow one's notion of what men can be and do; it can affect women's and children's expectations of men, it can even shape men's and boy's own views of themselves and how they should behave' (Tallim, 1). This outcome may be applied to any form of stereotyping regardless of the ways people may be stereotyped: . . . . . . . . . . . age (e.g. old, young, teenagers) gender (e.g. women and men, boys and girls) sexual orientation (e.g. heterosexual, homosexual/lesbian, transgender) job (e.g. teacher, model, truck driver, lawyer) culture (e.g. Arab, French, Irish, English) race (e.g. African/ Black, White, Hispanic, Indian, Coloured) physical appearance (e.g. beautiful, nerdy, ugly) position in family (e.g. mother, father, grandparent, brother, sister) physical ability (e.g. able bodied; disabled, visually-impaired) income (e.g. working class, wealthy, middle-class) religion (e.g. Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu).
(adapted from Tallim, p. 2)
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In summary, we can say that `stereotypes are generalizations about people usually based on inaccurate information or assumptions rather than facts. Stereotypes do not take into account the great diversity of people within a group of people. Nor do stereotypes consider the present circumstances of the individual. Even worse, stereotypes can lead to prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour'. (http://www.xiangtan.co.uk/readingstereotypes.htm) Complete the column below, considering everything we have discussed on stereotypes. Next to each of the characters list the various stereotypes by which they are judged and classified (by either the characters or you, the reader). You should also include the reasons or indicators for such stereotypes. An example has been provided. Characters Mto Stereotypes
. racial considered to be a robber (by neighbour) or a garden worker (by young black South African male policeman) when seen in suburb. purchased house in predominantly white suburb of Woodlands Kenneth
Jimmy
Prudence
Chenaye
Patel
Policeman
Xaba
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Related Vocabulary: The following terms, taken from the website below, may prove useful in your analysis of the play. . assumption An idea that is taken for granted but not necessarily proven. Example: `Non-Asians often make the assumption that Asians are smart.' . bias Attitudes or behaviours based on stereotypes of people. Example: `When we omit people of colour in our history lessons, we display a bias that suggests that their contributions are not important.' . ethnicity A categorisation of people according to shared culture, language or geographical region Example: `The terms Ìtalian' and Ìrish' describe two distinct ethnic groups.' . race A categorisation of people based on shared biological traits such as skin colour, hair texture, and eye shape. Example: Òne function of the US census is to count the citizens by race, which is categorised as Black, White, Latino or Native American.' (http://www.xiangtan.co.uk/readingstereotypes.htm) This certainly an interesting, albeit sensitive topic. There is a vast body of research that has been conducted on the issue and you are advised to read as broadly as possible. THE CHARACTERS AND STEREOTYPES Jimmy Louw At first glance, Jimmy Louw, Mto's neighbour in the predominantly white, middleclass suburb of Woodlands, is the readily identifiable stereotype of the macho white South African male. Having served his military service under the apartheid government, he easily subscribes to the popular stereotypes about cultures other than his own. He still patrols the perimeter of his property, with a gun, from the perceived `swart gevaar', `you buggers' and `bloody skebengas' (Coetzee, p. 7). In a tailor-made media image, he identifies Mto as a burglar when he catches him jumping over the fence of what is, his own property (a fact, at this point, unbeknownst to Jimmy). His initial assumption, one that Coetzee infers many of us may be equally guilty of, is that a black man, scaling a fence in a white neighbourhood is a cause for suspicion. He addresses Mto as a `bloody skebenga' (p. 7) from the squatter camp while pointing a gun at him. Ironically, Mto believes that it is he who is the victim of a hold-up. The minute the misunderstanding is cleared up after rigorous questioning by Jimmy to determine the truth of Mto's claims of home ownership Jimmy becomes affable and accommodating, even offering security advice and to mow the lawn (the
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notion of a black man with a white gardener becomes a running gag throughout the play). He also consciously alters his classification of Mto `... if you need anything, I'm right here. We're next door neighbours' (p. 8) and regards the squatters as `they'. His offer to mow the lawn appears genuine and his acceptance of Mto as his next door neighbour lacks any of the suspicion and derision we would have assumed Jimmy to display (based on his initial behaviour). His jokes about `barter' and Àfrican time' (p. 10), while clearly being stereotypes, are apparently free of malice. Coetzee's satirical use of the character Jimmy is extremely effective. He is neither an extreme right-wing radical nor is he a bleeding-heart liberal. Certainly no Einstein, he is very much your average, next-door neighbour uncritically accepting of media images and party-lines to an extent that we might be tempted to simply dismiss him as racist. He makes assumptions about the squatters (with clearly no consideration for their circumstances or motivations for theft) based on the fact that they are black. He constantly peppers his conversation with throw-away lines such as `That's Africa for you. Everything backward.' (p. 28); `You guys toyi-toying like that they're not gonna be investing, they gonna be on the next plane out of here' (p. 14); `What's it gonna be next? A bone through the nose? Looks like we're all heading back to the jungle here ...' (p. 15). He makes generalised cultural and religious assumptions about Prudence and Mto simply because they are black (his assumptions about superstitions, animal sacrifices); he addresses the shopkeeper, Patel by the derogatory term `coolie' and claims that Indians are nosy, inquisitive, untrustworthy and prone to exaggeration (p. 30). In his unquestioning ignorance, we may view him as inherently harmless or the most insidiously dangerous of all of the characters. Is he a product, a victim, of the nationalist government's apartheid policies, as much as Mto is? It becomes apparent, later in the play, that Jimmy has constructed a fantasy (as have some of the other characters) to enable him to cope with a brutal reality. Fed a diet of propaganda while serving in the military (pp. 5253) which he recognises now as lies it is easier for Jimmy to seek refuge in the media constructed fears, prevalent in our society, than to confront the fact that he is culpable for his wife's death (pp. 41). Strikingly, and here Coetzee is making a forceful point, Jimmy's perversion of the truth (that his wife was murdered during a break-in by people believed to have come from the squatter camp) is readily accepted by everyone in the neighbourhood. Not only that, but it is a tale that is embellished with every re-telling (it is cited as a reason Rushbrooke has returned to the UK). Coetzee's skilful use of reversal of expectation is artfully employed when the reader discovers that the cause of death is a freak accident and not another crime statistic in SA. When his lie is exposed Jimmy explodes with verbal outrage and draws his ever-ready gun on Mto. He spews racist outrage (pp. 5253) against Prudence and Mto. Incapacitated by his inability to make sense of the transforming country around him and the fact that it was his own fear which ultimately killed his wife, Jimmy attempts to reassert his power by using racist, derogatory labelling. Yet, Coetzee allows us to believe that there is some redemption for Jimmy when in the last scene we see him relocating Prudence's vegetables to his own yard.
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PATEL Patel is almost a caricature of the ubiquitous Indian corner-cafe/superette owner. He shouts at his workers and customers in grammatically unsound English, sells bunnychows that quintessential South African-Indian culinary invention and has a convoluted way of approaching his point. Hands up those of you who have, at one time or the other, imitated such a character? Like Jimmy, his initial reaction to an African male, in his shop in the suburbs, is one of suspicion. He is startled when Jimmy speaks English and his attitude changes perceptibly when he finds out that Jimmy is a homeowner and not from the squatter camp. His initial presumption that Jimmy was a threat, instantaneously dissolves into a camaraderie of people of colour against the squatters on the one hand, and the white residents of Woodlands on the other (p. 19). PRUDENCE
Cartoon: Francis, Dugmore and Rico, Madam and Eve:Free at Last, 1994: 175
With the character of Prudence, Jimmy's domestic worker, Coetzee again effectively utilises the technique of reversal of expectation. Our initial introduction to this domestic worker leads us to believe that this is no Eve (the feisty, non-conventional domestic worker from the cartoon series Madam and Eve). Prudence appears to be a traditional, semi-literate, submissive domestic worker. She identifies herself as `the cleaning girl' although she is a woman in her fifties and she addresses any white male person as `Master'(p. 20). Her simple desire is to find a patch of land to grow her vegetables. Yet, despite her apparent simplicity, she appears to be the only character who is assured of her identity:
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Me, I am the oldest woman for Sibisi family from Maphumulo. I am holy woman in Zionist church. I am president of the Hallelujah Jehovah Funeral and Saving Society. I am not a kaffir. You do not tell me to go. I am here forty years, I am here to this house. Before you was born, I am here for your father and your mother. Your parents, who you never pray for them. I pray to God every day for your mother and your father, because you do never pray for them. Because I am not a kaffir. Because now, I am your mother. Everyday I pray for you. And I pray for Anna, your wife. I pray for her because she is dead, because she is also my daughter like you are my son. (p. 54)
She will not be defined by a racist tag and neither will her pride and dignity be sullied by her lowly job as a `maid'. She is secure in the knowledge of where she comes from and her place in the world and Jimmy's household. Despite the very peculiar employer-employee relationship that servitude implies, Prudence has resisted being demeaned or humbled by sheer fortitude of spirit and faith. She has positioned herself as a mother figure in Jimmy's household a role she believes it is her duty as an elder and woman to fulfil. It is this certitude which gives her authority an irony, considering that domestic workers in South Africa have notoriously been exploited and have laboured with minimal rights. We would expect that as a domestic worker to a racist such as Jimmy, Prudence could hardly be blamed for having less than maternal feelings towards Jimmy. Yet, she is the one person who looks beyond his emotional barbed wire and accepts him without judgement. Prudence thus contradicts and challenges the initial impression we are given of her. Coetzee concludes the play with Mto's representation of an òld black woman planting a seed' (p. 58). The symbolism of hope, growth and nurturing is self-evident in this image a far more valid and relevant reason for investment that `happy natives jumping up and down'(p. 58). CHEYANE As the producer of a marketing company, Cheyane is a stereotype of a white,`yuppie',2 corporate type. She is hilariously sketched with such details as her Americanised name, over-enthusiastic manner, liberal use of corporate jargon and abstract speech and her political correctness which she wears like a badge. Her pretence at being comfortable with racial and cultural issues is transparent and she is portrayed as pretentious at worst and shallow at best. Her attempt to learn Zulu is not for the benefit of increased cultural understanding but to attract black clients a fact to which she unabashedly attests. She is equally open about her desire to exploit Mto as an affirmative action drawcard in her attempt to win the contract with the government (p. 34). Despite her best efforts she cannot help her biases and cultural assumptions showing: Ìt's just part of being South African, dropping your standards' (p. 32). `People say the black sense of humour is different ...' (p. 32) Ì mean it's like a cultural thing, isn't it? Not eating seafood?' (p. 35)
2. young, upwardly mobile, professional person
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She is supremely comfortable with what she perceives to be her openness, even when she says the most outrageously culturally insensitive things. A more polished, female version of Jimmy in terms of her blatant ignorance, she is laughable rather than offensive. Despite her whinges about dropping of standards, in her pampered world of first class travel, fancy seafood restaurant and Woolworths shopping, it clear that Cheyane has profited from jumping on the èthnic bandwagon'.
Cartoon: (Francis, Dugmore and Rico, p. 162)
XABA Although a minor character, Xaba is immediately recognisable as the stock stereotype of a black South African politician. He is long-winded and displays the trademark ability to mangle the English language. He simply quotes political rhetoric and hardly suggests an original or creative thought. He was created to support the stereotypes of politicians and government officials on the `gravy train' which have been bandied about in the play. Ironically, what Xaba and by extension, the investors want is to `give the world a picture of Africa that they recognise and feel familiar with'(p. 46) the very image of happy natives, lions and gumboot dancers which Mto found so offensive. In the hands of Xaba and the investors, even Nelson Mandela is reduced to a mere symbolic image, packaged to sell South Africa. The deepest irony, of course, is that this tired and flawed version of South Africa which Xaba promotes is no different from a South Africa under an apartheid government. Nowhere in this image are the individuals who make South Africa a unique and worthwhile investment, celebrated or recognised. KENNETH One of the major characters, Kenneth is not as simple to interpret as the characters discussed above. A young, white English male in his early thirties, he is portrayed as an idealistic, surfer-boy, liberal type. Yet for all his professed liberalness, his struggle
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to locate his identity in this new South Africa adds dimension to his character Ì'm a whitey, but I'm an African whitey' (p. 37). His impassioned dialogue with Mto about culture and tradition (pp. 1213) further supports this. However, finding himself fired from the project, his first instinct is to `... fuck the hell off. Back to London. Earn real money: Pounds.' (p. 49) His pessimism about the country and his future in it is never far from the surface, as evidenced in his reaction to Mto about investing in the country by buying property, `... I wouldn't buy a house anywhere in this country. Property sucks. It's a kak investment. A trap, broer. Take the bait and you're gone like a scone' (p. 17). His classic reliance on his àncestral visa' (p. 50) is interesting in that Kenneth simultaneously struggles to assert his identification with South Africa while relying on his British heritage as an emergency exit. In effect, reinforcing his reticence to commit fully to South Africa. It is ironical that in his sincere attempt to be accepting of cultures other than his own, Kenneth actually reinforces the stereotypes. This is illustrated in his insistence on addressing Prudence by her Zulu name of Lahliwe, despite the fact that for Prudence it has negative connotations (pp. 3738). His entire homage to Zulu culture (p. 13) is riddled with cultural and ethnic assumptions. Coupled with this is his complete negation of Mto as an individual. For Kenneth, Mto is completely defined by his Zuluness. For Mto, being Zulu is only one aspect of his identity. Kenneth's cynicism about the new South Africa as it plays itself out in the suburb of Woodlands is revealed when he questions why Jimmy would offer to mow Mto's lawn (pp. 1516). Surprisingly, he is less willing than Mto, to chalk it up to neighbourliness. He immediately stereotypes Jimmy as a racist, simply protecting his property investment. The supreme irony has to be that Kenneth is dismissed from the project a project which is oozing with the very stereotypes and iconic images which he advocated. `They want my ideas but they don't want me' (p. 49). His angry outburst is understandable:
`House, car, contract, bum in the butter, à' for away, you've got it all broer! Your father was a hero of the struggle, what can I say? You're the Zulu, Samurai, rainbow renaissance, previously disadvantaged, affirmative fucking warrior! I can't compete, you win, a hundred nil!' (p. 49)
His accusation that Mto has all the requisite cultural and historical credentials for success in the new South Africa is not an original one. However, what is new is that Kenneth has finally articulated the crux of his identity struggle. There is, according to him, no space for a white English male in the labels above. MTO A young, educated, upwardly mobile, black male Mto has an equally interesting identity struggle since he is straddling two identities. One is linked to his cultural heritage and slaughters a goat to welcome his ancestors to his new home. The other is a more westernised version and works in the theatre, travels overseas and eats sushi. He has purchased his dream house in white suburbia and is at pains to inform others,
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especially over the issue of allowing Prudence to grow her vegetables in his garden: Ì buy my vegetables ... this is the twenty-first century. We're not still peasants' (p. 23). He constantly challenges attempts by people like Jimmy and Kenneth to classify him according to markers based on his Zulu ethnicity. While he displays a strong sense of individuality, he still struggles with his past. Ironically, like Jimmy, he has also built a glorified fantasy, but in his case, to escape from a rather humiliating truth. Mto feels compelled to satisfy the stereotype of the African child with the freedom fighter father. (As an interesting aside, note the different terms, depending on the perspective of the speaker, that are used: `terrorist', ìnsurgent', `guerilla',`freedom fighter'). In a confession to Chenaye, he admits that his father, who clearly was absent from Mto's life, was simply a man who, via his incompetence, was blown up by his own bomb (p. 55). Having grown up with a far more routine and prevalent stereotype that of a child in a single parent household Mto, in his confrontation with Kenneth, finally comes to terms with this. THE CLIMAX The confrontation that Mto has, respectively, with Kenneth and Jimmy is the climactic heart of the play. Here the characters drop their masks and are searingly honest with unsettling results. What is exposed are the private fears and fallacies of each of these characters. Drawn into their respective arguments they have no recourse but to reveal their true selves and it is not an attractive portrait. While Jimmy and Kenneth retreat; one metaphorically and the other physically, Mto is the one who shows the greatest self-awareness. His idea for the project speaks to a greater acceptance of himself and all the facets of his identity. I think it is important to understand that Coetzee is not taking sides or passing judgements. He has created a realistic representation of the value and pitfalls of living within a `rainbow nation'. As Hazel Barnes notes on the back cover, Coetzee's play supports the notion that, À willingness to listen, a tolerance of different ways, and a sense of one's own self worth are shown to be ways to greater enjoyment of this diversity'. While we recognise the bias existing within each character, we are also aware that it is not always possible to slot them into neat identity boxes. These are individuals. They have their own unique personalities, hang-ups, approaches to life and biases because of their own particular circumstances and personality make-up and not because they are black or white, old or young, male or female. Coetzee's skilful characterisation, use of reversal of expectation and irony brings this point home. USE OF HUMOUR Much of the humour stems from our immediate recognition of these character-types. If we are brave and honest enough to acknowledge it, we also recognise parts of ourselves in these characters. Here, our own behaviour, judgements and prejudices are laid bare. Although the issues dealt with have the potential to be explosive, Coetzee's use of
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humour diffuses the sensitivity. By laughing at the characters and in turn at ourselves, the message is that much more powerful. His critical commentary on the nature of our interactions in this society is thus absorbed without out the audience/reader being overly conscious of it. LANGUAGE There is a conscious blending of languages English, Afrikaans, Zulu, colloquialisms, slang, and informal language which lends greater authenticity to the characters and their interactions. Aside from developing individual characterisations, it is an accurate representation of communication in regular South African society.
As an exercise to demonstrate the effect of Coetzee's technique, rewrite the following excerpt, using standard, formal English. Replace all colloquialisms, words from other languages and any informal language. Kenneth: ... The audience has gone Mto. Moved to Perth. Straight theatre's dead, broer, dead. You want to run with the lions, you can't piss like a kitten. You need this. I need this. Us Durban boys, we got to stick together, China. Come, it's a few weeks, and if we pull it off, we're there like a bear. Going like a Boeing.
In conclusion, here is a role-play activity (Koopman and Robb, 1997: 38) which deals which the issues raised in the play. A School Struggling to be Inclusive The scenario: The white principal of an open school calls black and coloured parents in to discuss her concerns about their lack of involvement in their children's schooling. She is particularly concerned that these parents never seem to attend the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meetings. The principal: The principal firmly believes that her school is a good one. She does not feel the need to make any changes. She merely thinks that she must show black and coloured parents and their children how to fit into the system. She is not prepared to change the way things are done. For example, she is not even prepared to change the times of PTA meetings. She co-opts the coloured parents onto her side by using them as shining examples of how to be good parents that help their children to progress. She feels that they help their children by doing everything the way it's `supposed' to be done. She wants Xhosa parents to speak only English at home. She is shocked that `sophisticated people still do things like slaughtering animals'. The parent group can consist of: A `sophisticated' Xhosa/Sotho-speaker who is fluent in English and is proud of the fact that she `knows how to behave' and gets impatient with other black parents who
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don't understand the system. (She can also be used by the principal to get at the ùncooperative' parents.) A coloured parent who does all the `right' things (helps her children with their homework, makes sure that they have tidy school uniforms, gives them all the necessary stationery, is always on time and contributes to cake sales) and who is thrilled that her child is in this good white school and doing well. She definitely doesn't want to rock the boat. A black parent who is highly educated and `sophisticated' explains that she had to miss the last PTA meeting because she was attending a family function where there was a slautering of a sheep. She is proud of her traditions and a confident person. She pushes for the affirming of African culture within the school curriculum. A black parent who speaks in Xhosa/Sotho all the time as she is not fluent in English. She is quite confused by all the procedures at this school which she finds totally foreign. However, she doesn't have the confidence to complain. She just sits looking a bit lost and excluded. Another parent who says he finds the evening PTA meetings difficult because of transport and safety. Compiled by Therona Moodley GLOSSARY OF DRAMATIC TERMS PLEASE BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THESE TERMS AND USE THEM WHEN APPLICABLE. THEY ARE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF DRAMATIC DISCOURSE. Action: the main events of the play. Sometimes the action consists of only small events in historical terms. At other times the action may consist of a series of bloody events. the main divisions of a play. Five is the traditional number of acts in a full-length play such as Macbeth. Modern plays often depart from this form, frequently having three acts, or sometimes having only one with several scenes, or at other times having merely one long scene. remarks spoken by an actor on stage, supposedly unheard by the other characters but audible to the audience. the people watching and listening to the drama. The nature of the audience, whether rich or poor, of one particular religion or another, may affect both the reception and the nature of the play. American theatre term for backcloth. The painted cloth suspended at the back of the stage, depicting various scenes appropriate to the play. a small role that has been particularly well developed. a portrait or characterisation which ridicules a character by
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Acts:
Asides: Audience:
Backdrop:
Cameo: Caricature:
exaggerating and distorting her/his most prominent feature and characteristics. Cast: Characterisation: the actors taking part in a theatrical production. The cast list gives the names of the actors and the characters they play. characters convey their nature to us by the way in which they are shown to speak, feel, think and act. The dramatist, however, is usually selective about the way in which s/he portrays them; we do not discover everything about a stage character, only sufficient for us to understand him or her in the context of the play. Some characters are minor; they seem to be there merely to help the stage business along, to hold the crown or deliver the letter. These are often quite `flat' because the dramatist spends little time developing a personality for them. Other characters are more `rounded'; in the course of the play we see them being given distinctive personality traits. Even a `rounded' character can, though, remain static, almost predictable. On the other hand, we may see a character developing and changing in the course of the play. the point to which dramatic action builds. (Consider the plots of your prescribed plays. Where does the action lead to? Which point is the climax?) the time and place, as well as the political, historical and social conditions in which a play is produced, may influence the nature of the play. Ideological and theatrical conventions can also affect the context of a play. see Stage conventions. introduced in the seventeenth century; a drop of rich material suspended from the front arch (proscenium). The curtain is raised at the start of the performance and lowered at the end. In modern productions blackout has frequently taken the place of the curtain i.e. the lights are dimmed to signal the end. the way in which the actor projects the character s/he portrays; the manner in which the words are spoken, the gestures, body movements, posture, etc. conversation between two or more characters on stage, very often displaying a central opposition of values developed in the play. with the aim of instructing or teaching. (The term `propagandist' is sometimes used as the equivalent of didactic, but the latter refers specifically to a play which aims at inspiring the audience to take direct action on a particular moral or political issue.)
Climax:
Context:
Conventions: Curtain:
Delivery:
Dialogue:
Didactic:
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Director:
the person responsible for the actual staging of a theatrical production.
Discourse or discussion, debate; dramatic discourse in this instance refers to dramatic discourse: the language and conventions appropriate to the dramatic genre. Dislocation: Downstage: Dramatic irony: Dramaturgy: Ensemble: Exchange: Farce: the character's estrangement or alienation from society portrayed as a psychological state or a physical condition. nearer to the front of the stage, closer to the audience and therefore more obvious; see the opposite Upstage. occurs when the readers or audience know more about a situation than the character on stage. dramatic composition; the playwright's skill in presenting the subject dramatically. team work as opposed to highly individualised performances. a dialogue between characters on stage, often hinting at the conflict of values within the play. the object of a farce is to provoke mirth of the simplest and most basic kind: roars of laughter rather than smiles. It is often associated with clowning, slapstick, and knockabout comedy. The basic elements of farce are: exaggerated physical action (often repeated), exaggeration of character and situation, ridiculous situations, improbable events, and surprises in the form of unexpected appearances and disclosures. the dramatisation of an earlier time. see Characterisation. a sixteenth-century London theatre. Shakespeare was a shareholder in this theatre and many of his plays were performed there. bold overstatement, or extravagant exaggeration of fact, used for either serious or comic effect. Hyperbole can be used for emphasis. what is spoken or acted in an unrehearsed way or without a text; performed on the spur of the moment. summoning or inviting assistance from supernatural spirits, God, the muses, etc. see Dramatic irony. introduced for the closed-in seventeenth-century theatres and
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Flashback: Flat characters: Globe Theatre:
Hyperbole:
Improvisation: Invocation: Irony: Lighting:
used to intensify dramatic effects. The advent of electricity allowed a remarkable flexibility of lighting. Lines: Marxism: a character's printed dialogue. the philosophy of Karl Marx, which sees economic and social forces as the basis of all human interaction; the struggle of the working classes under the domination of capitalism in order to ensure the ultimate achievement of an ideal society based on equality. originally, in Greek drama, actors wore painted wooden masks which made it clear what character they were playing. On a metaphorical level, the term suggests deception and pretence. a technique which relies on sensationalism and extravagant emotional appeal. In the flourishing stage melodrama of the nineteenth century the main characters were either excessively virtuous or exceptionally evil (hence the spotlessly pure hero or heroine and the diabolically evil villain). Much use was made of improbable events and sensational, violent action and also (in more domestic melodrama) violent tales of wickedness, immoral (sexual) behaviour and even murder. acting without words, relying on body movement and gesture to impart meaning. a method of composition which juxtaposes several scenes around a central idea. a recurring feature in a particular play, such as darkness in Macbeth. A theme (see Theme) is very similar but tends to be a broader, more abstract concept. the speaker who informs the other characters or the audience. Sometimes the narrator is a member of the cast who steps forward, in a role of direct narrator outside the action contained in dialogue. Sometimes the narrator is indirectly the playwright's voice. Sometimes we hear the playwright's voice coming through clearly. At other times s/he retreats almost entirely into her/his character. a dramatic device used by Renaissance playwrights to build atmosphere before a dire deed is carried out. It usually includes references to witchcraft, animals and birds of ill omen, darkness and evil. without a clear cut-off conclusion or resolution (see Resolution). The action seems incomplete or inconclusive because the problems explored in the play cannot be resolved.
Masks:
Melodrama:
Mime: Montage: Motif:
Narrator:
Night speech:
Open-ended:
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Original script: Pace:
the original version of the play as written by the playwright. the timing or rhythm (whether slow or quick, with or without pauses) of the speeches within a particular scene, or the movement of the play as a whole. Actors need a finely developed sense of pace to assist the development of the action. that quality in a play which evokes feelings of tenderness, pity or sorrow in the audience, the location of the events portrayed: for example ancient Scotland, contemporary South Africa. Time, action and place are regarded together as essential elements of drama according to early Greek theory. the playwright's arrangement of action, dialogue, etc. It is useful to distinguish between plot and story. A story could read, `the king died the queen died'; once causality is included, the elements of a plot emerge, for example `the king died and the queen died of grief'. Therefore, characters act or react in a series of incidents so that plot can be thought of as a chain reaction. The way in which each character reacts has certain consequences both for himself or herself and the other characters. to adopt a certain attitude or posture which may be affected (pretended, artificial). a particular staging of a play. Different directors may produce the same play in quite different ways. an abbreviation of properties. Everything required during a play which does not count as furniture, costume, or scenery. (see Climax). After the conflict of the play has been established by means of the opening scene, the action grows towards the dramatic climax. The conflict may be resolved or may be openended (see above).
Pathos: Place:
Plot:
Pose: Production: Props: Resolution:
Rhetorical question: statement posed as a question. For example, if in speaking to crowd of retired pensioners, the politician asks, `Should we give more money to the elderly?', there is hardly any need for a reply. It is tacitly assumed that they will agree. Rounded characters: see Characterisation. Satire: Scenery: rendering a topic ridiculous; causing contempt, scornful or derisive laughter or even anger on the part of the audience. see also Stage effects. `Scenery' applies to the total impact of stage effects. In modern theatre, scenery varies widely from sheer spectacle to a sparse, bare stage. Scenery is therefore a visual expression of the playwright's concerns as interpreted by
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the stage director. It is very interesting to distinguish between the stage directions of the playwright and the wide variety of interpretations offered by different directors. Scenes: Set: Setting: Social critique: Soliloquy: divisions of the larger àcts' which demarcate the play's development. the arrangement of furniture, backdrop and props used to create a particular scene. the time and particular physical location in which an episode or scene takes place. an aspect of a play by means of which failings of a society are criticised. speech by an actor alone on stage (or àside' from the other characters) in which thoughts are expressed, thereby revealing to the audience the character's state of mind. a relatively modern innovation which allows the stage director to focus a particularly brilliant spot of white light on a single character or part of the stage.
Spotlight:
Stage conventions: aspects of the action that are accepted, taken for granted; for instance, asides spoken as if they could not be heard by other members of the cast or disguises assumed to be impenetrable. Stage directions: in a modern play these directions alert the reader or director to the playwright's own visualisation of the play in performance. In Shakespearean plays there are minimal stage directions: the clues to how the playwright imagined the action on stage are contained in the dialogue itself. use of lighting, scenery, props, etc., to produce certain effects or moods on stage. putting a play on stage. In Greek theatre the stage was conventionally a platform across the diameter of an arena. Elizabethan theatre had a permanent backdrop with a projecting apron. By the seventeenth century theatres were enclosed buildings; the stage had become far more formalised, resembling the structure most regularly seen nowadays: an arch (the proscenium) marking off a forestage area where the action takes place, and an area behind, framed for entry and exit of actors. In the twentieth century there have been experiments with many types of stage: some recalling the open-air arena of Greek times, some reconstructed on Elizabethan lines, and still others making use of the formality of the seventeenth-century playhouse.
Stage effects: Staging:
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Suspend disbelief:
when Coleridge advised the reader or playgoer to `suspend disbelief' he was emphasising the artificial nature of literary creations (see also Theatrical). The play is always a play and not a slice of life, however naturalistic the stagecraft may be. The audience is aware, for instance, that a gate marked `palace' is not a real palace but a representation of a palace. The audience must not expect events on stage to be answerable to the patterns of everyday life. We must not disbelieve the playwright; s/he is not claiming to present reality: the play is not life but a representation of life. When we see things presented on stage or just read a play, for that matter, we know that we must temporarily believe that the characters etc. are real and see the play as a play. derives from the conflict between characters or the clash between different sets of values or interests; could also refer to the suspense created in the audience through the build-up of the conflict. often a negative term used loosely as synonym for èxaggerated' or òverdone'. This inaccurate use of the term is attached to the word because theatre is an artificial representation of life. Necessarily, therefore, `theatrical' has to do with artistically stylised presentation. Although some plays tend to be naturalistic in showing a slice of life, theatrical productions are necessarily artificial representations of life, using language, sets, props and lighting that convey the playwright's concerns by non-natural means. (I think you can see how `theatrical' comes to have a connotation of èxaggerated' or òverdone'. Resist this application and think about the nature of theatre.) a concern, or abstract idea, that runs through a play. Theme also embodies the writer's attitude to the chosen subject. the duration of events; real time is, of course, usually distorted by the needs of dramatic representation. A play can last two hours but represent events stretching over days, months or years. a play that deals with serious and important actions which turn out disastrously for the chief character, or tragic hero. According to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, the tragic hero suffers a change in fortune from happiness to misery because of a mistaken act to which he is led by a serious error of judgement, his tragic flaw. Although the tragic hero may make an error of judgement and have a tragic flaw, we do not necessarily lose sympathy with him. Often we identify with the sufferings of the tragic hero from which he gains self-knowledge. In day-to-day speech, we often hear of events ranging from an aeroplane crash to the loss of a football match described as `tragic'. Here the
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Tension:
Theatrical:
Theme: Time:
Tragedy:
word is used loosely: a crash or a lost football match may be disastrous, or sad, or regrettable, but not `tragic' in the sense used in the study of drama. Upstage: Visual message: nearer to the back of the stage, farther away from the audience and therefore less obvious (see opposite, Downstage). backing up the words of the text are the scenes created on stage which act as messages for the eyes of the audience.
This glossary was compiled by Matthew Curr and Jeanette Ferreira and revised by Karen Batley and Brenda Spencer.
Bibliography
Coetzee, G. Happy Natives. Pietermaritzburg: University of Natal Press. Cohen, R. 1981. Theatre. Palo Alto: Mayfield Publishing Company. Cookson, L. 1987. Practical Approaches to Literary Criticism: Plays. Harlow, Essex: Longman. Francis, S; Dugmore, H and Rico. 1994. Madam and Eve: Free at Last. London: Penguin Books. Fugard, A. 1992. Playland ... and other words. Johannesburg: Wits University Press. Greenaway, P. 1991. Teaching the Visual Media. Auckland: The Jacaranda Press. Koopman, A. and Robb. 1997. Shifting Paradigms: Using an anti-bias strategy to challenge oppression and assist transformation in the South African context. Lansdowne: Rustica Press. Kruger, S. and Wall, I. 1987. The Media Pack. London: MacMillan Education Ltd. McRoberts, R. 1981. Writing Workshop: A Student's Guide to the Craft of Writing. Melbourne: MacMillan. Silverblatt, A. Media Literacy: An Instructor's Manual. London: Praeger. http://www.cix.co.uk/~shutters/reviews/02051.htm http://ihigh.com/drama/thingstuff_superstitions.htm www.media-awareness.ca. (Jane Tallim article) http:// www.xiantan.co.uk/readingstereotypes.htm
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STUDY UNIT 4
Using Drama in the English Classroom _____________________________
Using drama can be an effective and rewarding way to teach literature in the English classroom. To defuse the stress that can often accompany public performance, always introduce any dramatic activity with a group exercise. You may consider spending a day or two on these non-verbal exercises as a way of easing learners into a new way of looking at dramatic literature. While many schools do not have the luxury of a hall, simply pushing back the desks and chairs in your classroom should provide adequate space. Consider using the playing fields or the assembly area for more expansive activities. Of course, it goes without saying that your activities should suit the needs and abilities of your learners, as well as your proposed outcomes for a particular lesson. Understanding what these are will determine the success of your activities. Never force a learner into a situation that he/she is uncomfortable with. Group work will be a safe and non-threatening environment only if there is a clearly defined structure and learners know exactly what is expected of them. To this end you will have to be organised and prepared. A little effort, however, will reap inspiring results! There are numerous books and journals that you may consult on the subject of drama-ineducation. The following activities were taken from Izi's 10 `How to' tips for using drama in the classroom, a supplement to ARTREACH Vol 4 No 2 (a journal of Illitha and the Eastern Cape Directorate of Arts and Culture).
Making Puppets
One way of encouraging learners to express themselves is through puppets. There are different kinds of puppets which work in different ways: glove puppets fit over the hand like a glove, marionettes are controlled by strings, rod puppets use sticks to make the puppets move, and shadow puppets are performed by using a light to cast a shadow of the shape of the puppet onto a screen from behind. Here are two types of puppets to try. Think of what kind of character your puppet is. Is he grumpy exciting like me ? , funny, or lively and
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USING DRAMA IN THE ENGLISH CLASSROOM
Sock Puppet HGrade 1 upwards Materials: Socks, needle and thread and/or glue, buttons, wool, fabric Put your hand in the sock. Separate your thumb from your fingers and shape the sock to look like a mouth. By moving your thumb up and down you can make the puppet `speak'. You can give your puppet a face by sticking on eyes, ears, a nose and hair using any appropriate materials. Glove Puppet HGrade 3 upwards Materials: fabric, glue, scissors, needle, stuffing, buttons, braid, wool, ribbon, empty bottles, cardboard toilet roll. Optional: newspaper and flour (paper mache), clay. To make your glove puppet begin with the head, then make the body, and then decorate the figure. . The head: a) place the empty bottle on the table in front of you to use as a stand and place the cardboard toilet roll over the neck of the bottle. This cardboard roll will become the neck of the puppet and we will build the head onto it. b) You can use different methods to make the shape of the head: If you want to make the head out of fabric, cut out a circle of fabric 20cm in diameter. Make a ball shape out of the fabric by stuffing it with scrap material or cotton wool. Then bring the edge together around the cardboard toilet roll, using an elastic band to secure it first and then gluing it more permanently. If you want to make the head out of paper mache, you will need to first make a glue paste by mixing flour and water and tearing newspaper into strips. Next, crumple a sheet of newspaper into a ball the size of an orange. Stick the ball of newspaper to the top of the toilet roll. Now stick strips of newspaper onto the ball using the glue paste to make a smooth surface. You will need about three layers of newspaper strips. Make sure that you bring the paper mache down onto the toilet roll to help secure the head onto the neck but don't stick it to the bottle. Remember that you will need to give the head time to dry overnight before you can decorate it. . The body: The body is made of fabric and should fit over your hand like a glove. You will need to use your baby finger to control one arm and your thumb to control the other, while the middle fingers go inside the neck of the puppet. Decorating the puppet: Use buttons, braid, wool, pipe-cleaners, ribbon or any other materials that you can find to make eyes, a nose, mouth and hair, and to decorate your puppet's costume.
Staging a Puppet Play

To help learners manipulate the puppets they can begin by using their own bodies to express emotions such as joy, fear, surprise, anger or sorrow. Then use the glove puppets to echo the same emotions. Practise making the puppet bow its head, bend at the waist, cover its face, raise its arms, wave goodbye. Also practise with two puppets
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hugging, fighting or greeting each other. Then, in groups of 4 or 5, learners should work out a short story that they could perform for the rest of the class using their puppets as the characters in the story. It would be useful for you to give them a theme like Àn adventure in the forest' or `My family gets a big surprise' on which to base their stories. When each group has had time to devise their story and to practise their performance, set up a cloth, piece of wood or sheet of corrugated iron for the performers to hide behind, as shown in the drawing. (You could also make a more permanent wooden puppet theatre for your classroom). The scenery can be a painted back-drop that hangs behind the puppets or it could be a roll of paper that is wound around two sticks and is turned to show changes of scene.
*Links to puppet work is highlighted in the Arts curriculum as Specific Outcome 1 (use puppets and props in dramatic activities) and can be linked to A&C S05 (experience and analyse the use of multiple forms of communication and expression).
Making Masks
Before making the masks, do some research on the history of African masks and their role in society, and investigate masks from around the world. Characters for masks can be birds, animals, mythical creatures or heroic figures. Your mask could express a personality or emotion like happiness, sadness, anger etc.
*Skills: Mask work can help to develop non-verbal communication skills and can enhance the learner's self-confidence. It can also develop an awareness and appreciation of dramatic forms from various cultures and using the masks can enhance the telling and performing of stories (A&C SO1).
Paper Plate Mask HGrades 12 Materials: paper plates, cardboard, glue, paint, wool, string. The paper plate gives you the basic face shape but you can cut it to whatever shape you want. Mark the position of the eyes with a pencil then cut them out. Add facial features, whiskers and hair using found materials. Colour with paints or felt pens. Staple the string onto the plate so it can be tied tightly around the head. Using Masks Learners can spend a few minutes looking at the mask, thinking about its personality before putting it on and moving around the room expressing the character of the mask. Then, in pairs, experiment with what happens to the mask if you look down or up or if
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you turn it from side to side. Give each other feedback when the mask looks best. Link this with the expressions of emotions and explore appropriate ways of acting out emotions. Use the mask when performing stories and poems. At the end, discuss whether there was a difference when using the masks to tell the story.
Myths and Storytelling

HGrades 49 Use drama to act out traditional legends and stories told in class. Learners should fit their language and movement to the characters they are playing. Hot-seating: Stop the action. Seat one character in the middle of the room on a chair while the rest of the group sits around and asks the character questions such as where he or she comes from, why he or she walks with a limp, and so on. This will help the learner work out the motivations for his or her character. When they start to act the story again, they should have a better understanding of their character. Each character can have a turn to be in the `hot seat'. What if? The learners can act out alternative versions of the story by asking `what if something else had happened?' In pairs they can act out conversations that are not told in the story such as what might have been said before or after the event being portrayed. Afterwards the whole group can reflect on the process and how they felt playing the various roles.
*Links to the following areas of the curriculum: LLC S03: respond to the aesthetic, effective, cultural and social values in texts; LLC S07: use appropriate communication strategies for specific purposes and situations; A&C SO1: use role to depict a character and to interpret the character in movement and sound.
Group Improvisation
HGrades 412 In this drama exercise, everyone takes on a role in acting out an event or story through improvision which means that the action is made up as the story goes along it is not planned beforehand. In this way, learners have to think and act spontaneously and use their imaginations to develop the scene. The scene being acted out could be from a story, real incident from history or a situation which is part of general drama lesson. Here are some examples: * everyone at a market buying and selling as news and gossip circulate * a protest meeting to stop road builders from chopping down trees * a tribal chief gathering his people to tell them his news. When everyone is out of role the group can talk about the drama. They can identify
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similar themes and issues in their own lives and can use role-play to explore problems such as bullying and peer-pressure.
*Skills: In this activity the whole group is engaged in a co-operative group activity with the educator and learners will start to show an awareness of language usage.
Drama Games
There are many drama games that can be played with learners of all ages for warmingup the class or getting them focussed. This is a useful way of building up self and group confidence, of solving problems in a creative way and increasing concentration and commitment. Here are two examples: The King's Keys The King or Queen sits blind-folded on a chair with a set of keys on the floor underneath him/her while the rest of the group sits around. The teacher points to someone who must creep forward and get the keys and return silently to their seat. The King must listen carefully and when the person is sitting back in their place the King can point at who he thought came up. If the King is right he stays on for another turn but if he is wrong the person who took the keys becomes the new King/Queen. Trust Line The whole group should stand side by side in a line. They are to imagine they are standing on top of a thin wall with a drop on either side. Now ask the group to move into an order according to height or age. They should shuffle into the right order, helping each other move along the imaginary wall without falling off.
*Skills: Concentration and listening skills, group trust, physical contact and commitment; group building games like these use skills and display attitudes that improve relationships in family, group and community fulfilling LO S02.
Using Props and Costumes

Bring story-telling, plays, and improvisations to life by using props and costumes. These could be made by the learners themselves, or start a collection of objects and old clothes in your classroom that could be used whenever you do drama work. Although props and costumes are not essential, they will enhance the drama experience for learners. And if you get them to make their own, you can also challenge them to use whatever materials are available and to be creative and imaginative.
*Links: The use of props and costumes in dramatic play is highlighted in the Arts and Culture learning area as part of A&C S01 choose appropriate materials, costumes and props to convey ideas, character and atmosphere in dramatic activities.
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Mime
HGrades 18 In mime activities, there is no speaking. All the focus is on body language and facial expression. Start by discussing things we can express without speaking. In pairs try to `say' the following non-verbally: I'm okay, hello, goodbye, thank you. Or I'm hungry/ thirsty/tired. What other things can you express? Move on to emotions and use your face to express anger, boredom, shock, surprise, joy, tiredness, nervousness or any strong emotion. Now use just your hands to express these emotions, then your feet. Finally get up, move around the room and use your whole body to express an emotion. For example, you're going home and you know you're in trouble or it's your birthday and you know there's a surprise waiting for you at home. Other mime exercises to include: walking through different environments (a busy street, a hot beach, a cool forest, a jungle, crossing a raging river, reaching the north pole); eating different foods (mealies, hamburger, ice-cream); different animals (lion, monkey, jackal, penguin); different sports or jobs or activities. When you are feeling confident miming individual actions. move into small groups of 4 or 5 and mime a whole story for the class.
*Skills: Mime skills are highlighted in the Arts curriculum: identify and express different feelings (A imitate human and animal movements, tell a story in mime (A&C S01)
Tag Debate
HGrades 612 Debating is a very good tool in any classroom for learners to discuss aspects of an issue. The learners can articulate their ideas, look at all sides of an argument and try and find a solution. In a tag debate the two teams face each other and only one person from each side talks at a time. Whenever someone else feels they have a point to make they wait until the end of the next sentence and then they tap the speaker on the shoulder and take his/her place. Teachers may want to control this if they feel students need more time to express themselves. Each member of the team should be encouraged to have a turn. Before the debate, each team should draw up some points they want to make and one person from each team should start the debate. At the end, the team who debated the best wins and in a separate vote the learners should vote on the issue under debate. Learners may have to argue the opposite of what they really feel but this helps build up their debating skills. Controversial topics such as `girls are more intelligent than boys, but boys are physically stronger' can lead to some very lively debate!
*Skills: By debating learners learn to respect the rights of people to hold personal beliefs and values (LO S03) and they practise acquired life and decision-making skills (LO S05)
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Frozen Pictures
In a frozen picture, learners work in groups of 4 or 5 and use their bodies to create a still image (like a sculpture or photograph) about a particular theme or situation. There is no talking in a frozen picture, only the bodies are used to express an idea. Learners can show what happens in a certain poem or story or can represent a historical event. The other members of the class should move around the image and try to discover all the different ideas and emotions that are being communicated by this one image. This becomes a useful way of discovering the importance of non-verbal communication. Learners should discuss what they see being communicated in each image and make suggestions about how to change the images to make them clearer.
*Skills: Such work links to LLC S01 (make and negotiate meaning and understanding) and A & C S07 (identify and express different feelings).
Bibliography
Izi's 10 `How to' tips for using drama in the classroom. ARTREACH Vol. 4 No. 2 (a journal of the Illitha and the Eastern Cape Directorate of Arts and Culture).
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INTRODUCTION TO POETRY
STUDY UNIT 5
Introduction to poetry ___________________________________________________________
OUTCOMES By the end of this study unit, you should be able to . recognize the various techniques and devices employed in the language of poetry . understand how these techniques and devices function to achieve their effect . apply various interactive methods in your reading so that you can construct an interpretation for each of your prescribed poems
Literature can be described as the type of writing that explores human experience. It can also be described as a form of communication between an author and a reader through the medium of a literary text. The role of the reader is of extreme importance as literature is experienced through the act of reading. Literature would have no significance if there were no readers. Literature can therefore also be described as the type of writing that requires the involvement of a reader before it can become meaningful. Literary texts can be classified into different genres such as poetry, drama and the narrative genres or forms (the novel and the short story). Each of these genres deals with human experience from a different perspective. It is necessary for you to be aware of the nature of each genre and how it will involve you as a reader. Poetry is a highly individualised way of communicating experience. Poems can differ widely in subject matter and in form. The reading of poetry requires the maximum involvement of the reader, engaging his or her senses and imagination in the construction of meaning. The active role of the reader It is important for you to realise that reading is a dynamic process in which you, the reader, have an active role. You should not read passively, hoping that the meaning of a text will be revealed to you. Instead, you need to interact with the text and to respond to it by forming associations in your mind. In this way, you will be constructing a meaning for it based on clues in the text and on your responses to those clues. There are various activities you can perform in order to interact with a text. Bring your
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own experience of the world to bear on what you read. Even when you encounter a text that deals with a world that is totally foreign to you, relate as much of your experience to it as you possibly can. Ask yourself whether there is anything in the text that is of relevance to your world. In doing so, you will be receptive to new experiences and values, and able to respond more fully to what you are reading. Bear in mind that an efficient reader is an active reader, ready to connect the known with the unknown in order to develop a better understanding of the world. The more you read, the more you will develop your ability to respond to literature. Regular practice in reading will activate your sensitivity to literature and give you insight into the way in which the language of a text functions, how various texts are structured and how a particular world-view is presented in a text. You will also find that your enjoyment of literature will increase. It has the power to engage your interest, arouse your emotions and enrich your experience. It is also important for you to develop confidence in your ability to interpret a text. Your interpretation, based on an interaction between the language structures in the text and the mental associations you form on the basis of these structures, will be a valid one. The main criterion in assessing the validity of your interpretation is whether you can justify it according to the text.
Introduction to poetry
There are various ways in which you can actively explore the verbal structure of a poem in order to make it meaningful. The following procedures and activities will assist you in examining those elements of a poem that are central to its meaning.
The title
Take careful note of the title before reading the poem. The title should give you some idea of what the poem is going to be about. For instance, the title of Douglas Livingstone's poem `To a dead elephant' suggests that it will deal with a person's expression of sadness on encountering a dead elephant. When you read the poem you will find that this is basically what the poem is about, Therefore, once you have examined the title and have formed an idea of what to expect, read the poem a few times, Ask yourself:
What does the title suggest? What does it lead me to expect of the poem?
By establishing a connection between the title and the content you are already constructing a meaning for the poem. You may, in some cases, find that the title of the poem is symbolic, that it represents something in addition to what it directly states, An example of such a title is `The clothes'. Once you have read Wally Serote's poem `The clothes', you will realise that the title does not only refer to the clothes but that these words also represent the way of life of the owner of those clothes.
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The title as ironic device

Sometimes you will find that the title leads you to expect something that is the very opposite of what you encounter in the poem. For instance, the title of Wilfred Owen's poem `The send-off' conveys the impression that the poem deals with a happy, ceremonial occasion, a farewell party for someone who is departing on a pleasant journey to an interesting destination. When you read the poem, however, you find that it presents you with the opposite of what you expected. Instead of describing a festive `send-off', the poem is about the sad, gloomy and unceremonious departure of soldiers going to war where they will probably be killed. You may at first be bewildered when you come across such a contradiction between title and poem. What you need to realise is that this is a deliberate strategy employed by the poet to surprise or shock you, the reader, and to force you to examine the poem more closely. In such a case, ask yourself the following questions:
Why does the title lead me to anticipate the opposite of what the poem is actually about? Why does the poem contradict the title? What is the purpose of this discrepancy?
In the case of `The send-off', the purpose of such a discrepancy between title and poem is that it evokes a response in you, the reader, making you re-examine the poem and deepening your awareness of the tragic plight of men who are sent to war. This contrast between what you are led to expect and what you actually encounter is known as irony. A poet or an author often uses irony as a type of `shock-tactic' to stimulate a more attentive response from a reader. Through irony, an idea can also be reinforced or given more emphasis; therefore it can also be related to the theme of the text. The theme of `The send-off' could be the tragic waste of human life in war. The ironic use of the title reinforces this idea. Be on the alert for the use of irony in the title of a poem (or any other text). Decide whether a title is being used literally, to mean what it states or ironically, to mean the opposite of what it suggests. When you encounter a title that is used ironically, ask yourself:
What is the effect of the ironic use of this title? What idea is stressed by this contradiction between title and poem? How does it relate to the theme of the poem?
The theme
To establish the theme, you will have to read the poem a few times in order to form an idea of what it is about. You could find answers to the following questions:
What is the main idea in this poem? What general idea about life does this poem convey? What do I learn about life from this poem?
Relating the title to the content of the poem and deciding whether the relationship
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between the two is literal or ironic will also assist you in determining the theme. For instance, the title of Milton's sonnet Òn his Blindness' leads you to expect that the poem will be about some aspect of being blind. On reading the poem you will find that it describes the frustration of a blind poet who is unable to use his poetic talents to the full. The final idea expressed in the poem is that by bearing the burden of his blindness patiently, this man can still serve God. The title has therefore been used literally. The theme, or general idea about life that can be inferred from this poem is related to the title, namely that blindness can be regarded as a burden to be endured with patience. Another way of establishing the theme of a poem is to decide on what you think the poet's intention is in writing the poem. (Remember that it is not possible to know for certain what an author's intention is. For this reason, we usually refer to the speaker in a poem, separating him from the poet. You can, however, guess the poet's intention from the content of the poem.) You could ask yourself:
What do I think is the poet's intention in this poem? What aspect of life does he bring to my attention in this poem?
Do not despair if you cannot decide on the theme of the poem. Proceed with your activities in exploring other aspects of the poem and return to the theme later on. The meaning of a poem is closely related to its theme, and often you will only be able to decide on a theme when you have constructed a meaning for the poem. It is also important to realise that a poem can have more than one theme.
The identity of the speaker or persona and the nature of the utterance
Identify the speaker or persona and decide on the nature of his or her utterance. Bear in mind that, although the poet has composed the poem, he is not necessarily the speaker through whose voice the poem is uttered. Often, a poet creates a fictitious speaker (or persona) whom he places in a fictitious situation. Such a fictitious speaker can utter the poem in the first person (I, me, my, mine, etc.), presenting a personal point of view; or he can address a listener, a second person (to whom he refers as you, your, yours etc.); or he can speak from the point of view of an observer, referring to other people in the third person (he, she, they, etc.). In some poems, especially those uttered in the first person, it is possible that the poet is the speaker, expressing thoughts that are part of his autobiographical experience. An example of such a poem is Milton's sonnet Òn His Blindness'. However, in order to claim that the speaker and the poet are one and the same person, you would have to know the details of Milton's life, namely that he went blind in his thirties and experienced great frustration as a poet in consequence. Because it is not always possible to know such details, it is safer to assume, in all poems, that the speaker is a fictitious person created by the poet to utter the ideas expressed in the poem. You may wonder why the poet should choose to speak through a persona. This is because sometimes he may wish to express ideas and opinions that differ from his own. Therefore, by assuming that there is a speaker in the poem, you will not be confused between the personal ideas of the poet and those of the speaker he has created.
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Take note of the various types of utterances: . A soliloquy is a private utterance. It is expressed in the first person and conveys the speaker's personal thoughts and feelings. He does not address these thoughts to a listener or to the reader. The impression that you, the reader, form is that the speaker is thinking aloud. This type of poem is usually a lyric (originally a song sung to the music of the lyre). Because it is uttered from a personal point of view, it has the effect of immediacy, as if the speaker were giving an account of an experience that he was actually involved in or that he actually witnessed. Examples of such poems are Wally Serote's `The Clothes' and À Friend Zuma'. The stream-of-consciousness type of utterance is a soliloquy in which the speaker voices a series of private thoughts which appear to be random and unconnected but which are linked by mental associations. An example of a poem which presents a stream-of consciousness utterance is Christopher Mann's `State of Emergency'. The effect achieved by presenting a poem from this perspective is that you, as the reader, experience a sense of immediacy, of being ìnside' the speaker's mind, of sharing his ideas and associations and of seeing things from his point of view. A dramatic monologue is a public utterance as it is addressed to a listener. Although the listener does not speak, you, as the reader, are aware of his or her presence from what the speaker says. When reading such a poem, e.g. Matthew Arnold's `Dover Beach', you need to visualise the fictitious situation, the speaker and his silent listener. You need to decide on the relationship between them and the type of experience they are sharing. This will enable you to determine the speaker's point of view. Some poems are presented in the form of a dialogue. A dialogue is a public utterance in which speakers interact with each other, More than one point of view will be presented. An example of such a poem is Alan Paton's `Could You not Write Otherwise?' in which the poet and a woman express differing viewpoints concerning the function of poetry. In some poems, the speaker can function as an uninvolved observer. In such a case, he will speak of the people and things he observes in the third person (he, she, they, them, it, etc.), His description could be interspersed with the dialogue of the characters he observes. William Butler Yeats's poem `The Ballad of the Fox-Hunter' is an example of a speaker functioning as an observer. In this case, the speaker is not personally involved in the events. He describes the last moments of the dying fox-hunter from the point of view of a distanced, uninvolved narrator.
When considering the nature of the speaker and the type of utterance, you could attempt to find answers to the following questions:
Is the poem a private or a public utterance? Is the speaker alone, speaking his thoughts aloud in the form of a soliloquy or a stream-of-consciousness? Is the poem a dramatic monologue in which the speaker addresses a silent listener, or in which he speaks to me, the reader? Is the poem a dialogue in which there are a few speakers? Is the poem narrated by a detached speaker who functions as an observer? Is the speaker involved in the experience; does he present it from an immediate point of view? Or is the speaker uninvolved, presenting the experience from a neutral distanced point-of-view?
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You may regard it as being unimportant to consider the nature of the speaker and the point-of-view from which the poem is uttered, but these aspects do affect the way in which you experience the poem. Once you have established the type of speaker, you will be able to decide on the tone of voice in which he utters the poem.
Tone of voice
Decide on the speaker's tone of voice and how it shifts in the course of the poem Once you have formed a general idea of the meaning of the poem, its theme and the nature of the speaker, read it aloud a few times. Pretend that you are the speaker. Try to give your voice the tone or expression that you regard as most appropriate. For instance, in Thomas Hardy's poem `The Darkling Thrush', the speaker describes the desolation of his bleak wintry surroundings on the last day of the century. An appropriate tone of voice in which to read the lines describing this gloomy scene would be one of despair or pessimism. However, when the light-hearted song of the thrush is described, your tone of voice would change. You could read these lines in a tone of amazement, joy or wonder. It is therefore important to remember that the speaker's tone of voice does not remain the same throughout a poem. It shifts during the course of a poem, depending on the emotions that are being conveyed. In some cases, a speaker's tone of voice can be ironic. You will realize this when you find that there is a discrepancy between the tone and the theme. The tone of voice may be playful and light-hearted, whereas the theme is serious. An example of a poem in which this discrepancy can be observed is Sepamla's `The Peach Tree'. The theme of this poem is a comment on the tragic way in which black people have lost their individuality by conforming to township standards. The speaker's tone of voice, however, is playful and teasing as he addresses the peach tree, praising it for being able to grow and survive so that it has become a symbol of endurance or survival in this inhospitable environment. You may, on reading this poem, be confused at the gay, light way in which the speaker utters his negative commentary on life in a township. You may wonder why the speaker adopts a playful tone in which to utter such a serious theme. By thinking about this discrepancy and trying to find a reason for it, you are performing mental activities that enable you to explore the poem more deeply. You will probably realise that the speaker's tone is mocking or ironic. He is expressing `mixed feelings' towards the peach tree, mocking it for being a symbol of conformity, yet at the same time praising it for being a symbol of the tough enduring nature of his people.
Irony
Be aware of irony and how it can be reflected in the speaker's tone of voice. When considering the speaker's tone of voice, you may find it useful to ask yourself the following questions:
What is the predominant tone of voice in which the speaker utters this poem? Does the tone remain the same throughout the poem or does it change? If so, where and why? Is this shift in tone important to the way I experience the poem? Is the tone related to the
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theme of the poem, or is there a discrepancy between the tone and the theme? If there is a discrepancy, can it be ascribed to irony? If the tone is ironic, what is the reason? How does the irony affect my interpretation of the poem?
Style
Examine the style of the language By style is meant the choice of words, sentence structure, figures of speech or any other devices employed to convey meaning as effectively as possible. Poems vary greatly in style. Some are expressed in clear, simple, unadorned language. An example of such a poem is Àn Irish Airman Foresees his Death' by Yeats. Apart from the device of repetition, the language is plain and uncomplicated in style. In contrast, Keats's Òde on a Grecian Urn' is written in an elaborate style. Many figures of speech, sound devices (7), images (9) and allusions (10) to Greek mythology feature in this poem, evoking associations in the mind of the reader and enabling him or her to construct extra dimensions of meaning for this poem. You might wonder why poems vary so greatly with regard to style. One reason for this variation is that the style of the language is closely related to the theme, the nature of the speaker and the type of utterance. The speaker in Yeats's poem is an Irish pilot expressing the theme of the futility of fighting in a war which does not concern him. The plain colloquial style is appropriate to the unenthusiastic tone of the speaker's voice. The speaker in the Òde on a Grecian Urn' is praising the detailed beauty of the vase and describing it as an object of perfection. The theme is that an object of such artistic beauty embodies eternal truth. The speaker's tone of voice is therefore one of enthusiastic praise. It is appropriate for the style of a poem expressing such elevated ideas on an object of art to be elaborate. When examining the style of the language in which a poem is expressed, you should always ask yourself:
Is the style simple or elaborate? In what way is the style appropriate to the theme and the speaker's tone of voice?
It is important for you to learn to distinguish the stylistic features of the language of a literary text. The information that follows on figures of speech, sound devices, imagery, symbolism and rhythm will give you more insight into the way in which language is used to convey meaning in literature.
Figurative language
Examine the use of figurative language in the poem. In order to be an efficient reader, you need to be able to distinguish between literal and figurative language.
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Literal language is language that is used to mean exactly what is stated, e.g. We sheltered from the storm (bad weather, rain, thunder, lightning, etc.). Figurative language does not mean exactly what is said. The listener or reader has to use his or her imagination to form mental associations in order to construct a meaning for the expression, e.g. She stormed out of the room. (This means that she ran out of the room in a noisy, emotional way. Her behaviour is being compared with a storm.) Figurative language therefore requires mental activity on the part of the reader before it can become meaningful. Figurative language can be classified into the various figures of speech of which only those required for your study of literature are discussed here. Three figures of speech in which the characteristics of one entity are projected onto another are simile, metaphor and personification. A rhetorical question evokes a response in listeners or readers as it presents them with a question, challenging them and focussing their attention. A simile is a direct comparison between objects or entities. The use of the word `like' or às' makes the comparison a direct one. For example, in T S Eliot's poem `Rhapsody on a Windy Night', the speaker says that every street lamp that he passes `beats like a fatalistic drum'. You need to ask yourself:
What objects or entities are being compared? What do they have in common? What ideals being stressed by this comparison?
In the case of the simile from `Rhapsody on a Windy Night', the objects that are being compared are the street lamp and a drum. They do not at first appear to have anything in common. However, in the context of this poem, there does appear to be an association. The light from the lamp attracts the speaker's attention as forcefully as the beating of a drum would. This simile can therefore be regarded as being effective as it stresses the idea of the compelling nature of the light from the street lamps. A metaphor is an indirect or implied comparison between two objects or entities. It can also be described as the projection of the characteristics of one thing onto another. It is not as easy to recognise as a simile because the words `like' and às' are not used but are implied. Usually, the objects or entities that are being linked are not at all similar and you will have to search for a connection between them. For instance, in Douglas Livingstone's poem `To a Dead Elephant', the decaying carcass of the elephant is referred to as `... this ant heap with flies'. You could ask yourself why the carcass is linked to an ànt heap with flies' or what these two objects have in common. You could decide that what they do have in common is the fact that they are both filled with ants and covered with flies. This metaphor is therefore effective as it stresses the idea that the carcass is decaying and is being consumed by insects. A metaphor can also be used to make an abstract idea more real or concrete. Shakespeare, in one of his sonnets (Sonnet 30) speaks of `death's dateless night'. In this metaphor, the abstract notion of death is made more real because it is linked to night and to calendar dates. The reality of night as well as the darkness you associate it with is described as being `dateless' as it cannot be limited or constrained to a
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particular time. These two ideas, when projected onto the concept of death, effectively stress the notion that death is eternal and mysterious. In order to understand why or how a metaphor is effective, you need to establish a connection between the different things or entities that are linked. You need to find some association between them. Through your activities in establishing such connections, you will find it easier to construct a meaning for the poem. Ask yourself:
What objects or entities are being linked? Are they similar in any way? What connection is there between them? What idea is being stressed by this association? Is the metaphor effectively used?
Personification, like metaphor, is an implied or indirect comparison. In this figure of speech, the qualities of a person or human being are projected onto an inanimate object or an abstract entity. For example, in Wally Serote's poem Àlexandra', the speaker projects the qualities of a person onto the township, addressing it as if it were a mother, e. g. `Do you love me Alexandra, or what are you doing to me?' Once you, the reader, realise that the speaker is referring to the township as a person or mother behaving cruelly to him, you will be able to have more insight into his feelings of bewildered rejection. He is drawn to the township by feelings of love as it is his home. However, because of the nature of the environment in the township, he is afraid of it. These mixed feelings are effectively conveyed by personifying Alexandra as a mother whom one loves yet simultaneously fears. A rhetorical question is often used in literature to attract the attention of the readers, or to involve them in the text. This type of question is not always asked to obtain an actual reply. It is frequently a statement phrased as a question in order to provoke a challenging dramatic effect. In William Blake's poem `The Schoolboy' the following rhetorical questions have the effect of making the reader share the boy's feelings of frustration at having to go to school when he longs to be free:
How can the bird that is born for joy Sit in a cage and sing? How can a child when fears annoy, But droop his tender wing, And forget his youthful spring?
If these rhetorical questions had been phrased as statements they would not have expressed the schoolboy's longing for freedom as effectively. When you, as a reader, encounter a rhetorical question, you will instinctively feel challenged and will find yourself examining the text more closely in the hope of finding an answer. In cases where an answer is provided, it will have great impact as you, the reader, have been stimulated to anticipate it. When examining the effect of a rhetorical question, ask yourself the following questions:
Would this rhetorical question have been as effective if it had been phrased as a statement? What feelings does it arouse in me? Do I find myself trying to provide an answer to the question? Does the speaker provide an answer to the question somewhere in
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the poem? In what tone of voice does the speaker utter this question? Does it emphasise an idea that can be related to the theme?
Metonymy is a figure of speech in which a thing or an entity is used to represent something associated with it. Examples of metonymy are seen in Shakespeare's poem `Fear No More the Heat of the Sun'. In this poem, the speaker refers to `the heat of the sun' and `the furious winter's rages'. These aspects of the weather represent all the forces of the elements. Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a single aspect or a small detail is used to represent a larger concept. For example, in Shakespeare's poem `Fear No More the Heat of the Sun', the `frown' of a great king or tyrant represents the larger concept of oppression. Do not be distressed if you are unable to distinguish between metonymy and synecdoche. Synecdoche is merely a more narrowly focussed type of metonymy. In cases where you are unable to distinguish between these two figures of speech, you could classify them all as metonymy. Do, however, take note of how these two figures of speech function differently from metaphor. (Refer to 6.2) to revise the concept of metaphor. A metaphor consists in projecting a relationship between differing entities whereas metonymy and synecdoche project relationships between similar entities.) You may wonder why a speaker conveys his ideas through these figures of speech. One possible explanation could be that listeners or readers are more easily able to visualise or imagine a concept when it is presented in the form of metonymy or synecdoche. For instance, through the device of metonymy, the speaker can refer to specific aspects of the weather such as the `heat o' the sun' and `the furious winter's rages'. It is easier for readers or listeners to visualise or imagine these specific instances than to visualise the general dangers associated with the weather or the elements. In the same way, the use of synecdoche enables readers or listeners to visualise or imagine one particular detail, such as the `frown' of a great man or the `stroke' of a tyrant. It is easier to imagine a single detail such as this than a vast, abstract concept such as tyranny. You will find that when you are able to form visual impressions of concrete details you become imaginatively and emotionally involved in the poem and are more easily able to interpret it. A paradox is an idea or concept which appears impossible or contradictory, e.g. the expression Ì must be cruel to be kind'. When you, the reader, encounter such a contradictory or seemingly illogical expression, you need to focus on it and try to make sense of it. In this way, you become involved in the poem by focussing on the concepts or the themes. An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two words with opposite meanings are juxtaposed or placed together, e.g. in the poem `How Death Came' from the oral tradition of the Khoi. Khoi, the Moon says Às I die and dying live'. What does the Moon mean when he says, Às I die and dying live'? In what way can the moon be said to `die' and yet `live'? Do you know how and why the appearance of the moon changes throughout a lunar cycle? Does this changing appearance of the moon relate to the way in which it appears to `die' and then `live'? The words `dying' and `live' denote opposite meanings. You may therefore find yourself questioning the logic of
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the Moon's apparently contradictory expression `dying live'. Such an expression, in which two words denoting opposite meanings are juxtaposed or placed together, is a figure of speech called an oxymoron. The use of an oxymoron such as `dying live' can be regarded as a strategy whereby a reader or a listener's attention is focussed on a paradoxical or apparently illogical idea. The Moon's message is therefore based on a paradox which is an idea or concept that appears to be a contradiction or an impossibility. You need to use your imagination to make sense of the oxymoron and the paradoxical idea of how an entity can appear to by `dying' while it is actually living. Through striving to make sense of such an apparent contradiction, you, the reader, will actually be involved in constructing an interpretation for the poem.
Transferred epithet
When a writer transfers an attribute from its normal context to an unusual one for the sake of effect, we refer to this rhetorical device as a transferred epithet. In the poem, À War-Torn Wife', Chenjerai Hove transfers the adjective `war-torn' from its usual context of a war-torn country to describe the wife as being `war-torn'.
Ambiguity
In written English, ambiguity is not usually considered to be good style because it blurs meaning. But ambiguity can be deliberately used to suggest a double meaning. In Shabbir Banooibhai's poem, `He's a Good Boy, This One', the title has two meanings: the black man is an efficient worker and a good man. One might even argue a third meaning: he is subservient to his white employer.
Sound devices
Examine the effect of the sound devices in the poem It is important to be aware of how sound plays a part in conveying meaning. As a reader, you will find that you respond to sound patterns in a poem or to sounds that echo or imitate certain objects or entities. Like figures of speech, sound devices are effective in stressing or reinforcing certain ideas in a poem because they evoke associations in the mind of the reader. Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in a sequence of words. Read the following lines from Òde on a Grecian Urn' by Keats to experience the effect of this repetition of sound:
Thou still unravished bride of quietness! Thou foster child of Silence and slow Time,
The assonance is effective as it gives these lines a musical quality and stresses the dignity and beauty of the ancient Grecian urn. Alliteration is the repetition of consonants in a sequence of words. This device can be used effectively to stress the quality of an object or creature that is being described. In Ruth Miller's poem `Mantis', the frightening aspect of the face of the insect is reinforced by the use of alliteration, e.g. à triangle terrible as death'.
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In Hopkins's poem Ìnversnaid' alliteration is effectively used to give the impression of the darting rippling water of a stream, e.g.
In coop and comb, the fleece of his foam Flutes and low to the lake falls home.
Onomatopoeia is the use of words that imitate the entity that is being described. Ted Hughes' poem `Wind' abounds in such words to enable you, the reader, to share in the experience of the storm, e.g.
The woods crashing, through darkness, the booming hills, ....
The best way to decide on the effectiveness of a particular sound device is to read the poem aloud. Once you have become aware of the use of assonance, alliteration or onomatopoeia, ask yourself the following questions:
What is being described in the lines in which this sound device is used? Is it an object, an animal a person, a movement or an emotion? What does the sound make me think of? Does it help me to experience or imagine the entity, movement or mood more effectively? Can the sound device be related to an idea in the poem? Does it stress or reinforce any of the ideas?
Rhyme is an important sound device in poetry and is also effective in communicating meaning. Words rhyme when they end in the same vowel sound and the same consonants, e.g. hand, band; lame, tame. The most common way of using rhyme is at the end of lines. This is known as end rhyme, e.g.
This darksome burn, horseback brown, This hillrock highroad roaring down, ....
Rhyme can also be used within a line of verse, when the last word of a line rhymes with a word in the middle of that line. This is known as internal rhyme. Hopkins in his poem Ìnversnaid' uses rhyme to describe the movement of the stream, e.g.
In coop and in comb, the fleece of his foam
Internal rhyme can be used effectively to vary the speed at which a poem is read or, as in the lines quoted above, to capture the movement of the entity that is being described. Do not be concerned if you confuse internal rhyme with assonance as they are very similar. Rhyme is often used to give structure to a poem. A Shakespearean sonnet has a distinctive rhyme scheme which is linked to the arrangement of the ideas. The rhyming couplet (two lines that rhyme) at the end of a Shakespearean sonnet effectively concludes or finalises the argument, e.g.
But if the while I think on thee dear friend, All losses are restored and sorrows end.
Blake's poem `The Schoolboy' provides an example of how rhyme is used according to the arrangement of thoughts:
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How shall the summer arise in joy, Or the summer fruits appear? Oh how shall we gather what griefs destroy Or bless the mellowing year, When the blasts of winter appear?
a b a b b
This stanza illustrates the use of both end rhyme and alternate rhyme. The end rhyme imparts the musical quality to the poem and the rhyming couplet conveys an effective conclusion to the thoughts expressed. When studying the use of rhyme in a poem, ask yourself the following questions:
Is there a pattern of rhyme in this poem? If so, does it occur as end rhyme, as alternate rhyme or as internal rhyme? How does this affect the arrangement of the ideas in the poem? Does end rhyme cause the ideas to be expressed as couplets? Does the rhyme give a lyrical musical quality to the poem? Does it give a particular shape or form to the poem as in the case of a sonnet? Are there any final couplets? How do they give `punch' or finality to the concluding idea?
Rhythm
Study the rhythm of the poem. Although you may not always be aware of it, when you read aloud, your voice gives certain words or syllables of words more emphasis than others. In order to develop an awareness of rhythm, read the following words of more than one syllable aloud to see how certain syllables are stressed (-) and how other syllables are unstressed () by your voice:
buil I ding; Shake 1 speare
Read the following lines from Shakespeare's Sonnet 106 aloud a few times to form an idea of how certain words and syllables are pronounced more loudly and heavily and how others are expressed more softly and lightly. Take note of the stress (-) and unstressed () marks:
i When n the chronicle of wasted time see descriptions of the fairest wights I
Rhythm is important in conveying meaning, not only in literature but also in everyday language. Learn to be sensitive to the way in which rhythm is used to convey moods or emotions. Remember that rhythm is always related to meaning, to what the words are about. Therefore, once you have assessed the general meaning of a poem, established its theme, the nature of the speaker and his tone of voice, the style, the use of figurative language and sound devices, give some attention to the. way in which rhythm is employed. An example of the way in which rhythm is used to reinforce meaning can be seen in Hardy's poem `The Darkling Thrush'. The line in which the small, dull, weak body of
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the bird is described has a series of heavy stresses which slow down the movement of the line giving emphasis to those words that carry the description:
An aged thrush, frail gaunt and small
The slow, heavy rhythm supports the gloomy mood evoked by the description of the dead wintry scene. The speaker's tone of voice in uttering this line is one of despair or futility. However, in the same poem, a change of rhythm occurs when the light, joyful song of the bird is described. Notice that in the following lines the use of unstressed syllables causes the line to move faster and more lightly than the one describing the thrush's appearance:
In a full-hearted evensong joy unlimited Of ...
The arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables is therefore important in conveying meaning. We all respond to rhythm, whether in music or in literature. Focus on the type of rhythm, whether it is light or heavy, fast or slow, and try to establish how it relates to the meaning of the words. Line division and rhythm are closely linked. Poems are divided into lines which are either end-stopped or run-on lines. End-stopped lines are usually indicated by means of punctuation. When reading a poem, you will find that you tend to pause at the end of those lines that have commas, full stops or other punctuation marks. The run-on line (or enjambement) has no punctuation at the end, and you should therefore not pause but let your eye and voice run-on into the next line. You may find, in such a case, that there is a grammatical pause in the middle.of the second line. Take note of the run-on lines in the following extract from Matthew Arnold's poem `Dover Beach':
The sea is calm tonight, The tide is full, the moon lies fair Upon the straits; on the French coast the light Gleams and is gone; ...
The run-on lines (lines 2, and 3) in the above extract achieve two distinct effects. They vary the rhythm and the pace at which the poem is read, giving the lines a faster movement. They also achieve the effect of a conversational tone of voice. When assessing the effects of rhythm in a poem, you may find it useful to find answers to the following questions:
What is the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables in this poem? If there is a predominance of stressed heavy syllables, how does this relate to the meaning of the words? If there is a predominance of light unstressed syllables, do they support a lighthearted mood? Does the rhythm vary (change) in the poem? If so, does this signify a change in mood or tone? Where are the pauses at the end of the lines or in the middle of the lines? What effect is achieved by the use of the run-on lines?
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Imagery
Examine the imagery in the poem. Certain words, figures of speech and sound devices evoke or call up associations in the mind of a responsive reader. By allowing yourself to visualise a description, or to imagine the various sounds, smells, textures and details mentioned in a poem, you are responding to the imagery in the poem. To understand how imagery functions, you need to be aware of the difference between the denotation and the connotation of words. The denotation of a word is its literal meaning, for instance, the word `rose' denotes a specific type of flower. However, the same word can have, apart from its denotation, a connotation, namely a set of feelings or emotions which an individual associates with that entity. The word `rose' may have pleasant connotations of romance, love and beauty for you. In literature, words are often used to achieve pleasant or unpleasant connotations in the mind of the reader. In Spender's poem `Pylons', the electric wires supported by the pylons are described as `whips of anger' which carry `lightning's danger'. The words in these phrases have unpleasant, frightening connotations which will deepen a responsive reader's insight into the poem. In Sitwell's poem `Still Falls the Rain', words and phrases such as `the Starved Man hung upon the Cross', the `nails' and `Christ's blood' have Biblical connotations. To a responsive and active reader these words will evoke images that enable him or her to interact with the Christian world of the poem. Imagery, therefore works through associations and feelings. It conveys states of mind and ideas through words and sounds that appeal to the senses. Figures of speech and sound devices all play a part in the imagery of a poem. Imagery functions by appealing to the reader's senses of vision (visual imagery), hearing (aural), smell (olfactory), touch or feeling (tactile), taste (gustatory) and movement (kinetic). The function of imagery is effectively illustrated in Fhazel Johennesse's poem `living in a flat in eldorado park'. Read the following lines to experience the way in which the speaker involves you in this environment by appealing to your senses:
... the drunk trying to mount the steps swearing as he skids in predecessor's vomit .................................... (kinetic imagery) ... the occasional tinkle of glass ....................... (onomatopoeia evoking aural imagery) as a stone is hurled through a window ........................................... (kinetic imagery) ... the rich pong of gas exuding from ................................................ (olfactory imagery) the slowly rotting garbage in dustbins
As you read these lines, decide on the connotations some of these descriptions have for you. Do they evoke pleasant or unpleasant associations in you? Notice how the
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various images involve your senses. The result is that you experience a sense of immediacy, of being in the midst of this squalor, able to hear, see, smell and observe all that is going on. When examining the imagery in a text, you should try to visualise or imaginatively experience what is being described. You could ask yourself the following questions:
Are there any words, phrases, figures of speech or sound devices in this poem that evoke certain connotations in me? Are these connotations pleasant or unpleasant? Are they associated with any particular ideas in the poem? Do they add up to convey a certain impression? How does this impression give me a better grasp of the meaning of the poem? Do these images relate to the theme of the poem?
Allusions
Be aware of allusions in the text of the poem. Allusions are references to, or quotations from, other texts, As you read a poem, you may find yourself recognising a reference to a famous place, person, thing or even a quotation from another text. These references that are incorporated into other texts are known as allusions or intertexuality. They function by evoking associations in the mind of the reader. When you recognise an allusion, you should bring all the associations it evokes in your mind to bear on what you are reading. You will then be extending your frame of reference and will be able to create a wider meaning for the poem. This interaction between texts is known as ìntertextuality'. An example of how allusions function can be seen in Oswald Mtshali's poem `This Kid is No Goat'. In the first line of this poem, the speaker asks: `Where have all the angry young men gone?' There are two allusions in this line, which, if you were able to recognise them, would enable you to give this line a wider meaning than the one it appears to convey. The first allusion is to the song or ballad `Where have all the flowers gone?'. If you are familiar with this song you will know that it expresses grief at the way in which the lives of young men are wasted on futile causes for which battles and wars are fought. The second allusion is to a play by John Osborne called Look Back in Anger. This play features angry young men who rebel against the social system in which they live. The use of allusions has interesting effects as it can lead to differing interpretations of the same text. The way in which an allusion is interpreted will depend on the experience of the reader. Your ability to respond to allusions will develop as you extend your reading. When you recognise an allusion, ask yourself the following questions:
Why does this line/phrase/word sound familiar? Is it an allusion to another text? What do I associate that text/song/place/person with? How can I relate that association to what I am reading? Does it enhance my experience of what I am reading?
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Symbolism
Decide whether there is a symbol in the poem and establish what it represents. Poets and other writers often use concrete objects or other entities to function as symbols that represent feelings, attitudes or ideas. A symbol is something that conveys or stands for something else. In real life, we make use of many symbols. A cross symbolises Christianity, a heart symbolises love, a skull and crossbones symbolise danger. When you, as the reader of a poem (or any other text), find that a certain object seems to represent something else, you could regard it as a symbol. You may wonder why writers use this indirect way of expressing their ideas. As in the case of figurative language, imagery and allusions, the use of symbols enables you, the reader, to form your own associations which you can then relate to what you are reading. In this way, your response to a poem, or to any other text, will be highly individual. Each reader, depending on his or her experience, will be able to interact with a text in his or her own way. An example of a poem in which a symbol is employed is Sipho Sepamla's `The Peach Tree'. As you read the poem, you become aware that the speaker is not merely focussing on a peach tree. It has a wider significance in the poem. It can therefore be regarded as being symbolic. On a closer reading of the poem, you will notice that the speaker uses the peach tree to represent the sameness and the drabness of the streets and houses in the township. You could therefore regard the peach tree as symbolising the conformity of the township people. You will also notice that to the speaker, the peach tree also symbolises that which makes life bearable in the township. He calls it the `redeemer' of his `forlorn greenish hide-out'. The peach tree also symbolises the way in which the township people have learned to survive. The use of a symbol thus enables you to construct a wider meaning for the poem. When identifying a symbol you could ask yourself the following questions:
Is there any object or entity in the poem that can be regarded as representative of anything else? If so, what does it symbolise? What do I associate with it? How does this symbol enable me to give more meaning to the poem?
Form and structure

Examine the form or the structure of the poem. The form or the structure of a poem is often related to the meaning of the poem and can influence your response to it. A ballad is usually a long poem arranged in regular stanzas with a definite rhyme scheme. Repetition is a feature of ballads, and is evidence of the oral tradition when ballads were committed to memory and sung by minstrels. In a ballad, the speaker usually narrates a dramatic event and allows the dialogue of the characters to interrupt his narrative. An example of such a poem is `The Ballad of the Fox-Hunter' by Yeats.
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A lyric was originally a song sung to the music of the lyre (a stringed instrument). Today, however, any poem in which the speaker conveys his thoughts on a subject or expresses his emotional or mental state is referred to as a lyric. Usually, a lyric is a private utterance or soliloquy in which the speaker expresses his innermost thoughts. The word `lyrical' is also used to describe the musical quality of a poem. An example of a lyric is Kwesi Brew's poem `The Dry Season' in which the speaker meditates on the cruel laws by which nature maintains its balance. A sonnet is a poem which has a rigid structure of 14 lines arranged either in two stanzas of 8 (an octave) and 6 (a sextet) lines, or in 3 stanzas of 4 lines each and a rhyming couplet. A sonnet usually presents an argument or a logical progression of ideas in which the speaker tries to prove a point. In Shakespeare's sonnets, the speaker is usually addressing a silent listener. In the final rhyming couplet, the speaker concludes his argument by stating his proof. The ideas are therefore tightly integrated into the structure of the sonnet. An ode is usually a long, elaborate poem and is often a praise-song addressed to a precious object or a worthy person. The style of the language is usually lofty and elevated, and full of figures of speech and allusions. Blank verse is poetry which does not rhyme. The lines are usually the same length, therefore some degree of regularity is observed. The lines may be end-stopped or run-on to pause at some stage in the following line. Blank verse is often used to achieve the effect of natural speech. Its patterned structure gives a heightened poetic effect to this natural speech. Blank verse is therefore used successfully in poetic drama, such as the plays of Shakespeare. Free verse is unrhymed poetry with lines that vary in length. It must therefore be distinguished from blank verse. Although no formal patterns are adhered to in free verse, there is often some type of cohesion such as repetition, the use of sound devices or instances of parallel structures to give the poem its heightened effect. Free verse allows flexibility of expression and is a feature of modern poetry. An example of free verse is Sepamla's poem `The Blues is You in Me' in which the medium of a `blues' song is used to convey the speaker's grievances.
Characteristic features of African and English poetry

Be aware of the differences between English poetry and African poetry written in English. There are certain stylistic and thematic differences between English poetry and African poetry written in English. In English poetry, the lyrical form frequently occurs. Many poems are private utterances in which a speaker meditates on some aspect of life or nature. Modern English poetry is diverse in form but traditional English poetry adheres to the rules or conventions of a particular form. You should consult a reference book (in the section on Literature in any library) for more information on a particular poetic form or on a specific poet. When you encounter an English poem that appears to be a public
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utterance on some significant event or state of affairs, you should also try to find out more about the conditions that influenced the poet. African poetry is essentially communal in nature. Most African poems are therefore public utterances in which a speaker expresses thoughts or ideas on behalf of a group of people. The themes of most African poems concern social protest or the need for a heightened consciousness of traditional pride. Free verse is the form most frequently used with the techniques of the oral tradition giving synthesis to the poems. Evidence of the oral tradition can be seen in the following features: There is frequent repetition of words, phrases or lines. This achieves the effect of emphasising certain ideas or themes. The use of parallel structures gives cohesion to the free verse. An example of the use of parallelism can be seen in Serote's poem Òfaywatcher Blackwoman Eternity':
... I greet you I come before you Like a man stalks sacred shrines, Mama whose tears flow like a river Before you, Sister whose passion is like rain water sipping into the roots of wheat, I greet you ...
(Can you find other cohesive devices such as alliteration and repetition in this example of free verse?) An effect of chanting or incantation is achieved through the use of repetition and parallelism. This is in keeping with the communal nature of the themes. In the following example from Dhlomo's `Renunciation', rhyme is used to achieve a more patterned effect. Read this excerpt aloud to experience the dramatic chanting effect. Do you agree that this type of utterance lends itself to choral speaking?
... Everywhere I turn I'm haunted By the wailings of the wounded, By the groans of the frustrated By the people daily hounded By fear and hunger; By man-made danger ...
Would you describe the above example as being free verse? Can you explain your answer? The themes of most African poems are usually of relevance to a group rather than to an individual. This is in accordance with the public nature of the utterances, e.g. praise-poems in honour of significant persons or events, or elegies, lamentations or expressions of communal grief.
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It is important for you to realise that, whereas these features are typical of African poetry, they are, in many cases used in conjunction with the features characteristic of English poetry. Be aware of them and take note of the interplay of these forms in certain African poems, e.g. `Renunciation' by Dhlomo, where the characteristics of both can be observed. This study unit has been adapted from Study Guide 2 for EN5501A, which was compiled by Judy von Gruenewaldt.
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POETRY
STUDY UNIT 6
Poetry
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Just as there are no two poems which are alike in every detail, there are no two people who think exactly alike about any given poem. There are three basic principles which have been embraced. These basic principles, listed below, will inform the teaching philosophy.
. Before you read the discussion on any particular poem, you are expected to read the poem, several times if necessary, to gain some idea of its theme. This will mean looking up the meaning of unfamiliar words. Try reading the poem aloud at least once. This will help you attune to the rhythm and tone of the poem. . Using an interactive approach, I will provide clues by way of hints, self-evaluation questions and tasks for you to construct your meaning of the text. I expect you to attempt the questions or tasks before proceeding. In this way you will arrive at a plausible reading of the text. I say `plausible' because there is no precise or single reading of a text. . I have not provided full summaries, detailed interpretations or commentaries. This you will do, with my assistance.
A very practical approach such as the one suggested by Heese and Lawton in The New Owl Critic may be of assistance to you. Heese and Lawton suggest that you ask yourself two questions when you read a text. 1 What does the text communicate? In other words, what experience, emotion or idea does the text convey to you? 2 How does the text communicate? In other words, what elements in the writing are employed to convey this experience, emotion or idea? (Adapted from The New Owl Critic, 1988, Nasou) When you get down to the writing of your own critical essay on a poem, your focus will be on the second question, the how? By the end of this section, you should be able to:
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. construct the meaning of each poem in discursive prose, using some of the clues we have provided . view each text (poem) as an ideological utterance within a particular racial, gender or class context
Read Poetry! This is the only way in which you will get a feel of the poem and begin to appreciate poetry. Do enjoy the journey!
Checklist for writing a literary essay on poetry

Whilst there is no such thing as a model literary essay, there are certain academic conventions to be observed. Whenever you write an essay in poetry, use the following as a checklist of some of the criteria for an academically acceptable style. In fact, most of the criteria are also applicable to essays in other genres of literature, such as Shakespeare, short fiction and the novel.
. Is there an introductory paragraph? The introductory paragraph could be a synopsis of the poem or a theme statement. You could also use the topic as your point of departure and show your reader how you propose to approach it. . Has the rest of the essay been structured into paragraphs? . Has the essay been written in an impersonal, discursive style? . Has the essay been written in the language of poetry discourse? In other words, have certain elements in the poem such as title, tone, imagery, and so on, been foregrounded for discussion? . Does the essay discuss the poem or does it merely give a paraphrase? Whilst a brief summary or paraphrase of the theme is necessary in the introduction, what is required thereafter is a discussion. In other words, after stating what the poem is about, the essay must demonstrate how the poem works. . Have words and phrases from the text been quoted in inverted comas to substantiate assertions? Quotes should be woven naturally into the fabric of the discussion so that the sentence or paragraph reads smoothly. Quotes must not be tagged on as an afterthought by the use of dashes or è.g.' or Ì quote'. . When two or more lines are being quoted, the quote should be indented. In other words, a wide margin is allowed on the left-hand side and the right-hand side and the quote appears in the middle of the page. . And finally, has language been used correctly (this includes spelling, correct concord, diction or choice of words, and sentence.
NOTE: The first poem in this component, Àn Abandoned Bundle', has been presented in the form of a discursive essay. After you have studied the poem, use the above checklist to see if the criteria for academically acceptable writing have been satisfied in this essay.
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Àn Abandoned Bundle' by Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali

Introduction Mtshali, who was born in 1940, was still working as a messenger in Johannesburg when his first collection of poems, Sounds of a Cowhide Drum, was published to critical acclaim in 1971. He won the Olive Schreiner Prize for Poetry in 1974. Since then he has studied at Columbia and New York universities and worked as a director of communications in South Africa. In your assignments, as well as the examination, you will be expected to respond to poetry questions in discursive prose. This is the ultimate goal of your studies in English (and arguably, all your academic studies), namely, to discuss or argue a topic in a wellstructured essay written in an academically acceptable style. In order to give you an idea of the kind of essay you will be expected to write, Àn Abandoned Bundle' has been presented in the form of a discursive essay. This does not mean that you have been left out of the discussion! Your task will be to complete the close procedure exercise as you read the essay. Remember, the following is an example of a discursive essay: it does not pretend to be a model! As you read the discussion, fill in the blanks choosing from the following list of words: adolescent, deployment, mutilated, neglect, symbolized, painful, first, innocence, yellow, desperation, infected, alliteration, vicious. The correct sequence has been provided at the end of this section. Do not look at it just yet. Topic Focussing on poetic devices such as imagery, tone and sound effects, write an essay of about 500 words in which you show how Mtshali evokes the brutality of life in a township and criticises society for its lack of compassion in Àn Abandoned Bundle'. Discussion Through an interplay of imagery, sound effects and tone, Àn Abandoned Bundle' by Mtshali depicts one of the brutal aspects of life in a crowded black township in South Africa. Although the poem is universal in its theme in exploring society's neglect of the poor and down-trodden, it has a sense of immediacy for us in South Africa because we can relate to it easily.
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The image in the title of the poem derives its emotional impact from the use of the word àbandoned'. When something is abandoned, it suggests an act of desperation. When one abandons a ship, for example, it is an act of 1 . __________, something one is forced to do. In the poem Àn Abandoned Bundle', it comes as a shock to the reader that the `bundle' in the title is not just an object but a living child that has been abandoned by its unfortunate mother. A new-born baby is sometimes referred to as à bundle of joy'. What has happened in the context of this poem is that this `bundle of joy' has become a 2. ___________ burden for the mother, who, in all probability, is very young. The opening lines of the poem evoke an image of squalor. White City Jabavu is presented in the image of a large, festering sore. The morning mist which mingles with the smoke from the chimneys is likened to 3. __________ pus which oozes out of a sore. This metaphorical description of the township seems to suggest that the lives of all those who live here are 4. __________ by the poverty, squalor and degradation of township existence. The steady flow of pus from a sore is suggested or dramatised by the use of enjamb(e)ment or run-on lines in the first stanza. This flow `smothers' the `little houses'. To `smother' means to suffocate, to deprive of life-giving oxygen. This idea is aptly captured in the simile, `like fish caught in a net'. Deprived of oxygen, the fish will die. In the third stanza, the focus is on the image of the `scavenging dogs' fighting over the abandoned bundle. It is a stark, bloody image which prepares us for the horror we are about to witness. Through the skilful 5. __________ of images and alliteration, the poet vivifies the picture of brutality. The alliteration of the `b' sound in `bandanas', `blood' and `bundle', and the 6. __________ of the `f' sound in `fought fiercely', cohere with the visual imagery in `red', `blood' and `squirming'. `Squirming' is a reminder that this is living human being. In symbolic terms, the image of the `scavenging dogs' could take on a wider significance. The word `scavenge' has a negative connotation. It could refer to the darker forces of evil (often referred to as `the third force') that stalk the lives of black people in townships. By the time we read the fourth stanza, the baby has already been 7. __________ by the dogs. Once again, the orchestration or deployment of sound effects and images serves to convey a vivid picture of the carnage. The alliteration in `fangs/flicked' and `scarlet' and `scurried' coheres with the visual images in `bared fangs' and `velvet tongues'. From visual images of blood and gore, the focus shifts to the image of the baby Jesus lying in a manger. The infant dumped on the rubbish heap invites comparison with the figure of the infant Christ. Both are images of 8. __________ and hope. What is poignant about the mutilated child is that it lies on `human dung'. Unlike the baby Jesus who was born in a manger, the habitat of innocent animals, this child is a victim of an urbanised, cruel and 9. __________ society. What prevents this highly emotional scene from becoming sentimental (or maudlin) is the controlled tone of voice used by the speaker. Whilst it evokes pity, it is also an indictment (pronounced in-dite-ment, with the stress on the second syllable) of society which is ultimately responsible for this tragedy. In the final stanza, the focus shifts from the corpse of the child to the figure of its mother. The aura of innocence that surrounds her is 10. __________ by the `rays of
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the rising sun' and the image of ùntrampled dew'. The imagery in this stanza contrasts sharply with that of the 11. __________ stanza in which the township of White City Jabavu is introduced. Despite the young mother's apparently callous actions, the speaker adopts a sympathetic tone towards her. She is portrayed as a paragon of innocence. What is her crime? She has abandoned her child in the hope that someone would discover it. This young mother who steals into the early hours of dawn to abandon her baby, is typical of many such 12. __________ mothers. They are the victims of either adult abuse or social 13. __________. Crowded living conditions and society's indifference to the plight of its young people contribute to the moral decline of a community, especially its youth. Although Àn Abandoned Bundle' is set in Soweto during the 1970s, it is reminiscent of William Blake's poem `London' set in the late eighteenth century. Just as Mtshali indicts his society for its indifference, Blake too indicts his society for its lack of compassion and moral neglect. This is evoked by the image of a young prostitute and her new-born infant:
But most through midnight streets I hear How the youthful Harlot's curse Blasts the new born Infant's tear, ...
NOTE: The above essay is over 500 words because I have tried to be as comprehensive as possible, and also because I have digressed a little towards the end to draw a comparison with Blake's poem. There is no rule against drawing comparisons, provided you do not lose sight of the topic completely. Correct Solution to Cloze Procedure Exercise 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. desperation painful yellow infected deployment alliteration mutilated innocence 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. vicious symbolized first adolescent neglect
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`He's a Good Boy, This One' by Shabbir Banoobhai

Introduction Banoobhai was born in Durban in 1949. He trained as a teacher at the Springfield College of Education in Durban and later went on to lecture in accounting at the University of Durban-Westville. Although `He's a Good Boy, This One' is a poem with political overtones, Banoobhai is not regarded as a `protest poet' because his style differs from that of traditional protest poets such as Mafika Gwala, James Matthews and Ahmed Patel. Discussion The focus in this poem will be on the importance of context and the use of irony and ambiguity. A knowledge of the context of the poem, in other words, its historical and social background, plays an important role in decoding the meaning of the text. The keyword in Banoobhai's poem is `boy'. The poem derives its impact from the use of this word in its historical and social context. It was quite common for a white employer to refer to his black male employee (including Indian and Coloured) as a `boy', and to his female employee as `girl'. Not only whites used these terms to refer to their black workers, but also Indians and coloureds. The South African speaker may not have meant any harm by using these words, unlike the American racist who would use the word `boy' to insult a Negro. Many South Africans still use these words without realizing that they are derogatory terms to describe adults. You may have heard even affluent black people refer to their gardeners and housemaid as `boys' and `girls'.
. Why is the first stanza written in italics? . Who is the speaker in the first stanza? . What does the word ònly' (line 7) suggest about the attitude of the speaker towards black people in general?
Having read the poem through with a knowledge of its context, you would have realised that it records an experience that is rooted in the apartheid are of South Africa. Before you continue, answer the following questions: The second stanza introduces a new speaker. The opening line `yes, he is a good man', not only echoes the first line of the first stanza, but also dramatises a shift in tone. `Man' now replaces `boy'. This comes as a rebuke to the first speaker who uses the word `boy' to describe a black adult. How would you describe the tone here? Ironic, perhaps? Maybe even sarcastic? Give a reason for your choice. The second stanza gains its impact from the way in which irony is manipulated.
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Ìrony' is a fairly complex figure of speech, or trope. M H Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms devotes three pages to the various types of irony found in literature. Basically, irony is the use of language to mean the opposite of what is said. Irony also involves the use of language in such a way that the writer and reader share an inner meaning that escapes the people involved in the situation. In this poem, there is an inner meaning or irony shared between the second speaker (in stanza two), and us, the readers. This meaning is hidden from the first speaker (in stanza one). Have you spotted one instance of irony in the second stanza? The obvious one is the juxtaposition of the words `boy' and `man'. As readers, we know that the second speaker does not approve of the term `boy'. Now read further on. What do the expressions `brother's keeper' and `turning the other cheek' mean? Remember, your Oxford Dictionary does not only give you the meaning of words, but also the meaning of proverbs and idiomatic expressions. But this means a little hunting! Decide on the keyword (or words) in the expression and look it up. If you are lucky, you will find the meaning the first time! For instance, if you look up the word cheek in your dictionary, you will find the meaning of the expression turning the other cheek under the entry cheek. Of course you would have realised that these two expressions come from Christian teaching. Have you discovered the irony yet? It is more than likely that this black man has not read the Bible because he cannot read. Yet the fact that he is willing to forgive his employer is devastatingly ironic when one considers that the rulers of this country during the apartheid era claimed to embrace Christian values but enslaved blacks by enacting un-Christian laws. The ambiguous use of the word `good' in the title of the poem heightens the irony. On one level, the word denotes that the worker is efficient. On the other level, it implies that he is innately a good man, in other words, he shows a sense of humanity to his fellow humans. The imagery in the last three lines of the second stanza underscores the irony in the poem. I shall analyse part of the imagery and leave the rest for you to work out. Look at the line ìn the sun'. The employer is assisted by the worker to sit in the sun. It is ironic that whilst the worker assist the `baas' to his chair in the sun, the worker himself does not have a place in the sun. Caution! This is an idiomatic expression. If you do not know its idiomatic meaning, look it up as I described earlier on. Now analyse the rest of the imagery. If you need assistance, focus on the words `shrug', `swatting' and `fly'.
Focussing on poetic devices such as ambiguity, irony, tone and imagery in the poem, write an essay of about 23 pages in which you show how the poet explores the issues of race and class.
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`Recollection' by Shimmer Chinodya

Introduction Chinodya is a graduate of the University of Zimbabwe. A writer of note, he won the first prize in Literature in English in the Zimbabwean Book Publishers Associations' Award in 1991. He has also published several children's books. Discussion There is no set formula to unlock the meaning of a poem. Each poem dictates an individual mode of approach. A useful approach to the analysis or discussion of a poem is to list some of the elements that are foregrounded in the poem. M H Abrams defines foregrounding as follows: `To foreground is to bring something into the highest prominence, to make it dominant in perception' (Abrams 1993:274). Foregrounding may be achieved in several ways. The writer may repeat certain words or an entire line to draw our attention. Sometimes, the typography (setting of type) and punctuation may be manipulated for effect. Even images, such as visual or auditory, may be heightened for attention. Now that you know the meaning of the term foregrounding, use it sometimes in your discourse of poetry. Just as Banoobhai foregrounds irony in his poem `He's a Good Boy, This One'. Chinodya foregrounds certain elements in his poem for our immediate attention.
Before proceeding any further, list at least THREE elements that are foregrounded in `Recollection'.
Your list would probably look like this: . . . . Repetition of words: remember, thorn Use of sound devices (appealing to the sense of hearing) Use of colour (appealing to the sense of sight) Conversational tone
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. Use of long vowel sounds to slow down the rhythm . ... and so on. Try to incorporate some of the above points in your discussion of the poem. The English poet William Wordsworth celebrates the power of the imagination to recall and re-live memorable experiences in his famous poem Ì Wandered Lonely as a Cloud' (often referred to as `The Daffodils'). Chinodya's poem is reminiscent of Wordsworth's poem. The foregrounding of the word `remember', by its repetition, suggests that the speaker's memories of his childhood days are vivid. It also induces a nostalgic mood which contributes to the overall effect of the poem. Minute details such as `crouching thorn trees', `criss-crossing bush paths' and `coarse crop of grass' suggest memories that are still alive after all these years. Unlike Wordsworth's poem, `Recollection' sketches a past which was not always idyllic (look up the meaning and pronunciation of this word if you are not sure). In the third stanza, the speaker's description of his childhood days is interrupted by the unpleasant memory of a harsh law:
I remember the big sign that said Something about people not being allowed in
Such memories are indelible and often shape our attitudes as adults. We recall how in our own country apartheid laws restricted Black people (including Indians and Coloureds) free access to public places. Although as a child the speaker was too young to know the significance of the `big sign', its effect on him as an adult is a lasting one. In order to explore some of the nuances or finer shades of meaning in the poem, you must attempt the following exercise:
1 2 3 4 5 What connotations do the words `thorn' (Stanza 1 and 2) and `bitter' (Stanza 3) have? Does the speaker recall his past with sadness, nostalgia, pleasure or resentment? Or is it a combination of feelings? Give a reason for your response. Look up the meaning of the word ellipsis (plural: ellipses) in your dictionary. Can you spot the use of ellipsis in the last stanza? This should be quite easy. How does the use of ellipsis relate to the title and the overall theme of the poem? In the last stanza the speaker depicts the harsh environment of the bush. Yet this bush `satisfied' their `boyish dreams'. What does this imply about their homes and their living conditions? Now read the poem through again. Having done so, write your own discussion or analysis of the poem in about two pages, using all the hints provided in the discussion and the above questions.
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`The Beach, Evening' by Patrick Cullinan

Introduction Patrick Cullinan was born in Pretoria in 1932. A co-founder of Bataleur Press, he has also been a farmer and lecturer. He was the founder-editor of the literary magazine The Bloody Horse. In 1980, he was the joint recipient of the Olive Schreiner Prize for Poetry (the other was Chris van Wyk). Discussion There is sometimes a very thin dividing line between the speaker and the poet. However, it is important to make this distinction as we shall see in this poem. The speaker in the poem adopts a racist attitude to his subject, the young black man. He or she reflects the collective, stereotyped attitude of all the white onlookers. If we were to refer to the speaker as the poet, then we would be saying that Patrick Cullinan is a racist. As we have no grounds for such an assertion, it is important to make the distinction between the speaker and the poet. The poem also illustrates how a title can be manipulated to create an ironic contrast: in other words, the expectation which is created by the title is subverted, or undermined, or undercut, by what actually occurs in the poem. Using some of the hints provided by the anthologist on page 18 of your text, say why the title of the poem is ironic. Write down your response in a short paragraph. Remember, you are being trained to write discursive prose, so do not skip these exercises which are designed for this purpose. In the opening stanza, the scene is depicted in vivid colours. Can you list some of the images that appeal to the sense of sight? Note especially the juxtaposition of the words `Whites' and `Black'. Does this contrast or opposition relate in any way to the title of the poem? Does it relate to the main idea or ideas in the poem? What is the main idea or theme of the poem? Write your response in a paragraph. The speaker's attitude reflects the collective attitude of the whites who are watching the young black man whose intrusion into this romantic setting disturbs their equilibrium. Their attitude is racist-and quite typical of those who stereotype the black man as a symbol of unrestrained sexuality, or as a potential `Rapist' (line 9). The first hint of such an attitude is in the speaker's description of the man: à wide buck nigger' (line 2). It is offensive to refer to a black person by the term `nigger'. What is the speaker's tone in the fourth line: `He preens, he stalks'? Is it approving or scornful? You will notice how the verb `walks' in line 2 is echoed by the verb `stalks' in line 4. If you look up the word `stalk' in your dictionary, you will notice that one of
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its meanings suggests an image of an animal. The speaker is consolidating the image of an animal which was first implied in the word `buck' in line 2. The tranquillity of a romantic evening, promised by the title, is disturbed by the appearance of the black person who is presented in the image of an animal that stalks its prey at night. This image is completed in the last stanza of the poem where the use of another verb conveys the movement of an animal. Which verb is this? Rhyme and rhythm, when manipulated consciously by a poet, deserve closer attention. Any poetic device used must contribute to the overall meaning or impact of the poem. (In nursery rhymes such as `Jack and Jill/Went up the hill etc.', rhyme is used as an aid to memorisation.) In the first two stanzas of `The Beach, Evening', the a b a b or alternate rhyme scheme is strictly observed. `Hot' rhymes with `not' and `walks' rhymes with `stalks' and so on. The rhythm or stress pattern is regular, suggesting a lyrical mood. Now observe what happens in the third stanza. Does `rapist' rhyme with `twist'? It is not a full rhyme such as `pounds'/àstounds'. The rhythm in this stanza is also disturbed. It begins with the word `Nothing'. Then there are two exclamations: `Rapist!' and `Faker!'. How does this disturbance in the rhythmic pattern of the poem contribute or relate to the main idea in the poem, in other words its meaning?
In the above discussion, several clues are provided which will assist you to write a plausible interpretation of the poem. Using these clues, write a critique or analysis of the poem in about 2 to 3 pages, focussing on the issue of racial prejudice and stereotyping.
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`Small Passing' by Ingrid de Kok
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Introduction Ingrid de Kok was born in Johannesburg in 1951. Her collected poems, Familiar Ground, was published in 1988. She has co-edited Spring is Rebellious: Arguments About Cultural Freedom (1990) and was advisory editor for the World Literature Today issue on South African literature (1996). Discussion As this is a long poem (58 lines), we shall begin with a theme statement and then explore the poem by working through a series of tasks which will focus on imagery and tone. What do you understand by the term `theme statement'? If I were to say, `The theme of this poem is the suffering of a white woman who has given birth to a stillborn child,' would this be a theme statement? Not quite. This is a statement of the subject of the poem; it is not a theme statement. A theme statement is expressed in more universal or general terms. It moves from a particular description to a universal sentiment or emotion. Having said that the poem is about the private grief of a single white woman, we need to go beyond this to a more universal level. If you look at the last ten lines of the poem, you will realise that the poem is about common suffering which brings people together, no matter what their race or language. The following may be considered as a more satisfactory theme statement which has been expressed in two sentences:
The private grief of the white woman who has given birth to a stillborn child is overshadowed by the magnitude of the suffering of thousands of black women who have lost their children because of violence and malnutrition. Despite their racial differences, the white woman and the black women acknowledge their universal motherhood and share their mutual grief.
The stanzaic division of the poem is unusual. For easy reference, let us re-label its structure. You will observe that the poem is divided into three parts, numbered 1 to 3. We shall refer to them as Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. In Part 1, there are three sections. We shall refer to each of these sections as a stanza. Part 1 In the first stanza of Part 1 , the speaker admonishes the unfortunate white woman not to mourn her `small passing'. Look up the word àdmonish' in your dictionary. Now quote three words or phrases from this stanza which convey this tone of admonishment. In contrast to the isolated case of a single white woman's suffering in the first stanza, the second stanza presents a series of images to convey the collective suffering of black women in South Africa. The force of the word `see' in upper case lettering, compels the grieving white woman to look at the injustices suffered daily by black
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women. These injustices, which are directly related to the apartheid laws of the government, are not stated explicitly. They are implied in the catalogue of images presented by the speaker. Let us take one such image and discuss it briefly. The woman who `dusts/the photographs of other children' represents a typical situation in apartheid South Africa. A black maid employed by a white household would be expected to look after the white children. However, she would not be able to bring her own children into the city because they would not be allowed into white schools. Her misery is expressed in her movements. She moves `so slowly/as if in a funeral rite'.
Now select any two images from the second stanza and discuss them as I have done above.
Part 2 The speaker presents further images evocative of the tragic lives of blacks, especially women. Identify some of these images and explore them as we did in Part 1. In the last line of Part 2, the poet speaks of Èrosion. Soil washed down to the sea'. What is the metaphorical or figurative meaning of this? Think of what happens when soil is eroded and then relate this idea to the theme statement and some of the images you have identified. Part 3 In the opening lines of this section, the speaker refers to `headstones'. Another word for a headstone is `gravestone'. If black mothers are dreaming of the graves of their unborn children, what does this suggest about the lives these children are destined to live? Answer this question because it is crucial to the theme. The tone of the speaker's voice in Part 3 contrasts dramatically with the tone in Part 1 where the white woman is admonished not to mourn her `small passing'. In the final lines of this section, a feeling of companionship or camaraderie is evoked. This is suggested by the repeated use of the third person pronoun: we/us/our. How would you describe the tone at the end of the poem?
Write an essay of about 23 pages in which you relate the imagery in the poem to the context of apartheid in South Africa specifically, and to gender issues broadly.
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Bibliography
Abrams, M.H. 1993 (first pub. 1941). A Glossary of Literary Terms USA: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Heese, M. and Lawton, R. 1992 (first pub 1968). The New Owl Critic. Cape Town: Nasou.
Further Reading
Barnett, U. 1983. A Vision or Order: A Study of Black South African Literature in English (19141980). Cape Town: Maskew Miller. Chapman, M. 1984. South African English Poetry: A Modern Perspective. Johannesburg: AD Donker. Shave, P.L. 1989. A People's Voice: Black South African Writing in the Twentieth Century. London: ZED Books. Strauss, P. 1993. Talking Poetry. Pietermaritzburg: David Philip. This study unit has been adapted from Study Guide 1 for EN5501A, which was compiled by Harry Sewlall.
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STUDY UNIT 7
Fools by Njabulo S Ndebele _____________________________________________
Where To Begin?
You are probably thinking, `What a silly question!' At the beginning, of course! You open the book, focus your eyes on the first paragraph and begin to make sense of the black squiggles arranged on the page. If you are interested, the book will put `hooks' into you and you will be carried away by your desire to find out what happens. We are all inquisitive by nature with a natural desire to find out what is going on. And, so, once `hooked,' we read with a great deal of enjoyment.
Fools by Njabulo S Ndebele is a short novel (novella) that `speaks' to people in many ways. The novel is a hybrid genre that is very flexible and elastic in its ability to take on many forms, and Fools has elements of a short story as well as a full-length novel. In a short story, the writer tends to focus on a particular event and there is very little change in location as the story progresses. In a full-length novel, there is usually a long sequence of events, detailing episodes in the past and present as well as changes in location. In accordance with the conventions of a short story, Fools is set in one location, but the fact that the writer describes events that take place over sixteen days indicates that the action unfolds over into a longer space of time than is usual in a short story. Thus, we may refer to it as a novella.
I suggest that at this point you put everything else aside and begin your reading of this book. Read as swiftly as you can to get the general meaning of the novella. Don't be upset by words that you don't understand or some detail that puzzles you. You should not use your dictionary until the second reading. A good reader does not feel the need to understand everything as long as the main thread of the novel is clear. Predict what is coming and guess difficult words and concepts from the context of the novel. It will do wonders for your logic. Just read for the story and find out what happens to the characters that interest you. Your second reading of the novel should be a very different matter. This time look up those words that stand between you and your comprehension of the text, although this does not mean checking on every word that you do not understand. You should also make notes on the background to the novel, on the setting (where the story takes place), the plot, the characters and the themes. You will find an examination pad useful
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for this purpose. Try to be an interactive reader, not a passive one. By this I mean you must read with an active mind, noticing important details as you proceed. Question the text as you go. Background Ndebele is a well-known South African writer and academic, with a strongly defined creative vision. He believes that good writing encompasses the following characteristics: . . . It contains a conflict of some kind, such as a clash of wills, of personalities or of ideas, which leads to conflict. The conflict develops to a climax of some sort. This is followed by a resolution. The characters are believable in speech, behaviour and actions. There must be a consistent narrative point of view. The reader should ask himself, `Does the author use a first-person narrator who takes an active role in the story? Is s/he a third-person omniscient narrator offering a supposedly objective point of view?' Contained within the text should be a clear attempt to create a pattern out of the apparent chaos of living. This should enable the reader to add to his or her very own perception of life. The writer should match the form exactly to the content. It should not be possible to add anything or to take anything away from the writing. When the reader finishes reading the text, s/he should have a new perception of things. Writers have a limited range of subjects. What distinguishes the craft of fiction is the inventiveness of the writer, the ways in which s/he sharpens the reader's insights and deepens the consciousness of people.'1
. . . .
As you read through Fools, use the above as a mental checklist to try to discern the ways in which Ndebele lives up to his beliefs about the art of writing. This may inspire you in your own writing and will also sharpen your critical literacy skills and those of your learners. Visual Clues In the classroom, your learners will need to master the skill of understanding both verbal and non-verbal (visual) clues because in everyday life they need it to decide what is interesting and what is important, not only in reading and studying, but also when they are exposed to advertising and propaganda. To build up an interest in the novel, you might want to make predictions about the novel, using the cover as a guide. For example, the learners may want to guess what the person or people depicted on the cover are like. They will then be eager to read the novel to find out how their ideas about the characters or the story-line from the cover match up to the story.
1 Malan, R. (ed.) Introduction: Being Here: Modern short stories from Southern Africa. Cape Town: David Philip, 1994.
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Prediction Exercise On the right-hand side is the cover of the first publication of this story, in 1983. On the left-hand side you will notice the cover of the present edition of the book, published in 1997. Both covers contain figures of the two males. You will notice that the earlier edition contains quite a literal interpretation of the two characters on the cover, whereas the later edition represents the two in a more symbolic manner, so that the prospective reader can see the figures as being representative of humanity in general. After studying the two covers alongside each other, take some time to think about each of the following questions. You will also have to read the synopsis of the story on the back cover of the second edition of Fools:
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The First Cover 1. What clue does the first cover give you about the ages and backgrounds of the two characters? 2. Explain the possible reasons for the fact that although they are dressed differently, there is a distinct similarity in their looks. 3. Why do you think that the foreheads of the two men are furrowed? 4. What do the handshake and the direct look that are exchanged between them imply? 5. Can you think of a reason for the burgeoning of the healthy-looking plants in the background? The Second Cover 1. Why do you think the cover of the later edition depicts two, unknown, darkened figures struggling along a path in a ray of light, with their long, dark shadows preceding them? 2. There is an absence of personal detail, such as class, race, possible ages and facial expressions. All we know is that one male is supporting another, whose arm is bandaged. What does this signify? 3. The back cover of the second edition contains a short summary of the the story, including the moral essence underlying it. Look at the last two lines that state that the relationship between the two principal protagonists is eventually characterised by `compassion and dignity as a result of their journeys of self-discovery and growth'. Which aspect of the drawing on the front cover highlights this development? Now spend a little time thinking about my suggested answers. Please feel free to disagree with my opinions, if you wish.
The First Cover 1. They are two males, and the one is obviously older than the other. 2. Both are dressed in accordance with their status and backgrounds. The similarity in their looks would normally indicate a family bond. It can also imply a mental and emotional connection between them. The younger man comes from a financially comfortable background as he seems well-dressed and well caredfor. The older man's profession can be inferred from his attire as well as the fact that he is holding up a quill, a writing instrument that usually symbolises knowledge. 3. The furrowing of their foreheads may be due to the fact that they are serious and intelligent individuals. 4. The steady eye-contact and handshake denote open and honest communication. 5. The healthy growth of plants in the background may be associated with the burgeoning of a healthy, productive relationship between the two men and the start of a new life.
The Second Cover

1. This sketch, with its deliberate obscuring of detail, seems to symbolise the universality of the experiences depicted in the story. Since we cannot discern the race, class and ages of the two men, the setting and content of the story are a mystery to readers who look at this particular cover. However, the fact
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that the one male figure is helping and supporting the other indicates a literal need for support, and can also be linked to a figurative need for emotional support. 2. The two protagonists are depicted as lone figures throwing long, dark shadows. This darkness may symbolise ignorance, folly and a lack of self-understanding. They are walking within a broad ray of light and this would seem to indicate that they may be progressing on a path to enlightenment, and are not overshadowed by the deep problems of the past. The fact that there is darkness within the light as well as light within the darkness in the sketch may symbolise the fact that shades of darkness and light exist within each person and that individuals have complex facets to their characters. 3. The visual depiction of the two shadows reflects an important aspect of characterisation in this novella, namely, the use of `psychological doubles'. As Bheki Peterson, the editor of Fools, explains, `psychological doubles' embody different mental and social responses to the same situation (p. 120).
An Idea to Promote an Inter-active Reader Response in the Classroom Reading Journal

This is a good point to talk about keeping a reading-response journal or reading log. This can be an exercise book or folder that you have close at hand when engaging with the text. Use it to jot down responses, reactions, thoughts and ideas as they occur during your reading. We have all experienced the frustration of having a thought `fly away' because we were interrupted. This journal will help you organise your thoughts and maintain your engagement with the text. As you read the novel, stop from time to time and think back over what you have read. . . . . Is there anything that puzzles you? Note down some questions you have. Perhaps you want to research these or discuss them with the lecturer. Note any phrases or quotations which appeal to you or which strike you as important. You may use them when writing your essays or in your classroom. Does your reading remind you of anything else you have read, heard or seen on television or the cinema? Jot down what it is and where the similarities lie. Do you relate to the experiences narrated in the book? Have you had any similar experiences? Which characters do you identify closely with? Which character do you dislike? What is it about them which makes you feel so strongly? Record your feelings as accurately as possible. Use mind-maps to help clarify the relationships between characters. Imagine yourself as a character and think about how you might react to an event. Can you picture the locations and settings? Draw maps, plans, diagrams, drawings, in fact, any doodle which will help you make sense of things. Now and again try to predict what will happen next in the book. Use what you already know about the author, the genre (type of story) and the characters to do this. Later record how close you were and whether you were surprised at the outcome. Throughout your reading make notes about how you would teach the novel. Jot down points on setting, characters, style, humour, etc. Write down any feelings you have about the book.'2
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2 Samson, R. 1997. ed. Introduction to Paul Scott's Staying On. Essex: Longman Literature. p. xviii.
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There is only one principle to remember this is your journal! You need to write about the way you experience the text. Forget about trying to come up with the `right' answer or guessing what your lecturer has in mind. This journal should be a reflection of you. Your responses may sometimes differ from those of your colleagues or your lecturer. That is fine. All it means is that you have your own point of view. What is more, you don't have to work out everything in the text before you write down a response. Use your journal as a place to discover what you think.'3 If you plan to introduce your learners to the concept of a response journal, stress the above points. More importantly, emphasise that no marks will be awarded for their entries. Learners are more likely to be spontaneous, informal and subjective, if they are free from the pressure of acquiring marks. On reading their journals, ignore spelling and grammatical errors this is a place for capturing ideas. A loose-leaf journal is recommended as learners then have the liberty of removing any material they consider too personal to share with you or other learners. A dialogue-format journal is ideal in the classroom. In dialogue journals, educators respond to learners' entries with their own entries, creating a written conversation. In responding to learners' entries with their ideas and questions, educators are prompting learners to extend their thinking and are modelling ways of elaborating, abstracting, or organising thinking.'4 This format also works well as a learner-to-learner exchanges.5 Reflecting on Values in Your Reading Journal As you make your reading journal entries, you will probably be reflecting on the values embedded in the text. According to the Revised National Curriculum Statement, learners need to become conscious of the values presented in the texts they read and view, and in the texts they create themselves. When they analyse and, where necessary, challenge the values present in texts, learners will: . . . learn how texts take a particular view of people of people and events develop the critical skills to examine and, if necessary, resist these views and the values associated with them become conscious of how they express values in the texts they create themselves for example, tolerance, empathy, respect, pleasure, humour, playfulness, displeasure and anger.
Texts often deal with moral issues, which are based on distinguishing between right and wrong as well as good and evil in human behaviour. As a reader and as a student of literature, you should try to not only read the story, but to also actively engage with it. In this way, you can gain insights into your own actions, values and attitudes as well as those of the people around you.
3. Tchudi, S. Yesner, S. and Yesner, J. 1991. Literature by Doing: Responding To Poetry, Essays, Drama, and Short Stories. Lincolnwood: National Textbook Company. p. x. 4. Beach, R. and Marshall, J. 1991. Teaching Literature in the Secondary School. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. pp. 106-07. 5. Moodley, T. 2004. Tutorial Letter 501 for EED 102-G: Ways of Knowing, Fiction, Poetry and Drama. Pretoria: University of South Africa.
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An example of a journal entry is provided for you in the section in which the characters in this novella are discussed.
The Title
The title of a piece of writing is always significant. The following words, uttered by one of the protagonists, embody the core concerns of the novel:
And the wind that blew against my face as I ran sounded like the very sound of shame. The sound of victims laughing at victims. Feeding on their victimness, until it becomes an obscene virtue. Is there ever an excuse for ignorance? And when victims spit on victims, should they not be called fools? Fools of darkness (p. 87).
1. At this stage of our discussion of Fools, it is important that we try to unravel the essence of this universal message. The paragraph we are discussing contains three statements, followed by three questions. This indicates that the speaker of this utterance is confidently stating his opinions and, at the same time, hesitantly looking for answers to universal problems. His quest for knowledge would seem to be fuelled by inexperience as well as idealism. Why do you think the sound of the wind is likened to the `sound of shame'? 2. The second sentence in the above extract points to the reality of people who have been victimised being amused by the suffering of their fellow victims. Can you think of more constructive and fruitful ways in which those who recognise the sufferings of one another can behave? 3. The next sentence requires careful analysis. If the word òwn' were inserted before the word `victimness', would it help to clarify the meaning? What does the use of the word òbscene' indicate about the narrator's attitude towards this state of affairs? 4. Look the question that follows, Ìs there ever an excuse for ignorance?'What does this indicate about the narrator's attitude towards those who do not consciously seek information on matters that have a detrimental effect on their own lifestyles and attitudes? 5. Examine the next line. What is the figurative meaning of the words, `victims [who] spit on victims'? 6. The last question contains only three words; a succinct summing up of this short extract. What do you associate with darkness and why do you think it is linked with folly? Now decide whether you agree with the following answers:
1. We are all familiar with the sound of the wind, but we are not accustomed to shame (an abstract noun) being associated with a sound. Let us examine this comparison more fully. Despite the fact that the weather on the day of the incident is fine, do you think that the narrator would be comparing `the sound of shame' to a gentle wind on a calm, sunny day, or to a lashing wind on a cold, stormy day? Taking the emotional turmoil evident in these words into account, the comparison between the two (wind and shame) conjures up images of an individual being lashed by a strong onslaught of shame, just as people have to cope with the uncontrollable force of nature on a very windy day.
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2. A more appropriate and constructive response would be to not only empathise (look up this word in the Oxford Advanced Learners' Dictionary OALD) and sympathise with one another, but also to unite in order to become a strong force that can cope with these situations with much greater effect. 3. People who glorify or feed on their status as victims would seem to revel in the situation, as it enables them to solicit sympathy from others and allows them to indulge in self-pity and to feel better about themselves. They see themselves as martyrs who must be respected for putting up with the condition of being victims without doing anything practical about improving the conditions of their lives. The use of the word òbscene' indicates that the narrator thinks that equating this type of behaviour with `virtue' is totally inexcusable. The implication is that those who live under oppressive conditions should not see themselves as helpless, passive victims of circumstances. 4. His attitude is obviously condemnatory. He believes that only fools would refuse to arm themselves with the type of information that will have a beneficial effect on their lives. 5. The next question begins with the word Ànd' and thus forms a link with the first sentence in the extract, which also begins with this conjunction. This type of repetition not only reinforces the strength of the narrator's message, but also epitomises the lyrical, poetic quality of Ndebele's writing. Spitting in this context has the negative connotations of hostility, contempt, venomousness and a total rejection of moral virtues such as goodness and helpfulness. 6. The frequent appearance of the symbol of darkness in the novel is aimed at highlighting the people's movement away from the seeking of knowledge, as well as their negation of the desire for a meaningful existence. Since a fool is defined as a person who acts unwisely, it is clear that the narrator believes that those who choose to avoid personal, social and political enlightenment are engaged in an act of self-sabotage. A close scrutiny of Ndebele's essay, `Rediscovery of the Ordinary: Some New Writings in South Africa'6 indicates that, in this instance, the character uttering these words may be voicing the writer's feelings on the issue. Now that you have worked on this short excerpt, visit (or, more ideally, revisit) the whole paragraph on page 87 of Fools, and read it fully to gain a greater understanding of the motivations and didactic messages guiding this text. Then read the novel from beginning to end, if you have not done so already.
Aims
As you read through Fools, reflect on how this text can be used to enhance the following aims outlined in the Languages Learning Area Statement in the Revised National Curriculum Statement: . Personal to sustain, develop and transform identities, to sustain relationships in the family and community; and for personal growth and pleasure.
6 Ndeblele, Njabulo, S. 1991. Rediscovery of the Ordinary: Essay on South African Literature and Culture. Johannesburg, South Africa: Congress of South African Writers.
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. . . . . .
Communicative to communicate appropriately and effectively in a variety of social contexts. Educational to develop tools for thinking and reasoning, and to provide access to information. Aesthetic to create, interpret and play imaginatively with oral, written and visual texts. Cultural to understand and appreciate languages and cultures, and the heritage they carry. Political to assert oneself and challenge others, to persuade others of a particular point of view, to position oneself and others, and to sustain, develop and transform identities. Critical to understand the relationships between language, power and identity, and to challenge uses of these where necessary, to understand the dynamic nature of culture, and to resist persuasion and positioning where necessary.
As a literary text, Fools provides a large number of opportunities to promote life-skills in the classroom. When Zani utters the words to Zamani, `You see, too much oppression in the political dimension, soon becomes, in itself, a form of oppression' 7 (p. 61), he seems to be acting as a spokesperson for Ndebele the writer, who feels that the boundaries of that which is defined as political should be broadened. He states, Ìf it is a new society we seek to bring about in South Africa then the newness will be based on a direct concern with the way people actually live. That means a range of complex ethical issues involving man-man, man-woman, woman-woman, man-nature, man-society relationships'. He also says that writers had a tendency to be sensationalist and to emphasise the political intentions of their writings. He feels that they should not only confront this reality but also go beyond it to focus on the ways and means in which ordinary people survive under harsh personal and social conditions. He adds that, since writers have a social responsibility to confront human tragedy, this should be accompanied by the responsibility of creating a new society.
You will notice that, like many texts by African writers, Fools does have a didactic purpose. Thus, many of the aims outlined above may be successfully integrated into interesting discussions in the literature classroom as well as during life orientation sessions. Because you probably do not have many people available around you with whom to discuss your ideas, please join me in examining various aspects of the novella Fools. We shall in turn discuss its setting, plot, characters, themes, motifs, narrative style, narrative voice, language usage and two types of irony.
Setting The setting of the novel has different aspects that are important for the story: . time: the 1960s, at the height of the apartheid era.
7. Ndeblele, Njabulo, S. 1991. Rediscovery of the Ordinary: Essays on South African Literature and Culture. Johannesburg, South Africa: Congress of South African Wrtiters.
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country: South Africa, in which the social and political repression of Blacks was increasing, and its resulting problems. the specific place where all the action is located, namely; Charteston Township.
Fools has a well-defined setting in time and geographical location. It is set in about 1966, when apartheid was already well-entrenched in the political system of South Africa. Most of the action takes place in Charteston Township, near Nigel, in the Gauteng (Transvaal) province of South Africa. When the two protagonists meet at the station at the outset of the action, we are told that Zani, the young man, has just returned from school in Swaziland and we learn at a later stage in the narrative that Zamani was on his way back from a tryst with a married woman who lives in Springs. After their conversation at the station and later, as their train speeds arrives at its destination, the young man declares vehemently (look up this word in the OALD), `Charteston Township! Indeed, I'm returning to your stagnant isolation!' (p. 20). This refers to the fact that townships in South Africa, especially at the height of apartheid, were situated as far as possible from the outskirts of large towns and cities. This type of setting was designed to isolate Blacks in separate areas which were very poorly serviced and the living conditions were often in total contrast to the towns and cities for which they provided a cheap source of labour. As you are aware, although people of different race groups are free to live in mixed suburbs in the present system, the majority of townships that came into existence in the apartheid era continue to exist. Zamani lives in Ndimande Street in Charteston Township, and when he is dropped off by the taxi driver, the setting is described in detail. Some of you may have witnessed at least a few elements of the type of scene described below:
Someone had made a fire at the rubbish dump on the corner of Chwayi and Ndimande Streets. It was one of the many rubbish dumps in the township that people had created themselves because of a terribly inefficient municipal rubbish collection service. And when the horrible smell of rotting things became unbearable, people simply decided to set fire to the heaps, thus burning all the children's and dogs' shit, dead cats, old shoes, and clothes that had become indistinguishable from the rotting fermentation of bones, food, twigs, soil and grass. Thick acrid smoke was spreading into the streets (p. 23).
This was (and still is, in some instances) a common sight in Black townships inhabited by those who were dispossessed and were either unemployed or poorly-paid. A survey of the setting is vital as we launch into a further exploration of the novella. Ndebele8 states that writers should go beyond bearing witness to the pain and horrors around them and use an explanatory approach to try to provide knowledge on the social and historical processes that shape society. He believes that stories should explore the background to the every-day, familiar events in which individuals are caught up. The necessity of this approach will become clearer when we explore the impact of the township setting on the motivation and behaviour of various characters. The Use of this Text in a Multicultural Classroom It is interesting to note that, although Fools is a short novel, crossing the divide
8. Ndebele, Njabulo, S. 1991. Rediscovery of the Ordinary: Essays on South African Literature and Culture. Johannesburg, South Africa: Congress of South African Writers.
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between a short story and a lengthy novel, the setting is depicted in a fair amount of detail. This is very useful, especially in a classroom context, as the life-experiences of learners are often dissimilar. In a multicultural classroom, a setting that is familiar to township and urban dwellers of some races in South Africa will, in all likelihood, not be within the life experience of all learners. Moreover, readers in foreign countries would find a detailed description of the setting very helpful in understanding the characters. The setting described in the extract about the streets on page 23 of the novella is symbolic of the lack of motivation and ambition that overcomes some of the characters, as the social and political injustices to which they are subjected induce a feeling of apathy and inertia. You should contrast this setting with descriptions of other scenes which symbolise hope and renewal. According to the Revised National Curriculum Statement, languages are important tools for achieving human rights and environmental justice. Learners are expected to analyse texts and `rewrite' them in ways that expand possibilities in relation to these factors. As an educator, you will recognise the many creative possibilities in which you can integrate the Life Orientation Learning Area into the teaching of this part of Fools. As texts often have multiple meanings, Specific Outcome I of Curriculum 2005 requires learners to make and negotiate meaning and understanding. This implies that the meanings of a text are not fixed and that learners have to actively engage with the text to extract meaning from it. Each learner will thus make a different journey through the novella, since each carries a different background and varied life-experiences that enable her/him to find unique ways to relate to the characters and life experiences that are depicted.
Plot
During the course of our discussion you will be required to read the whole novella several more times and to reread specific portions. The plot of a novel is the `skeleton' of the story. It consists of . . . a number of interesting events arranged in time events that lead naturally to other, equally exciting events events that have stated reasons and results.
In their book Introducing the Novel (1987:30) Reader and Woods say that the plot of the novel has the same function as the skeleton in the human body, that is, it gives the novel shape and enables it to work well. Remember that story and plot are not exactly the same, because the plot gives us the causal relationships between events in the story. In the novel, as in the short story, the plot of a novel tells us why events take place, what causes them and how they in turn cause other events. Time Sequence The writer employs two kinds of time in Fools. These may be defined as narrative time and psychological time. In terms of narrative time, the plot of this short novel develops in a linear way, with a chronological progression of events occurring within a fairly compressed period of time. However, there are two major incidents in the past to which the narrator refers. We call the technique used by the writer a flashback when
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an incident from the past is described in the middle of another time so the reader can understand why the story is following a certain course. This complex arrangement has the effect of bringing certain things to our attention and creating a particular relation among the events. There are two major flashback scenes in Fools that are used by the writer to explain elements of the plot to the reader. The first is the episode when the young Mimi is raped and second is the nocturnal visit by Zamani to Candu, the teacher who is married. Read the information given to you on pages 108 and 109 by the editor of the novella, but remember not to include the flashback sequences in this time-line, since this sequence is designed to depict the linear progression of events in the lives of Zani and Zamani from 30 November to 16 December, 1966. Since this will encompass fifteen key events, it will constitute a concise time-line for the entire novella.
Beginning
End
Cause and Effect Remember, we said that a plot consists of a sequence of interesting events that have a causal relationship, in other words, for which there are reasons and that have results in the story. Unlike the plot of a short story, which usually consists of only one main event, a novel usually has a whole series of important events. An event-reason-result table helps to clarify elements of the plot. Look at the example below: Event Reason Result
Zamani reprimanded by Zamani missed an impor- A deepening of the existPrincipal Lehamo tant staff meeting without ing conflict between them notifying the principal How to Write About the Plot When you answer a question about the novel in an assignment or examination, pay careful attention to the wording. Ask yourself exactly what kind of answer is wanted. You never simply have to `tell the story'. You must know the story-line and the sequence of events very well, but you must also be able to explain how these events fit together. For example, if you look at the events in the sample of the event-reasonresult given to you above, you could say the following: . After Zamani returns from his overnight visit to Candu, a married teacher he had first met at a music festival, he is strongly reprimanded by Principal Lehamo for neglecting his teaching duties. Despite being subjected to the same indignities and injustices as Zamani and other Blacks under the apartheid regime, the principal is an admirer of the architect of apartheid, the late Hendrik Verwoed. He asks Zamani to `guess [his] own guilt' and tells him that, given the opportunity,
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. .
he would fire him without any regret (p. 24). Nonetheless, we do realise that Zamani had neglected his duties. He did not formulate and submit his examination questions in time and neglected to inform the principal that he would not be present at the meeting of the staff. The evidence of this neglect of his teaching duties is counteracted when we are told that he delivers a very inspiring lesson to his learners when he gets back to the classroom, and that he also works until very late, preparing his examination questions and his lessons for the next day. Refer to the time-line you have created above, and then draw and complete eventreason-result tables for all the key events in the novel. This exercise will enable you to produce a very useful synopsis of the novel. Now look again at the incidents listed in the event-reason-result tables you have created for the whole novella. Then look at the example above, in which I have elaborated on the first confrontation between Principal Lehamo and Teacher Zamani. Can you elaborate by writing a paragraph on each of the incidents that are listed for you on pages 108 and 109 of the novella?
Characters
Since Fools is a short novel, there is scope only for a few characters. The events show these characters in moments of crisis, or in moments when they reveal themselves. Characters' needs and motivations are also revealed when the true nature of a relationship is explored, or when a challenge is met and declined. As you read through Fools, you will notice that Ndebele does not represent his characters from a male perspective only. Most of the women characters are also well-presented within the ambit of this text. Ndebele places emphasis on the resourcefulness and dignity of people living under social and political oppression and believes that there should be a mature acceptance of the ability of people to grow mentally, emotionally and spiritually and to overcome their personal weaknesses. Try to keep these ideas in mind when you explore the strengths and many weaknesses of the principal protagonists, Zamani and Zani. In exploring characters and their relationships with one another, you will find your reading journal an invaluable resource. Below is a demonstration of the informal journal-writing techniques we discussed earlier. The entry is in response to the incident when Zamani and Zani reach Nigel station after their train journey (pp. 22 23).
Zamani is older than Zani but he offers to carry the young man's heavy suitcase. Seems to me that they have connected on a deeper level whilst conversing on the train. Zani's knowledge about so many aspects of Zamani's life probably contributes to this intimacy. Zani's ironical comment on the separate bridge crossing the rails, labelled NON-EUROPEANS reminds me of the past when such signs were seen everywhere I went. Zamani's selfcriticism and his feelings of guilt and inferiority very evident as he follows the young Zani like a little puppy. Zani's leadership qualities are revealed. Is he pampered and used to having other people do things for him? The fact that
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Zani refuses to sit in the taxi, and says he prefers taking a bus (even if he has to wait for it), indicates to me that he is idealistic, but also quite misguided and confused at times. How does Zamani feel when he leaves the young man at the bus stop? Seems guilty, sorry and also identifies with Zamani's loneliness. Is this a strong link between them are both outsiders within the community? Must investigate why they are outsiders. Know some reasons why Zamani is cut off from the community but need to find out more. At this stage, Zani is still very much of a mystery to me.
Read the following character descriptions and compare them with your impressions of the characters as recorded in the above reading journal entry: Zamani Fools attempts to dissect the strengths and limitations of the beliefs and actions of the two characters we meet on the first page, Zamani and Zani. Zamani is a complex person, whose actions are often difficult to understand, so we will have to examine his character in detail. From the outset, it is clear that Zamani is a schoolteacher who has fallen out of grace. His character is revealed in his feelings, insights and attitudes. Although we learn a lot about Zamani from other people's reactions to him, a vital source of information about this character is Zamani himself. As a first-person narrative style is employed, this lends immediacy and impact to some of the shocking insights and self-reflective passages contained in the novella. We, as readers, sometimes think that Zamani's behaviour is quite villainous, but nonetheless, find ourselves responding with insight into what made him the person he is. He is honest about his weaknesses and deep failings, and this makes him a quintessential (look up this word in the OALD) anti-hero.
Ndebele believes that there should be an emphasis on the intricacies of human behaviour and on the existence of both good and bad within most people. An anti-hero is defined as someone who is petty, shameful, passive, powerless; quite ordinary, insecure and very short-sighted. As you read through the novella, you will certainly not find many heroic qualities in Zamani, but you may find yourself developing a compassionate understanding of him as an anti-hero.
Another excellent source of information about Zamani is Zani, the second principal protagonist. Zamani states, `When I first saw him in the waiting room on platform one at Springs Station, I wanted to know him' (p. 9). This bold statement portends a future reality that the two characters will indeed really get to know each other very well. During the course of the events in the novella, you will notice that they also gain significant self insights. The journey from the station is therefore a journey into many new self-discoveries that eventually enhance the qualities of their own lives as well as those with whom they have relationships. The detailed narration about the appearances of the two protagonists in the opening pages of the novella provides us with important character clues. We are told that Zani is tall and slender and in `good physical condition' (9). He wears an expensive pair of shoes with a well-fitting coat and well-cut trousers and he carries a bag of provisions, a leather suitcase and a heavy bag filled with books to `build the mind' (p. 21). However,
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his stubborn insistence on using a cheap bus to get home from Nigel Station belies his appearance and symbolises the contradictions and confusion that will beset him during his time in the township of Charteston. Similarly, Zamani's character is revealed through his appearance. In her letter to Zani, his girlfriend Ntozake says of Zamani:
But the way you described him: the drool in the waiting room; his red, blinking eyes; his puffy cheeks, and rough skin from careless shaving; faded clothes and that sagging tummy you took so long to describe. The very picture of decrepitude and lost glory (p. 72). Try to complete the table that follows after reading through the short extracts below. This will enhance your ability to use quotations to substantiate your arguments when writing an essay for an assignment. In doing this exercise, you should firstly place each of the examples within their contexts in the story. You should then decide what each tells you about Zamani's character, with all its complexities and contradictions.
1. I told myself that if the young man thought he could defy or humiliate me, he was wasting his time. I had had so much abuse heaped on me in the last few years, that I persuaded myself that I could only be more fascinated than annoyed by his attitude (p. 12). 2. It's amazing how this kind of rationalisation had become so instinctive to me! I suppose that's what made me so resilient, so understanding, and so compassionate: all of which offered refuge to my growing inability to assert myself (p. 12). 3. A perfectly good question: `Do you still peel off skins?' I didn't do it anymore. I stopped about three years ago (p. 15). 4. I had before me, for the first time in my life, someone who genuinely felt sorry for me. At that moment, I was seized by a deep feeling of contrition (p. 17). 5. You used the wrong methods for the right ends. And then you did not have enough courage. If you fear the consequences, then it is better to do nothing (p. 18). 6. I felt his loneliness. But I felt lonelier than he: it was a loneliness that comes from being among people who were silent, perhaps amused witnesses to my misfortune (p. 23). 7. You should go now, she said again. How I loved her! The mother of my son. She bore the child I never had. How lovely she was! Busi stood where her mother had stopped her beside the stove. She could do whatever she liked now. But I suppose her final act of vengeance was her total refusal to do what her mother asked her. I remembered her dark form in the street, an hour after Mimi had left my house crying. Busi had stood there, and dared me to come out. I didn't. And she smashed all the windows of my house. (p. 32). 8. `You're such an unhappy man,' said Zani. Our eyes met. `Very unhappy' (p. 64). 9. Indeed, what honour was there in fighting my wars with undignified means? With ill-considered means? Yes, I was right to be trapped, and then be doomed to try to break out by dragging as many as I could into my own mire (p. 67). 10. But my silence was my salvation; the silence of years of trying to say something without much understanding; the silence of desperate action (p. 85).
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Context 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Character trait
Zani It can be argued that although the second principal protagonist in Fools does not have the character flaws that Zamani has, his personality is also characterised by many contradictions. Zamani says, Ànd I realised that within the space of about twenty-five minutes I had seen his restlessness, his impatience, his arrogance, his joyfulness, and his amazing recovery through aggression and intimidation' (p. 16). Zani is also very lonely and misunderstood by the community in his quest for social and political justice. This becomes evident very soon after his arrival in Charteston, when he is beaten up by a few of the patrons at the local beer hall. His relationship with the young Ntozakhe, who loves and understands him, is characterised by his own confusion and uncertainty about their future as a couple. He is loved and cherished by his mother, MaButhelezi, and by his sister; the assertive Busi, and the meek Mimi. His closeness to Mimi is evident in the fact that she corresponds with him about her relationship with Zamani. In addition to the loving care of his immediate family, he also forms a very close bond with Nosipho, Zamani's wife, who is emotionally estranged from her errant husband. Nosipho and Zani share a love of reading and meaningful conversation, and his visits to her provide him with the emotional clarity and support that he desperately needs. He is an idealist, with strong convictions about the injustices inherent in the political system of the day. He uses the fact that the teacher takes him home after his stabbing as an opportunity to ask for a visit to his classroom, to reach out to the learners. In answer to Zamani's query about what he wished to speak to them about, he replies,Àbout life' (p. 32). His attempt to promote the life skills of the young learners by making them aware of the incongruity (look up this word in the OALD) of celebrating their political defeat is unsuccessful, since it is impossible for them to understand statements such as, `When evil becomes a philosophy or a religion, it becomes rational or spiritual malice: the highest form of depravity'(p. 49). His own lack of social skills becomes evident in his inability to deal effectively with the anger of the school's headmaster, Mr Lehamo, during his visit to the school, as well as on the Day of the Covenant. The beating he
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receives from Constable Hlope and Constable Mbibi indicates that his opposition to the apartheid state provokes the hatred of those who are compliant with the regime. His attempt to abort the picnic and dance organised by Mr Lehamo only succeeds by chance. Ironically, he is inadvertently (look up this word in the OALD) saved by a representative of the political forces he is militating against, when the Boer who is driving past the scene directs his ire at Mr Lehamo after the latter mistakenly hits his car with a stone that had been directed at Zani. The bond between Zani and Zamani Despite his overriding awareness of the fact that Zamani had raped his sister (as well as of the other flaws in Zamani's character) the two men form an unusual bond. Ntozakhe sums it up by commenting in her letter to Zani, `But forgive me, the more terrible things you say about him the more you seem obsessed with him. Perhaps I'm wrong. Is he some kind of lovable evil?' (p. 72). The ambivalence (look up this word in the OALD) evident in the words `lovable evil' symbolizes Zani's attitude towards Zamani. This attitude seems to stem from a knowledge of some of the ideals that the older man had once held, such as the commitment to promoting empowerment through meaningful knowledge and his criticism of the hypocritical practice of religion in Black townships. Their growing bond is evident in Zamani's observation, Ì wasn't really sure what was happening, but we both had a good laugh. I was grateful' (p. 14), and, in another instance, when he says, Ì had before me, for the first time, someone who felt genuinely sorry for me' (p. 17).
Look again at the cover of your copy of the latest edition of Fools. Having read the text, you are aware that the cover depicts the scene in which Zamani takes Zani home after the young man becomes embroiled in a drunken brawl. I am sure you will agree that the interdependence of these two characters is very well captured in this scene.
Mr Lehamo Although Mr Lehamo is not one of the principal protagonists, he does play a significant role in the novella. As the principal of the school at which Zamani teaches, he is a supporter of the apartheid system, without acknowledging that he is also one of its victims. As a Black who is a proponent of the very inferior Bantu Education system, should Mr Lehamo not be characterised as a victim who in turn victimises fellow Black victims? Do remember that there are no outright villains in Fools, as the writer believes that victimisers are often themselves victims. Although Mr Lehamo has many personal qualities and opinions that would widely be regarded as totally unacceptable, it is difficult to condemn him completely as he is also a victim. Instead of rebelling, he embraces the notion of his inferiority as a Black and finds safety and security in conforming with the social and political circumstances that those classified as Non-Europeans were subjected to at that time. 1. Read the following extracts from the novel: pages 2324, 4951, 8083. 2. Now look at the table that follows. Fill in the column for characteristics and then use examples from the various extracts given above to substantiate (prove, give
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facts to support) your answers in the first column. I have filled in one row to show you what to do. Principal Lehamo Characteristic Example from the novel to substantiate chosen characteristic hard-working As a school principal, he checks on his teachers' attendance, walks around the school to see that everything is in order in the classrooms, organises staff meetings before the examinations and tries to raise funds.
Women Characters The women in the novella generally display admirable qualities, despite the fact that they have to cope with a double form of oppression; firstly, within the political system, and secondly, because of the gender-discriminatory practices of their communities. Let us begin by examining the character of Nosipho, and the character traits that are revealed in her relationship with Zamani. Nosipho Spend a little time thinking about each of the following questions concerning Nosipho's relationship with Zamani, before you look at my answers. You may, of course, disagree with my opinions. 1. It is significant that whilst eavesdropping on the conversation between Nosipho and Zani during the young man's visit to his house, Zamani reaches the realization that he does not really know his wife. He states, `... all those years that I thought I was hurting her and then repenting, she had fashioned a life of her own, that she had refused without any show of open defiance, to be thrown by me into some rubbish heap at some street corner' (p. 63). Describe the ways in which Nosipho refuses to become a victim of her circumstances. 2. What do we learn from Zamani's last reference to Nosipho in the novella? 3. Study the sketch on the next page. In one of the key scenes of the novella, Zamani looks at the two yew trees which are regarded as a landmark of the township and then reaches some conclusions about life. Why are these insights so significant in our understanding of the final mention of Nosipho in the novella?
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You should decide whether you agree with the following answers:
1. Zani accuses disadvantaged people of, `Feeding on their victimness, until it becomes an obscene virtue' (p. 87). Nosipho, on the other hand, seems to be a classic example of a person who, in refusing to be thrown ìnto some rubbish heap in a street corner' (p. 63) prevents herself from becoming a victim of her circumstances. She uses all her inner resources to bravely cope with her husband's behaviour and the community's rejection of her and remains beautiful, dignified and committed to her professional responsibilities. Moreover, she remains faithful to her unfaithful husband and nurtures her intellectual prowess and professional knowledge through reading. She main123
tains her integrity by refusing to fabricate excuses for Zamani's worst excesses. Despite the fact that he refuses to communicate with her, she remains with him because she loves him and her appreciation of his efforts in the garden symbolises her tolerant and forgiving nature. 2. Zamani refers to his wife in the last three sentences of Fools. Having just encountered Mimi, he states, `Nosipho was surely home from work. She was home. I had to get to her' (p. 88). The repetition of the word `home' in two of these three short sentences tells us that Nosipho symbolises for him the care, safety and comfort of a home environment. It is significant that he has just spoken to Mimi prior to expressing a wish to return home to Nosipho. The encounter between him and Mimi is brief and quite impersonal, as she and Ntozakhe refuse his offer of help, and although he continues to feel remorseful, he is determined to continue walking towards Nosipho and the home they share. 3. After viewing the two yew trees, Zamani says, À mind given completely to a preoccupation with an unyielding, powerful negation is soon debased by the repeated sameness of its findings. And in the absence of viable alternatives become hopelessly constricted' (p. 77). In addition to the other insights he has gained, it would also seem that Zamani's final decision to return to Nosipho is a move away from the strong element of negativity that had characterised his relationship with her in the past.
Women as Individuals In many male-dominated societies, such as the community of Charteston, women are defined in terms of their roles as wives, daughters and mothers. To some extent, we have been doing the same in our discussion of the character of Nosipho in Fools. You will notice that we have focussed our attention thus far on Nosipho as a wife. Let us now focus our discussion on Nosipho as an individual, a dedicated, professional nurse of considerable intellect and great tolerance. These qualities become especially evident in her relationship with the young Zani, who gives her the respect and understanding that help to assuage (look up this word in the OALD) her immense loneliness. Her emotional estrangement from her husband is echoed in her distant relationship with members of her community, who find her àloof' (p. 61), and fail to understand the nobility inherent in her character. It is in her relationship with the second principal protagonist that we develop a real understanding of her as an individual who is not only beautiful and dignified, but who is also capable of forming an emotional, spiritual and intellectual bond with the young boy despite the fact that he is a painful reminder of the girl her husband has raped. His admiration for her is evident at their first meeting. He looks at her, às if he was seeing a vision' (p. 44). During his visit to her home, the views he expresses about education as well as the social and political responsibilities of individuals are attuned with Nosipho's. The deep affinity they share is clear when she declares, `Young man, you have echoed me in so many ways tonight' (p. 58). Her humility is evident when she affirms the wisdom and capabilities of women like Zani's mother, MaButhelezi, who has no formal education. She bemoans the fact that Black women are forced to become either teachers or nurses, since they are debarred from other professions because of constraints of apartheid. Her humanity is displayed in her commitment to restoring her
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patients, `to a complete human balance: to make him a father again, or a mother again, or an uncle again'(p. 62). Words and Silences Silences and omissions can be used as a tool by a writer to contribute to the meanings of a story. Some characters have very little to say, even though their presence adds greatly to the significance of events as they unfold. For example, it would seem that Candu and Mimi are largely voiceless. This may be attributed to the fact that Zamani, as the first-person, fallible narrator in the novella, relates the events and filters them through his consciousness and the ways in which he understands his relationships with them. An example of this occurs during the rape scene, which is recounted by him in a flashback sequence, and we do not get much insight into Mimi's reactions, besides the sound of the `fading cry of a woman' (p. 35) as she runs home. She is often silent and we can only infer her feelings from the comments and observations of other characters. We are led to believe that she and Zamani did share a meaningful relationship, but the dynamics of this relationship are never fully explored in the text. Besides the brevity of Fools, can you think of other reasons why this relationship is not fully explored? Do you think it is because the first-person narrator intrinsically believes that he belongs in his marriage with Nosipho? If you were the writer of the novella, would you change anything, and if so, why? Other Significant Women
I think it is time you had a brainstorming session. Are you ready? Write down the names of as many of the other women characters as you can remember.
How many have you got? In addition to Nosipho and Mimi, you should have listed Ntozakhe, MaButhelezi, Busi and Candu. Taking each character in turn, respond to the following questions. Note that you can answer them in any order, provided you integrate your answers into short, well-constructed paragraphs: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. What is her relationship to the two principal protagonists? What are her hopes and fears? What are her strengths and weaknesses? What does she say? If she does not say much, what does her silence signify? What unique attribute of womanhood does she display? How do other characters behave towards her? Is she is victim? Is she a victimiser? How does she react to the circumstances of her life?
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Example: MaButhelezi
As an example, I will take the character of Ma Buthelezi to show you how you can approach this exercise. Although this character appears in one brief episode of the novella, she does make an impact on the reader. As you read the short character sketch below, refer to the words in bold print that provide the link with the questions above: The two principal protagonists are strongly linked with Ma Buthelezi, as she is the mother of Zani and Mimi, the young girl raped by Zamani. Like all mothers, Ma Buthelezi hopes that her offspring will become well-educated and independent. To this end, she sends Zamani to a school in Swaziland, as she fears the limitations of apartheid education. She also encourages Mimi to complete her school education by obtaining a matric certificate. She has no discernable weaknesses, displaying strength in the running of her shebeen and in controlling her reactions to adverse situations. She affirms her dignity and humanity by acknowledging the fact that Zamani has brought her injured son home, and that, as a visitor to their home, he should be treated with politeness. However, her daughter Busi's open hostility impels her to pass a verdict on him, evident in the statement, ``The man there,'' said MaButhelezi `ìs a disgrace. When you look at him you see disgrace. But he is in your home. Now do what I told you'' (32). In saying this, she does not lower her dignity by screaming and shouting at him and she chastises Busi for doing so. Her silence on the details of Zamani's dastardly deed indicates a sensitivity to Mimi's feelings and to the vulnerability of the small boy who is clinging to her. Her womanhood is also displayed in her strong maternal instincts, particularly in her loving protectiveness towards her grandchild, born from the rape of her young daughter. We are told, `She gently lifted him, and placed him on her lap in such a way that his head rested on the cushion of her huge breasts' (p. 30). The other characters behave in a very respectful manner towards her. Even her aggressive older daughter bows down to her will. Ultimately, MaButhelezi is neither a victim, nor a victimizer. She refuses to give in to despair despite victim victimizer adverse circumstances, such as the death of her husband and her daughter circumstances Mimi's predicament and she does not victimize or ostracize the individuals who have harmed those whom she loves.
The assessment of character as a life skill I hope that you have learned some strategies to use in the assessment of the characters you have come across. Critical thinking skills can be promoted in the literature classroom if learners are encouraged to question the actions and assumptions of the character, the narrator and the the writer, and to test these actions and assumptions in relation to their own. What would they have done in the shoes of particular characters? Perhaps the questions you have learned to ask yourselves, as well as the questions that you have answered, will enable you to become a good judge of character as you acquire this important life skill. Practise on your friends!
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Themes and Narrative Style in Fools

In the past, the teaching of literature has focussed on listing the characters and events, retelling the story and testing memory. Learners have not been encouraged to list their own interpretations of the novel and to look for evidence that supports their views. When you see the word themes, how do you react? Be perfectly honest with yourself. All knowledge begins in self-knowledge in knowing what you know, and more important, what you don't know. In my experience, most students find the concept of themes very difficult indeed. Are you one of them? First, look at what we mean by themes. Then we can apply our knowledge to the novella, Fools to see what themes we find there. Question yourself intently. What do you think a theme is? What is it not? A theme is a main idea dealt within the novel. It does not announce itself. The novelist will not enter into an obvious discussion of a particular topic in the novel at one specific point. From time to time throughout the novel specific ideas will be dealt with. Let us take the example of the role of women in Fools. Njabulo Ndebele does not devote a whole chapter to discussing this topic. Instead, throughout the novel, he explores the value of women to their society and the ways in which many of them triumph over adversity. I also asked you what was not a theme. A theme is not a plot. It does not deal with the events of the story and the relationship between them. Another mistaken idea is that there is only one theme per story. This is completely wrong. All stories, no matter how simple, deal with more than one important idea. Let us go over what we have learned: A theme is a main idea. Every novel contains a number of themes.
Many stories that are set in an African context have a didactic purpose, and this is evident in the themes. Some of these include: the conflict between races the conflicts between what men aspire to be, and what in fact they actually manage to be social problems such as unemployment, poverty, violence and gender discrimination the injustices of an oppressive state the conflict between traditional ways and values and the new ones in the modern world. According to the Revised National Curriculum Statement, using a theme allows the learner to build vocabulary related to the topic. To stimulate the interest of learners and to promote language learning, the educator has to choose texts with themes that are relevant to learners' lives, and yet move them beyond what they already know. Themes and topics that link with Critical and Developmental Outcomes are also relevant for example, learners need to engage with human rights issues such as poverty and consumerism. Ask yourself: . How can the identification and consideration of the themes in a novel promote language learning?
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. How does an examination of the themes allow learners to promote the acquisition of life skills? As you will have noticed, Fools contains many passages that can provide the educator with opportunities to promote self-reflection and discussions. An example occurs after Zamani is reprimanded by Mr Lehamo for allowing Zani to speak to the class about boycotting the Day of the Covenant celebrations. Zamani states:
`My children,' I said at last. `You have just had your first real lesson since you came to school. And from today onwards, know that when you come in here to open your books you are like someone waiting at the railway crossing for the train to pass. But the train before you is a very long one: it is made of years, and years, and years. And while it is passing, know that the real school is outside there, and that today, that school was brought into the classroom for a very brief moment. And one day when that school out there is finally brought into this classroom forever, you will know that the train of years has finally passed, and it is time to go on with your journey' (p. 51).
You will notice that the protagonist's bid to develop the life skills of the learners is successfully integrated with the motif of a journey towards increased understanding and self-knowledge. The following statement by Ndebele in `Rediscovery of the Ordinary' demonstrates his attitude to the main ideas (subject matter) depicted in his stories.
I have learned, in the craft of fiction for example, that the difference between writers in not so much in the subjects of their writings, the range of subject matter is relatively limited. Rather, it is the inventiveness of treatment, in the sharpening of insight, and in the deepening of consciousness.9
We should therefore consider the ways in which the writer presents his themes in the pursuit of his goals. I will be focussing on the theme chart prepared by the editor of Fools on page 100 of the text in order to also encourage you to interact with the commentary that accompanies the text. In doing so, you will also be applying your own skills and knowledge of the text. I have reproduced the chart in linear form below: The Theme Chart of Fools (p. 100) . . . . . . . . The need for compassion and unity amongst people. Subordination of women. Roles of religion and education in society. Strengths and weaknesses of township life. Mental stresses of living under oppression. Impact of township life on ordinary people. Human courage (resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity and injustice). Rites of passage: generational conflicts.
9. Malan, Robin. (ed.) 1994. Introduction: Being Here: Modern Short Stories from Southern Africa. Cape Town: David Philip.
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You do not have to think of the above as the definitive list of themes contained in the novella. Since you, as the reader, are bringing your own meanings to the text, you may already be thinking of ways in which the above themes can be combined. Moreover, as your critical interaction with the text may differ from the next reader's or from the editor of Fools, you may have found other main ideas that are not included in the list above. Since Teacher Zamani is the first-person narrator as well as one of the two principal protagonists, I think that the list of themes should also include the role and responsibilities of the educator in the classroom and in the community. What do you think?
The multiplicity of themes underlying this text indicates that, despite its short length, Fools encompasses situations and values that apply to human beings everywhere. You will agree that most of the themes listed above describe situations that occur in settings worldwide, and not only in an African setting. However, like his writing counterparts in other parts of the world, Ndebele explores each theme within the context of a particular location, using specific characters to illustrate each of his main ideas. Since many of the themes clearly intersect and join together to add impact to the messages underlying the text, I will be combining these whenever there are commonalities to allow you to interact more fruitfully with the text. The need for compassion and unity amongst people Charteston Township, where Fools is set, is marked by division and disunity amongst its inhabitants. When Zani arrives at Charteston, his social and political idealism are severely tested in the prevailing atmosphere of indifference and apathy. During his first encounter with Zamani, he reminds the older man of his idealism when he had first qualified as a teacher. He also outlines the teacher's disenchantment with the church, an institution that should have symbolised a movement towards compassion and unity, but symbolises disunity instead, due to the many different denominations competing for followers. Another institution that promotes disunity in Charteston is the school system. Administrators like Principal Lehamo do everything in their power to demonstrate an allegiance to apartheid, despite the distinctive lack of compassion for a very large segment of the population which is inherent in this system. When Zani tries to promote a united resistance to the celebration of The Day of the Covenant by the residents of Charteston, he is violently attacked by Constable Hhlope, `the very epitome of brutality' (p. 54) and Constable Mbimbi, who had a long criminal record. As Zamani watches the incident from his classroom, he reflects:
They were all employed on the recommendation of the township's Advisory Board, most of whose members were also on various school boards. They were the destroyers of hope, for they knew nothing about hope; they were part of a world completely overcome by hopelessness (p. 55).
It is therefore evident that the political system evoked compliance from many people who were subjected to its worst strictures. Zani's call for unity to overcome the oppressor is evidently a lone one. As Zamani remarks, `Never in living memory had there been any public expression of political concern in the township' (p. 54). The pervading sense of hopelessness overcomes any movement towards unity amongst the
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residents of the township. Look again at the sketch of the two yew trees standing together at the apex of the high hill above Charteston Township. Which two major symbols of disunity do they overlook? The Subordination of Women
Let us examine this theme very closely. The complete subordination of women would normally result in them all not only being victims, but also `victims who spit on victims' (p. 87). However, ask yourself how many of the female characters in Fools are, in fact, portrayed as victims, let alone as victimisers?
On page 101 of the text, you are given an example of a mind-map of this theme with ideas such as the commonly-held notion that women are weaker and less intelligent than men. However, although Black women in the apartheid era were doubly oppressed, first by the political system and then by the gender discrimination experienced within the social system, the women depicted in Fools do seem to display the type of resilience (look up this word in the OALD) necessary to rise above their circumstances. In looking at the specific details in the story as we examine this theme, we notice that Nosipho, the most educated of the female characters, is dedicated to her profession and, despite her loneliness within her marriage and her isolation from the community, is portrayed as having deep intellectual power and dignity. Her strength is manifested in the fact that she spurns the role of a victim by refusing to be subjugated by her husband's infidelity and other misdeeds. In the last episode in which she appears, she demonstrates the steadfastness of her character and her loving and forgiving nature by cleaning the mess of fallen food on the floor as well as embracing the possibility of cleaning up the mess of her past relationship with her husband. Zamani, whose emotional instability is symbolised by his perpetually blinking eyes, says:
But I turned away from her unblinking eyes and looked at the table and its shattered glass top. I leaned over and tried to pick up some fallen food from the floor. In a moment, Nosipho knelt on the floor and was picking up food and putting it into her empty glass. Soon we were busy clearing up my mess of yesterday (p. 76).
MaButhelezi and her daughter Busi are also portrayed as strong, assertive women who do not allow themselves to be repressed by their circumstances. Busi's strength of character is manifested in her aggressive refusal to allow any man to subdue her, but her mother's power is demonstrated in her ability to exercise a firm control over her. Another female character, the young Ntozakhe, demonstrates her self-knowledge, wisdom and an insight into human behaviour far beyond her age, especially in the letter she writes to Zani. One of her pronouncements to her young lover can be directly linked to the title of the book and to the central ideas contained in it. She states, `The man stabbed you because you behaved foolishly towards him. You cannot convince people of your truth by telling them of their foolishness'. She adds, `So the man tempted you to drink and I tempted you like Adam: where is your own responsibility?'. (p. 71) She realises that Zani's approach in trying to raise political consciousness is naive and often counter-productive. Even the young Mimi does not wallow in misery and self-pity, in spite of being raped and giving birth a baby as a result. She retains her compassion and humanity and gets on with life, under the protection of her family.
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However, unlike the other women in Fools, who cannot really be characterised as being victims, Candu is largely voiceless and can be regarded as being subjugated because of her gender. Her misery would seem to arise from the fact that she tries to affirm her identity through her relationships with men, firstly with her overbearing husband and then with the faithless Zamani. . In view of the strength of these women, do you think that this theme should be changed to `The ability of most women to overcome subordination and victimization?'
Roles of Religion and Education in Society This theme can be subdivided into three parts; the role of religion, the role of education and the role of the educator. . The role of religion The perceptions of three of the characters underscore the writer's representation of the role of religion during the apartheid era. Zamani, who does not have the courage to express his conviction about the failure of the church to bring about real change in the lives of the people of Charteston Township, expresses his disenchantment in a totally negative way. His lack of moral and political courage is expressed in his em-bezzlement of church funds. Zani also has strong ideas about the role of the church, and he refers to it as `the church of blood and death' (p. 49) in his address to the learners in Zamani's class before the Day of the Covenant. The other character who expresses a viewpoint on the issue is Ntozhake, when she comments on the `foolish' (p. 71) presence of Christian missionaries. As in other matters she refers to in her letter, she may be expressing the ideas of the writer in this statement. (The view that the church was a factor in the colonisation of the African continent is held by other well-known African writers such as Chinua Achebe and Ngugi wa Thingo). Nevertheless, the fact that Zamani mentions that the two yew trees are symbols of unity which are `the sub-ject of countless sermons in the various churches in the location' (p. 76) is an indica-tion that the churches do try to bring about peace and reconciliation in Charteston. . The role of education Although Zamani is an experienced teacher, it is the youthful Zani who preaches about the true value of education, and who advocates the importance of knowledge. He declares:
I want to spread knowledge and science to the people. And the best place to begin is the place I was born. I am coming back to Charteston to bring light where there has been darkness. And this light is destined to spread to the whole country (p. 16).
It is clear that his idealism about the role of education in transforming society is one of his overriding character traits. Like Zamani and Nosipho, he believes that reading as widely as possible is the most effective way for the individual to improve his level of education. However, his belief that education should impart life-skills and be focussed mainly on the raising of political consciousness and activism is put to the test soon after his arrival in the township, as his attempts are met with violent opposition by the
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very people whom he wants to save. The youthful confusion that is manifested in the conflicting aspects of his personality becomes evident in his statement to Nosipho that he and his school-friends should have stuck to the study of science, since he has realised that too great a focus on removing oppression in the political arena becomes a form of oppression in itself. . The role of the educator As many of you are probably educators in practice, I will allow you to respond to Teacher Zamani's question, `What social compulsion was there for a teacher to be exemplary?' (p. 43). In answering this question in relation to Fools, you will come across many examples of what an educator should do, as well as what he should not do. Keep some of the following points in mind: . . . . . . . . Zamani's ideals as a newly-qualified teacher. His use and disuse of the cane called `Happy Days' (p. 15). The transgression of his role when he forms a relationship with Mimi and the consequences of this. His confrontations with Principal Lehamo who accuses him of not carrying out his duties. The principal's ideas about the role of education and the educator in the old Bantu Education system. The fact that, at one stage, Zamani says about the learners in his classroom, Ì felt a glow of love for them' (p. 25). His decision to allow Zani into the classroom to raise the social and political consciousness of the learners. The lesson about the glories of Ancient Egypt that enables Zamani to impart lifeskills to his learners.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Township Life
o o
The Mental Stresses of Living under Oppression The Impact of Township Life on Ordinary People
o
Human Courage (Resilience of the Human Spirit in the Face of Adversity and Injustice)
I have linked these four themes since I think that they meld together to promote the writer's ideals. In the novella, we see that the mental stresses of living under oppression in crowded and poorly-serviced townships had an impact on ordinary people that led to many of the weaknesses and strengths of township life. Moreover, the human courage displayed in the face of adversity and injustice is evident in the daily lives of these residents, who despite experiencing oppression on a day-to-day basis, find a way to overcome severe obstacles in order to lead meaningful lives. The problems associated with Zani's return from Swaziland after seven years are first
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evident when he is compelled by law to cross the bridge marked `NONEUROPEANS ONLY' (p. 21). His visit to the only form of recreation available in the township, namely, the notorious beer hall, indicates one of the greatest weaknesses of township life; the need for men to use drinking as a form of escape from their poor living and work conditions. The beating Zani receives outside the beer hall is indicative of the random violence that occurred very frequently in these areas. It has been recorded that much of the violence directed against women and children in the townships during the apartheid era arose from the regular visits by men to these beer halls, and Zamani's drunken attack on Zani when he returns home after a visit to one of these beer halls in a later episode is a typical form of this behaviour. The deep loneliness of those who have an awareness of the intellectual and emotional possibilities that lie beyond the confines of the township is evoked in the bond that develops between Zani and Nosipho. Their love of reading and their philosophising about life indicate their ability to move beyond the mental stresses associated with oppression. Nosipho refuses to become an object of pity, to `feed on [her] victimness until it becomes an obscene virtue' (p. 87), in spite of the fact that she has been humiliated by her husband in many ways. Some of the linked themes in this section, namely, the ability to triumph against the weaknesses of township life and the ability to negate the mental stresses of living under oppression by overcoming the negative impact of township life are demonstrated in a statement made in young Ntozakhe's letter to Zani. She says:
Last Saturday afternoon I went to see your uncle, as you had asked me, and gave him your letter. He's such a wonderful man. Has a beautiful house too. He is so proud of his garden. Grows so many things there. Even watermelon. Can you believe it? Living in the townships, I tend to regard so many things as being impossibly out of reach, and then I realise that they can be done because someone else has done them and I'm so happy (p. 70).
Thus, it is clear that ordinary people like Ntozhake's uncle manage to display the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity and injustice and can be considered to be positive role models for their fellow township dwellers. Finally, Zani would seem to express the writer's opinion10, when he states that a total focus on removing political oppression produces negativity. He says, `Somewhere along the line, I feel, the varied richness of life is lost sight of and so is the fact that every aspect of life, if it can be creatively indulged in, is the weapon of life itself against the greatest tyranny' (p. 61). A positive response to the mental stresses of living under oppression would therefore be to `creatively' tackle the problem and not to allow oneself to become a victim of circumstances. Ntozakhe's uncle is exemplary since he succeeds in rediscovering the ordinary pleasure of cultivating a beautiful garden and of growing nourishing food in it. Rites of Passage: Generational Conflicts The conflicts between theyouth and members of the older generation are manifested in interaction between Zamani and Zani, evident in pages 120, 124, 125 and 126 of your
10. Ndeble, Njabulo, S. 1991. Rediscovery of the Ordinary: Essays on South African Literature and Culture. Johannesburg, South Africa: Congress of South African Writers.
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text. However, you should also refer to the episodes involving Zani and the policemen as well as Zani and Mr Lehamo. The principal is not only appalled by Zani's visit to his school, it is clear that his thinking is diametrically opposed to that of the young man. Their confrontation is symbolic of the generational conflicts that beset people, since many members of the older generation believed that they would progress if they were in compliance with the political system. Mr Lehamo's selfishness and insistence that those under their power and influence should follow the White man's example is ultimately tested by the Boer's violence at the picnic. Despite the great authority he wields over his Black teachers, Mr Lehamo pleads with the Boer for forgiveness for mistakenly throwing a stone at his car. By abjectly addressing the white man as a `Baas' and as a `great king' (p. 84), he assumes the role of a very subservient, powerless person. The theme of generational conflict is also epitomised by Mr Lehamo's explanation to the Boer that he was only trying to discipline the young man (p. 84) This is met with the derisive retort, `À mistake!'' growled the Boer. ``When has it been a mistake to discipline a young man?'' (p. 84). Another example of generational conflict occurs when Zamani undertakes to help Zani to get home after the altercation at the beer hall. Busi, Zani's sister, is reprimanded by her mother for her very aggressive attitude towards the older man. When Busi screams at her mother for her hospitable manner towards Mimi's rapist, she is met with the reply, ``Girl! Girl!'' [shouted MaButhelezi] ``The teacher comes in here bringing home your wounded brother. Instead of greeting him, thanking him and offering him a chair, you want to stir dust in my house!'' (p. 31). Unlike her young daughter, she believes that a visitor (no matter how disgraceful) should not be treated with rudeness, especially one who had mustered up the courage to bring her wounded son home. The attitudes that emerge in this episode in MaButhelezi's home are reflective of Ndebele's belief that positive alternatives have to be found to negative social situations.
Motifs
Since motifs are recurring images that serve to reinforce a theme, it is useful to examine their occurrence in the novella. One of these is the journey towards the light of self-understanding and personal change and the other predominant motif is the movement from the darkness of negativity to the light of positive thought and action. Look for examples of these motifs throughout the novella. As you will have noticed, another dominant motif is contained in the title of the novella.
As a way of consolidating your understanding of the text, I would like you to think about the ways in which the title, Fools, recurs as a motif throughout the novella. You should first skim through the entire novella and list the instances when the word occurs. As you try to establish why this motif is linked with the motif of darkness, you should firstly identify the acts of folly and, secondly, identify those who are committing them. Lastly, you should establish the attempts that are made to move away from this negative sense of identity and the paths that are taken by the characters to try to find redemption.
Narrative Voice
The voice of a first-person narrator is manifested, either from the perspective of the
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autobiographical Ì' or from the perspective of the Ì' of a fictitious persona. By `point of view' is meant the perspective from which the narrative is `told'. The first-person point of view dominates when the narration is presented through the voice of the author or the voice of a fictitious persona. It is, however, important for you to understand the difference between an autobiography and a first-person narrative and you need to guard against assuming that the protagonist of a novel is always the author. A writer may write what appears to be an autobiography when it actually is a fictitious story presented from the first-person perspective. Since we, as readers, seem to `hear' the voice of the person speaking directly to us, we are cast in the role of the `listener'. A first-person narrative utilises one of the central characters to `speak' to the reader. In a text like Fools, a first-person narrative takes on a personal, immediate tone and readers thus experience the effect of being emotionally and imaginatively involved in what they read (or `hear'). Once again, it is important to remind ourselves that Fools is fictional and that it is not an autobiography of Njabulo Ndebele, although he does use the novella, to some extent, to showcase the points of view he expresses in his essays on the art and functions of writing. Nonetheless, there are a few commonalities between the writer and his two protagonists. It is clear that Charteston, the setting of Fools is described very authentically because it is the very place in which the writer grew up. This is reiterated in the section on entitled `Journeys and the landmarks of Charteston'. After reading and analysing the interview on pp. 131133, you should be able to answer the following questions: 1. Which character's educational background is similar to Ndebele's? 2. Is there any character in the novella with a family background similar to his? 3. What does the section of the interview, Òn women' reveal about the writer's attitudes? 4. Would you agree that the writer's explanation about MaButhelezi's conduct makes it easier for the reader to empathize with her? You should decide whether you agree with the following answers:
1. You will notice that Zani's educational background is depicted as being very similar to the writer's. 2. None of the characters have family circumstances similar to the writer's and this fact serves to reinforce the idea that the novella is definitely not an autobiography. 3. He admires women for their strength and resilience. Moreover, he seems to have an intuitive understanding of women and of their attitudes to men. 4. Yes, I think it does, as her courtesy towards the perpetrator of violence against her own child is difficult for the reader to understand. The writer's explanation that MaButhelezi `... will not allow (my emphasis) herself to behave in a less respectful way, even towards those who deserve her contempt' (p. 133), is therefore very illuminating.
Narrative Style This first-person narrative is presented in a fairly accessible style of writing. Most of
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the events are written as they occur. However, the narrator also uses a flashback technique, when Zamani relives painful events of the past, such as his rape of Mimi and his visit to Candu. The use of this technique and a stream-of consciousness style expose the reader to Zamani's innermost thoughts and the actual emotions he experiences at the time, so that the memories are not blurred or obscured in any way, but retain their immediacy and strong impact. The narrative thereby retains the emotional force that may have been lost if the events had been recalled in the past tense. The writer also adapts his narrative style and techniques to capture the unique attributes of his characters. Zani's utterances in the novella are usually quite weighty and are often not very comprehensible to his intended audience. His choice of vocabulary clearly reflects the high seriousness of his thoughts and the fact that he is, to a large extent, out of touch with the thoughts and communication styles of those whom he wants to influence. Zamani's reflections when Zani attempts to motivate the learners to express their political commitment are indicative of this:
And it struck me at that moment just how evenly serious Zani's language was. He had become his books, and when he moved out of them, he came out without a social language. He spoke to me in the same way he spoke to those children. Is that how he had spoken in the bar, and then got stabbed? I wondered if he was not another instance of disembodiment: the obscenity of high seriousness (p. 49).
Language Usage Have you noticed particular aspects of the language in Fools that add a distinctly African flavour to the writing? Often, African writers choose to write in English in order to expose their thoughts and ideas to a wide audience of readers, but include in their writing the typical idioms used in the context in which the novel is set. Consider the following examples: . There are young men whose assertiveness is so transparently the effort of an immature cock trying to crow with a deep voice, but only managing an annoying gurgle (p. 10). . Àfter all, hadn't I been chewing food for many more years than he? I knew all the ways of chewing and swallowing so I could make some concessions, and gain authority in the process (p. 10). Notice how the latter part of the second sentence moves away from the use of African idiomatic expression, as the writer goes on to use words like `concessions', àuthority' and `process'. This proves that his style of writing may be considered to be a particular hybrid, utilizing a combination of African and Western styles. Another unique aspect of style often seen in the work of African writers is the use of elements of orality in their writing. The oral mode of communication is one of the major modes of conveying everyday information as well as a way of continuing the traditions and values of the past. Since there is usually an accumulation of details, ways have to be found to enable listeners to remember them effectively. One of the most effective devices in this regard is the use of repetition. In the following extract,
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look for elements of orality and a sense of African identity that are incorporated in the narrative style of Fools:
Nosipho, my wife, was coming out of the gate on her way to work when Pikinini stopped in front of our house in Ndimande Street. It was such a shock for me to see her, for it suddenly dawned on me that since leaving hurriedly for Springs the previous afternoon, I had not once thought of her. She looked so beautiful in her starched, white nursing uniform, and her black cape with the scarlet lining. Not once had I thought of her. She looked at me, hesitated briefly, and continued in her way to work. How despicable I was! What a despicable man! I got out of the taxi and called out to her. She just walked away. She walked away with that briskness that nurses are known for. My beautiful wife! ``Nosipho!'' I called out again, and began to run after her. ``My sister! My wife! Wait for me!'' (p. 22).
After reading the above extract, decide whether you agree with the following comments:
. . . . The African setting is evident in the specific mention of Ndimane Street in the first sentence. We know that the setting is South African because of the mention of the town of Springs. The repetition characteristic of the oral mode appears in the two consecutive exclamations: `How despicable I was! What a despicable man!' The sentence Ì got out of the taxi and called out to her' is then inserted, and immediately after this, there is another example of repetition typical of the oral mode of communication when we are told, `She just walked away. She walked away with that briskness that nurses are known for'. The next sentence again contains an example of repetition, in the use of the word `beautiful' that occurred in the third sentence of the extract. In the last sentence, the first-person narrator explicitly states that he is repeating an action, by calling out to his wife for a second time. His consecutive use of the word `sister' and `wife' in the last words of this extract to refer to the same person does not in any way indicate that he is confused about his relationship with Nosipho. Instead, it denotes a cultural acceptance in the township of a verbal convention in which a husband may indicate his deep respect for his wife by using both these terms when he speaks directly to her.
. . .
I hope the above discussion has clarified the fact that Ndebele's erudite use of English to convey his ideas is tailored to mirror a particular mode of communication within his locale. In this way, he also effectively incorporates various elements of his African identity into his writing.
Irony
On page 107, we are told that, like many other writers, Ndebele uses the literary technique of irony in order to draw attention to the differences between appearance and reality. There are many instances of irony in Fools. We shall discuss one instance of circumstantial irony and another of verbal irony. Circumstantial irony is based on fate or circumstances dictating certain events in a person's life which go against the
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grain of what they had expected would happen. To explain this in colloquial terms, we can say that whatever happens is the last thing that we expect will happen. The first, obvious example of circumstantial irony occurs when Zamani and Zani are the only occupants of the waiting room early one morning at the Springs railway station. This irony is reinforced when they are once again the only occupants of a coach on the train as it travels Nigel. From the station, they both go to Charteston, the township from which they both originate. The circumstantial irony that forms the core element of this first meeting is compounded by the fact that Zani is the brother of the girl whom Zamani had raped three years ago. Verbal irony also evident throughout the novella. An example of this also occurs during this train journey to Nigel Station, and is evident in the following statement, ``You will certainly be pleased to know who I am in a moment,'' [Zani] said sharply. Do you think he really believes it, or is he actually saying that Zamani would, in fact, be very displeased to know who he is? Because Zani is saying the opposite of what he means (i.e. he does not think Zamani will be pleased), we may regard this statement as an example of verbal irony.
Summary
Since works by African writers often have a didactic purpose, they are particularly suited to the inculcation of vital life skills in learners, in accordance with needs of the present-day school curriculum in South Africa. Despite the fact that this novel is short, it has quite a large number of underlying main ideas that are not only meaningful in a South African setting, but also address universal concerns. I hope you will agree with me when I say that, in this discussion of Fools, we have entered the world of the novel. We have explored its landscape, learned its rich language and idiom and have met its unusual people. We have confronted the anxieties of a society in transition and shared the concerns of its people. By travelling in the text we have learned more about ourselves and others, and have added to our life skills and life experiences. Compiled by Rizwana Habib Latha
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Bibliography
Beach, R. and J. Marshall, J. 1991. Teaching Literature in the Secondary School. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. pp. 10607. Malan, Robin (ed.) 1994. Introduction: Being Here: Modern Short Stories from Southern Africa. Cape Town: David Philip. Malan, Robin (ed.) 1995. Poetry works 1. Cape Town: David Philip. Moodley, T. 2004. Tutorial Letter 501 for EED102G: Ways of Knowing, Fiction, Poetry and Drama. Pretoria: University of South Africa. Ndebele, Njabulo, S. 1991. Rediscovery of the Ordinary: Essays on South African Literature and Culture. Johannesburg, South Africa: Congress of South African Writers. Samson, Roy, ed., 1977. Introduction to Paul Scott's Staying On. Essex: Longman Literature. p. xviii. Tchudi, S., Yesner S. and Yesner, J. 1991. Literature by Doing: Responding To Poetry, Essays, Drama, and Short Stories. Lincolnwood: National Textbook Company. p. x.
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A GUIDE TO WRITING A LITERARY ESSAY
STUDY UNIT 8
A Guide to Writing a Literary Essay ______________________
Analysing the Topic
OUTCOMES By the end of this study unit, you should be able to demonstrate your ability to write an essay on a literary text. You should be able to fulfil the requirements of the given question develop and structure your ideas logically and coherently acknowledge sources and references according to acceptable conventions.
Although it is not in your list of prescribed texts, we recommend that you read the short story `The Collector of Treasures' by Bessie Head so that you may gain the full benefit of the information contained in this study unit.
Knowing the Terms

Before you can respond successfully to any essay topic, you must know what you are being asked to do. The following list contains the terms most commonly used in the setting of literature questions. Familiarise yourself with the terms and what each requires you to do, e.g.
Term Account for ... Comment on ... Compare ... Contrast ... Describe ... Discuss ... Evaluate Explain Give and account of Give the context of Illustrate Motivate Relate Summarize Explanation Explain why ... Give an opinion based on the facts in order to explain ... Point out both the similarities and the difference ... Point out the differences ... Say what occurs ... Give the facts and evaluate them ... Assess the factual information in order to reach a conclusion ... Give the reasons for or the meaning of ... Tell the story of ... Say who is speaking to whom, when, where, why, and what the direct results are ... Give examples by referring to actions or words ... Give reasons for ... Tell the story of what happens ... Give only the main points ...
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Isolating the Keywords

The keywords in a topic are the nouns and the verbs. If you underline the keywords in a given topic, they will provide you with information about what you are required to do. Study the following topic for a literary essay. We have printed the keywords in bold. Topic Some of Bessie Head's ideas expressed in her short story, `The Collector of Treasures' could be classified as feminist. Yet critics differ about whether she really is a feminist. Express your opinion about the issue and support your argument by using quotations and examples from the story `The collector of treasures' or from the anthology by that name. Facts to consider before you even start on the essay: Do you know what feminism is?
Feminism (fe-miniz'm). 1851. [- L. femina woman -ISM: in sense 2 Fr. fe minisme (Fourier, 1887).] 1. The qualities of women (rare). 2. Advocacy of the claims and rights of women 1895. So Fe-minist. Feminity (femi-niti). ME. In [XV feminite, (O) Fr. femin ite med. L. Feminitas, f. L. femina woman: see -ITY.] = FEMINITY. The mirrhor of feminitie SPENSER. Feminize (fe-minViz), r. 1652. (f. L. femina IZE. CY. Fr. feminiser (XVI). To make or become feminine. feminine (`feminin) adj. 1. suitable to or characteristic of a woman. 2. Possessing qualities or characteristics considered typical of or appropriate to a woman. 3. effeminate; womanish. 4. Grammar a.denoting or belonging to a gender of nouns that includes all kinds of referents as well as some female animate referents. b. (as n) German Zeit ``time'' and Ehe ``marriage'' are feminites. [C14'' 5 L. 5 femina wo man] femininely adv. femi-'ninity or `femininess n. feminism (`femi-niz-am) n. a doctrine or movement that advocates equal rights for women. `feminist n. adj. feminize or -ise (femi,naiz) vb. 1. to make or become feminine. 2. to cause (a male animal) to develop female characteristics. femini'zation or -i'sation n. feminine n 1. the female principle {eternal ~} 2. pronoun, adjective, or inflectional form or class of the gener b: the feminine gender. fem-I-nin-I-t-y\fem-I-``nin-It-e}\n 1. the quality or na?? female sex. 2. EFFEMINACY 3: WOMEN, WOMANKIND fem-Inism\`ferm-I-niz-Im\ n 1: the theory of the p?? nomic, and social equality of the sexes 2: organized behalf of women's rights and interest fem-I-nist\ adj fem-I-nis-tic\fem-I-`nis' tik\adj
2
(From the Shorter Oxford Eng- (From the Collins Concise Eng- (From the Webster's New Collish Dictionary) lish Dictionary) legiate Dictionary)
Which would you regard as the best definition? The above question asks your opinion: therefore argumentation is of paramount importance. You will have to decide whether or not Bessie Head does express feminist ideas (according to what you can find in the story) and then argue your conviction. The question tells you HOW to argue: `... support your argument by using quotations and examples from the text.'
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The essay question given above asks for your opinion on a specific matter. The question is: Are the ideas about women expressed in this novel feminist or not? The premises are: the various quotations which reflect Bessie Head's views and descriptions of women. The conclusion is: I think the ideas Bessie Head expresses about women are/are not feministic. Is this type of argument going to be inductive or deductive? The above points are all concerned with the content of your essay. You will now have to start finding information and planning the essay.
The Planning Stage: Researching the Topic

Collecting the Relevant Data
Once you understand what the topic requires you to do, you should study the text and select facts which will be relevant to the topic. A common error among students is that they respond to a question by writing down all they know, instead of answering specifically what they are asked. To ensure that you focus on what is asked, ask yourself the following questions:
STEP I: General knowledge Which of the keywords am I familiar with from my general knowledge (e.g. ìdeas', `classified')? What characteristics do I associate with these words (e.g. ìdeas' beliefs, convictions? Which words are unfamiliar? What does the dictionary tell me about the word? STEP II: Text What information can I get from the text (e.g. about characters' actions and traits: how they are portrayed by the author, her attitude towards them)? STEP III: Manual What information can I get from the manual (e.g. about Bessie Head, her stories)? STEP IV: Which elements of the story/stories are relevant to the topic (e.g. are there parallel situations in the different stories; are there characters who go through similar experiences; are there opposing groups of characters; how are they different/similar)?
You will have to skim read the book again to find those passages in which Bessie Head expresses ideas about women and their role in society. You will also have to look at the female characters: the way in which they are described, their characters and their actions. Ask yourself: do these women represent the traditional, subservient role model of pre-feminist times? You could use the same system to separate quotations from the general impression you get from the text, for example:
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Information card Topic: Bessie Head's `feminist' ideas Description of men in the story `The collector of treasures' . Two kinds of men: Garesego and Paul Thebolo . Their position as opposed to that of African women . What colonialism and the ancestors did for the first kind of man
Information card (quotations) Topic: Bessie Head's `feminist' ideas Quotations referring to men and their position relative to women: . `The ancestors made so many errors ... they relegated to men a superior position in the tribe' (p. 92) . `She was beneath his regard' (p. 102) etc.
Referring to Other People's Words

When you use a direct quotation, either from the manual, the prescribed text, or some other reference work, you must acknowledge your source, or you will be guilty of plagiarism, i.e. taking and using someone else's writing as if it were your own original work. You should acknowledge the source of the quotation in brackets behind the quotation in the following way: From the story itself: Do we hear the author's voice when Keonye asks `with her cynical smile ... ``Do you feel any sorrow about the crime?'' and Dikeledi answers, ``Not really'' ' (p. 89)? From the secondary sources: Roos (1995:15) states that `Head's feminist stance is subtle and often overlooked'. At the end of your essay you will add a Bibliography. Note that in the above examples, the reference to the primary text (the story) is just to the page number. However, you need to state at the beginning of your essay to which edition of the text you are referring. The reference to a secondary text must always include the name of the commentator (`Roos', in this case) and then the year of publication, followed by a colon and the page number, for example, `1995:15'. Try to keep quotations short and relevant. Use words and phrases rather than full sentences. All short quotations are placed in single inverted commas. Such a quotation can be incorporated into the natural flow of the sentence, e.g. Such a man is `hideous to himself' (92), The sentence must, of course, be grammatically correct. If you make changes to the tense or the number of the verb, you must indicate such changes in square brackets, e.g. Is it not true, even today, that `Black women [don't] have that power' (101)?
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All quotations over three lines should be indented, in which case no inverted commas must be used, e.g.
In commenting on the nature of men, Roos (1995:19) comments on Head's refusal to support female chauvinism: Head remains scrupulously fair. She also paints the positive picture, a picture of life with a man who is loving and tender. Such a man does not have to humiliate his wife to feel good about himself.
Note that when you use a quotation within your own sentence, the punctuation mark must be put outside the inverted commas and the page reference (as in the examples in (b) above). Note too, that the page reference to the literary text is placed directly after the closed inverted commas, but for commentaries, the year of publication and page reference is given as close as possible to the commentator's name, e.g. . . Roos (1995:15) states that ...' Johnson's viewpoint (1993:101) is ...'
Sometimes it is difficult (and boring!) to say that `Roos says this' and `Johnson says that'. Try to bring some variety into your style while still acknowledging your sources, e.g.
I agree that `Head remains scrupulously fair' (Roos 1995:19). Take note of the punctuation!
The Drafting Stage: Organising the Data

Drafting means writing provisional (tentative) and preliminary (preparatory) versions of texts, either letters, essays or paragraphs. The reason for drafting is that the mere writing of ideas sets your mind working. You see your ideas on paper, they look real: one word or sentence triggers another idea. When you read what you have written you also start thinking about the sequence of ideas. Drafting is intimately concerned with ordering your thoughts, putting them in a logical pattern. Literature essays must be properly paragraphed. Revise your writing manuals with specific reference to what constitutes a good paragraph; unity within a paragraph; coherence; and the use of the block format. Your essay will be structured into an introduction, a number of paragraphs forming the body, and a conclusion. Your introduction should not exceed one-sixth of the length of your essay, nor should your conclusion. That will leave four-sixths i.e. twothirds, of the essay for the body in which you will respond specifically to the set topic. Your introductory and concluding paragraphs should not be too short, however. They must be paragraphs, not single sentences.
The Introductory Paragraph

It is suggested that you use the following approach when writing your introductory paragraph:
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Paraphrase the topic in your first sentence, i.e. rewrite the topic in your own words. This will indicate that you understand what the essay is about. Consider the topic discussed earlier:
Some of Bessie Head's ideas that are expressed in `The Collector of Treasures' could be classified as feminist. Yet critics differ about whether she really is a feminist. Express your opinion about the issue and support your argument by using quotations and examples from the story `The collector of treasures' or from the anthology by that name.
How would you paraphrase this topic? It could be done in the following way:
The question to be considered, is whether there is any support in `The Collector of Treasures' for the statement that Bessie Head is a feminist.
You may paraphrase it differently, which is acceptable, providing your sentence shows that you understand what the topic is asking. Your second sentence should be a direct statement indicating your approach to the topic or what you aim to do in the essay. You could perhaps phrase it as follows:
In the course of this essay I intend to prove ...
With the topic under consideration, there are three alternatives open to you: you could try to prove that Head does indeed express feminist ideas in this text; you could claim that she does not; or you could maintain that there are some elements of feminism in her work. Just remember the following rule: whatever your argument, you must be able to substantiate it by close reference to the text.
The Body of the Essay

Having stated clearly in the introduction what you intend to do, you must ensure that the rest of your essay is relevant. The body of the essay should consist of three or four paragraphs, each with its own main idea. Each of these ideas should be clearly developed within its paragraph. Ideas should follow logically. Before your start to write the essay, work out a plan. One such useful method to structure your essay is a mindmap. Note: . The topic is the focus. All ideas must be relevant to the given topic. . Each idea follows coherently from the previous idea. . One main point (with quotations and/or examples) constitutes one paragraph. . The conclusion completes the circle and brings you back to your introduction; therefore, your conclusions must be related to the intentions which you stated in your introduction.
Your mindmap can be much larger than the one given here so that you can jot down ideas and phrases within each segment. Once you have completed your plan, you can write your first draft.
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In a character sketch, cause and effect is also a useful technique. Quite often characteristics are the effects (results) of things that happen (causes) in the character's youth. Remember that your first draft can never be your final one. Once you have organised and re-organised your thoughts, you must once again read the topic. Go through the essay and see whether you have not perhaps included unnecessary detail. When you use notes and information spread over various pages or written on separate bits of paper, make sure that you cross out those ideas that you include in your draft and check that you have used the information you gathered, provided of course that it is relevant to the topic!
The Concluding Paragraph

The best way to conclude is to sum up what you have said in the essay. By comparing your introduction and conclusion you will see if you have achieved what you set out to do. The conclusion must contain your final, argued opinion on the matter, without any new arguments being introduced, for example: It would seem then that, although some of the female characters in this novel do represent the more traditional type of women, the main characters are all very strong women who see themselves as equal to men. One could, therefore, say that the ideas expressed in this novel are feministic.
Note the language of the conclusion: Ìt would seem' and òne could say': since this is a matter of opinion, you should try not to be too categorical about your opinion. In academic writing one tries to be careful in expressing one's opinions, and therefore `could' and `would' are used. Note that Ì' is avoided and the passive or òne' used, both in the introduction and the conclusion.
Language and Style

It is customary to write a literary essay in the present indefinite tense and related present tenses. This arises from the fact that the content of a work of fiction always remains the same. We would not describe a painting or piece of music in the past tense because, just like a literary text, they are ever present. When writing formal essays, do not use slang or colloquial expressions. Other usages to be avoided are contractions e.g. can't, I've; the ampersand & instead of and; and abbreviations e.g., etc. Do not emphasise in any way, either by underlining or using exclamation marks. Also, avoid using rhetorical questions to give emphasis. Try to avoid using cliches and proverbs. Be original: express what you want to say simply, using your own words.
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The Revision Stage: Writing is Rewriting

There are two stages at which you have to revise your essay. The first is before you submit it to be marked, and the second is after it has been marked. You have to revise it before you submit it to eliminate careless and unnecessary errors. This revision should take place when you have a final draft, but before you write or type the essay in its final form. Use the following checklist to revise and edit your essay before you hand it in:
Global Revision
. . . . Have you given the essay a title? Is the content relevant? The essay must be a direct response to the topic. Have you used the correct essay format? Write in continuous prose. Do not use point form. Do not use subheadings. Use the block format for paragraphs.
. Are the ideas logically developed?
Local Revision
Look closely at language and punctuation:
. Did you start every sentence with a capital letter and end it with a full stop? Did you end questions with a question mark? . Could you improve your spelling by looking up words in a dictionary? . Did you stick to the present tenses throughout? Did you not perhaps switch to the past tense half way through the essay? . Did you use cliches or inappropriate language such as colloquialisms? . Did you perhaps use the same sentence type over and over again?
(Notes on revision adapted from: Kilfoil, W.R. and van der Walt, C. 1997. Learn 2 Teach. Academica.) Revising an essay after it has been marked constitutes one of the most important ways to prepare for the examination.
Comparing and improving your essay according to the hints given in the tutorial letter provides valuable revision practice.
Lecturers usually comment on your essay. Read these comments with care and try to incorporate the hints given there in other essays and in the examination.
147
Listing Books and Sources Consulted

At the end of your essay you always need to include a list of the books or journal articles that you used to support and further your arguments. If you did not use any secondary texts, you must at least give the full details of the primary text, that is, the bibliographical details of the literary text on which the essay is based. The heading of such a list is usually: . . . Bibliography References Sources or or
The bibliography is arranged alphabetically, according to the surnames of the authors. The above references to quotations by Roos would be entered as follows: Roos, H.J. 1969. Feminism in Bessie Head's Stories. Langkloof: Doofkop Publications. NOTE: . The surname is followed by a comma, and the two initials by full stops. . 1969 is the date of the edition from which the quotation was taken. You will find this information on the page following the title page of a book. This is usually preceded by a (c). . The title of the book is underlined if you write it, and italicized if you type it, followed by a full stop. . The place of publication, Langkloof, is followed by a colon, then the name of the publishing company is given. This information can also be found on the page following the title page.
The titles of plays, novels, anthologies, magazines, i.e. book titles, are underlined if you are writing and italicized if you are typing, e.g.: Julius Caesar (drama) or Julius Caesar. The Collector of Treasures (anthology of short stories) or The Collector of Treasures Great Expectations (novel) or Great Expectations. The titles of poems, short stories, and magazine articles are in inverted commas e.g.: `God's Grandeur' by G.M. Hopkins (poem) or `The Collector of Treasures' (short story). In the titles of poems and short stories, the first letter of the main words of the title are capitalized, as in `God's Grandeur'. In the titles of independent publications, the main words also commence with capitals, e.g. Cry, the Beloved Country.
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Bibliography
Head, Bessie. 1977. The Collector of Treasures. African Writers Series: Heinemann. Fowler, R. (ed.) 1973. A Dictionary of Modern Critical Terms. London & New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Fowler, R. 1977. Linguistics and the Novel. London & New York: Methuen. Freund, E. 1987. The Return of the Reader: Reader-response Criticism. London & New York: Methuen. Holub, R.C. 1984. Reception Theory: A Critical Introduction. London & New York: Methuen. Learner, L. 1983. Reconstructing Literature. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Scholes, R. & Kellog, R. 1966. The Nature of Narrative. Oxford: Oxford University Press. This study unit has been adapted from Study Guide 3 for EN5501A, which was compiled by W.R. Kilfoil and C. van der Walt.
149
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF COPYRIGHT
Cohen, Robert. 1981. Theatre. Palo Alto. Copyright # Mayfield Publishing Company. Reproduced by kind permission of the publisher. Cookson, Linda. 1987. Practical Approaches to Literary Criticism: Plays. Harlow, Essex: Longman. Copyright # Pearson Education Limited. Reproduced by kind permission of the publisher. Fugard. Athol. 1992. Playland and Other Words. Copyright # Wits University Press. Francis, S; Dugmore, H and Rico. 1994. Madam and Eve: Free at Last. Copyright # Rapidphase Publications. Reproduced by kind permission of the publisher. Greenaway, Peter. 1991. Teaching the Visual Media. Copyright # Jacaranda Press: Auckland.
Izi's `How to' tips for using drama in the classroom, a supplement of ARTREACH Vol 4 No 2. Copyright # Illitha and the Eastern Cape Directorate of Arts and Culture. Koopman, A. and Robb. 1997. Shifting Paradigms: Using an Anti-Bias Strategy to Challenge Oppression and Assist Transformation in the South African context. Copyright # Rustica Press. Mc Roberts, Richard. 1981. Writing Workshop: A Student's Guide to the Craft of Writing. Copyright # Macmillan Education Australia. Reproduced by kind permission of the publisher. Silverblatt, Art. Media Literacy: An Instructor's Manual. Copyright # Praeger. Shuttleworth, Ian. 2002. Happy Native's Review. Copyright # Ian Shuttleworth. Ndebele, Njabulo. 1983. Fools. Copyright # Ravan Press. Reproduced by kind permission of Mpho Ndebele. Ndebele, Njabulo. 1983. Fools. Copyright # Francolin Publishers. Reproduced by kind permission of Mpho Ndebele. Tallim, Jane. # Copyright http://www. media -awareness.ca.english/index.cfm.
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# 2008 University of South Africa All rights reserved Printed and published by the University of South Africa Muckleneuk,

Pretoria EED102G/1/20092011 98315552

`After Twenty Years'

SHORT STORIES: THE FICTION FACTOR

SHORT STORIES: THE FICTION FACTOR

Jimmy decides not to reveal his identity

SHORT STORIES: THE FICTION FACTOR

Impression He is confident and self-assured.

SHORT STORIES: THE FICTION FACTOR

SHORT STORIES: THE FICTION FACTOR

So what makes a good paragraph?

SHORT STORIES: THE FICTION FACTOR

SHORT STORIES: THE FICTION FACTOR

SHORT STORIES: THE FICTION FACTOR

What do you think of when you think of a divided house?

SHORT STORIES: THE FICTION FACTOR

SHORT STORIES: THE FICTION FACTOR

SHORT STORIES: THE FICTION FACTOR

SHORT STORIES: THE FICTION FACTOR

Man held after wife's suicide

SHORT STORIES: THE FICTION FACTOR

SHORT STORIES: THE FICTION FACTOR

Setting READER'S SYMPATHY FOR PHILEMON Why is this important?

Created at beginning of story

Do we lose sympathy? Why? When?

SHORT STORIES: THE FICTION FACTOR

SHORT STORIES: THE FICTION FACTOR

how to interpret a text to uncover some of its more complex suggestions

how how how how

TALKING ABOUT DRAMA

1. Batley Karen and Spencer, Brenda. Study Guide FDEEN6H/1.

TALKING ABOUT DRAMA

TALKING ABOUT DRAMA

TALKING ABOUT DRAMA

Copyright ## Ian Shuttleworth; all rights reserved.

THE PLAY: HAPPY NATIVES

THE PLAY: HAPPY NATIVES

THE PLAY: HAPPY NATIVES

THE PLAY: HAPPY NATIVES

THE PLAY: HAPPY NATIVES

Cartoon: (Francis, Dugmore and Rico, p. 162)

THE PLAY: HAPPY NATIVES

THE PLAY: HAPPY NATIVES

THE PLAY: HAPPY NATIVES

the person responsible for the actual staging of a theatrical production.

Flashback: Flat characters: Globe Theatre:

Improvisation: Invocation: Irony: Lighting:

THE PLAY: HAPPY NATIVES

Mime: Montage: Motif:

Original script: Pace:

Pose: Production: Props: Resolution:

THE PLAY: HAPPY NATIVES

Stage effects: Staging:

THE PLAY: HAPPY NATIVES

USING DRAMA IN THE ENGLISH CLASSROOM

Staging a Puppet Play

USING DRAMA IN THE ENGLISH CLASSROOM

Myths and Storytelling

Using Props and Costumes

USING DRAMA IN THE ENGLISH CLASSROOM

The title as ironic device

Form and structure

Characteristic features of African and English poetry