African Emergent by Nadine Gordiner

Presented by: Tan Pei Qin Akmal Jauhari Fatihah

South African Writer

interest in racial and economic inequality in South Africa joining the African National Congress (ANS) She hid ANC leaders in her own home to aid their escape from arrest by the government, and she has said that the proudest day of her life was when she testified at the 1986 Delmas Treason Trial on behalf of 22 South African antiapartheid activists.

Apartheid: A political system in South Africa in which people were divided into racial groups and kept apart by laws.

Q&A

Q 1a: V) Using the historical literary theory, discuss the

role of the government on the white and black citizens in South Africa. Provide evidence to
support your answer.

Referring back to ancient times, South Afirca has a brutal history of oppresion that perpetrated by white South Africans. Since year 1651, the repression was starting when Dutch settlers arrive in South Africa. In 1756, they import slaves from West Africa, Malaysia, and India, establishing the dominance of whites over non-whites in the region.

During apartheid between year 1651-1994, blacks have few rights under government of South Africa as we can see it from page 185, The black actors lives were in our hands, because they were black and we were white, and could, must, intercede for them. For example blacks hard to gain a passport but just an exit permit and never told why. They were told to sign an agreement for not coming back to the country like Elias. Next, under Group Areas Act, blacks lived in locations which are slums because it is illegal for them to live in white suburbs which can be shown in sentence blacks are meant to stay put, in their own ethhnically-apportioned streets . This show that government disallowed inter-racial relationship in South Africa. Last, blacks could be served with personal banning orders which can be shown at page 192, which meant among other things that their movements were restricted and they were not allowed to attend gatherings.

References
us12eng.wikispaces.com http://www.politicalanalysis.co .za/2012/05/08/the-pathologyof-white-privilege-and-racismin-south-africa-a-personalperspective/ http://www.therightperspectiv e.org/2009/10/17/hate-crimesagainst-minorities-in-southafrica/ http://africanhistory.about.co m/library/bl/blSAApartheidFAQ .htm

1a vi) Using any appropriate literary theory, analyse the extract above. Provide evidence in the extract to support your answer. Other literary theory that can be use is political. We knew that back days apartheid is being practiced in Africa. It controls people especially blacks. Although Elias got scholarship to study in America, but the government still did not produce him passport. They even told him the reason is not in the public interest. This is because, the blacks are meant to stay put in some parts of South Africa where the government says they belong. They can not have passport as passport is the symbol of freedom. They can not have their says. They just have to accept it. This has prevent black people to see the foul system from outside of South Africa. For those lucky black people that managed to get the passport, they must be considered as a police spy. To prove they are not spies, they have to be imprisoned. It shows that the government is really serious in preventing blacks to go outside of South Africa.

1b vii) In your own words, describe the life of Elias Nkomos life in America as mentioned in the extract.

Elias Nkomos faced a difficult life in America. He managed to go outside of South Africa by using exit permit which means he could not return to South Africa again. At first, he looks like he had found a good life. He had found a girl that will help him with his artwork in an art centre. But then Elias spoke in an anti-apartheid rally together with Stokely Carmichael and reported by the local newspaper. He had seen the life outside of Africa. He knew that the African government oppressed the people there but he can do nothing. He became so depressed and decided to kill himself in order to for him to escape from oppression.

 vii) Discuss the significance of the symbol passport as

mentioned in the extract. (3 marks) The symbol passport signifies the freedom and success given to the black community. In this context of story, Eliass friend was given the opportunity to pursue his dream in America and become the pride of his black society. It was proved by the phrase When someone black got a passport, then there was a collective sense of pleasure. (para.2 line 6)

 ix) Comment on the style of language used by the

author in this extract. (3 marks). The author used the first point of view to describe the events in the story. The use of pronoun I indicates that the story was told from the first point of view of a white man, who is a friend of Elias Nkomos.