The short story as a literary response to South Africa's social and political realities: a study of Es'kia Mphahlel, Mbulelo Mzamane and Farida Karodia
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Date
2012-06-08
Authors
Mwangi, Francis M.
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Abstract
The study is a literary analysis of selected short stories by three South African writers. The study addresses the thematic concerns of Es' Kia Mphahlele, Mbulelo Mzamane and Farida Karodia. Significant attention is also given to the writers' artistic expression. In a society that has gone through a past of apartheid, the study is founded on the premise that there is little room for art for its sake in South Africa.
Most of the stories depict a South Africa bleeding for freedom. From the protest stories by Mphahlele and Mzamane, to stories of inevitable but non-violet change in the stories by Farida Karodia, the study demonstrates the three writers' confrontation with the problems of their motherland. A central task that is logically related to the study's overall objective is the demonstration of the flexibility of the short story genre, and its adaptability to various aesthetic and didactic roles. The study is predicated on the premise that the short story in Africa carries socially relevant and intellectually stimulating material, but like elsewhere, the genre has not received critical attention commensurate with this literary significance.
Finally, the study predicts short story writes will continue using the short story as a means of reflecting social changes as they occur in society. Thus, the study concludes that the genre deserves serious study because it has a far-reaching literary and social significance.
Description
The PN 9366.S5 M9
Keywords
Short story//South African prose literature (English)