ENG1501 – Foundations in English Literary_Assignment 3.
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Course
ENG 1501 (ENG1501)
Institution
University Of South Africa
ENG1501 – Foundations in English Literary
Studies Assignment 03 – The Novel Unique Number:
Name: Beth Lund Student Number:
Topic:
One of the important conflicts in the plot of Small Things is the internal conflict that the narrator experiences as a resu...
, Topic:
One of the important conflicts in the plot of Small Things is the internal conflict that the narrator
experiences as a result of his imprisonment. Using the extract below as a starting point, write an
essay in which you discuss how the narrator’s internal conflict is developed and linked to specific
themes through the course of the novel. Remember to quote from the extract and from other
relevant sections of the novel in order to support your argument.
Small Things by Nthikeng Mohlele depicts a tragic story of love and loss, one that details not
only the gruelling challenges of loving someone who doesn’t return your advances, but also depicts
the hardships of living and loving through a political struggle, such as the apartheid era. The narrator
experiences severe internal conflict throughout the entire novel, most of the conflict stemming from
his 18-year imprisonment. The narrator’s internal conflict, while stemming from his time in prison,
develops through his love for two very different women, Desiree and Mercedes, as well as the
changing political climate in South Africa. The narrator’s internal conflict is linked to the major
themes in the novel, being those of injustice, the political struggle and racial bias in South Africa, as
well as the devastating effects of love and loss. In this essay, I plan to outline the true progression of
the narrator’s inner conflict, as well as the development of his conflict through the relationship he
maintains with his country, Desiree and Mercedes.
The novel follows a narrator, who during the apartheid era, worked at a newspaper agency,
wherein they wrote articles pertaining to the oppressive state of the apartheid government. The
narrator was known to write articles that spread the truth about the government, instead of sugar-
coating facts to make the oppressive government be seen in a better light. The narrator was
repeatedly told to “tone it down or [he was] as good as a corpse” (Mohlele, page 15) The
government was not in favour of truthful articles being written due to the fact that such articles
could result in a political uprising. Due to this fact, the police force were clamping down on the
journalists writing such articles. The narrator found out that he happened to be one of these
journalists, when he came home to his “yard [swarmed] with police vehicles” (Mohlele, page 17).
The police officers interrogated the narrator extensively asking about “specific poets and editors”
(Mohlele, page 19) hoping that the narrator would be helpful in the police’s pursuit of ‘rebelious’
journalists. When the narrator refused to co-operate, the policemen placed the narrator in solitary
confinement, due to his “misguided insolence” (Mohlele, page 20). The narrator was threatened by
the news of Bra Todd’s death, that a “similar fate awaited [him]” if he chose silence. A fate that
included being mauled by police hounds, being submerged in water, being electrocuted and beaten
to a pulp, all for writing articles that revealed the truth about an oppressive apartheid government.
The narrator still “chose silence” (Mohlele, page 22) which rewarded him a sentence of 18 years in
prison. The imprisonment itself seems to be the starting point for the narrator’s internal conflict. He
experienced external conflict with the government, by being arrested and imprisoned, which
induced internal conflict for the character, as he did not believe that he deserved 18 years of
gruelling punishment, being “driven around in rusty labour lorries, [breaking his] back digging
potatoes under police guard” (Mohlele, page 20). He believed a great injustice was done with
regards to being sentenced so seriously, which only further worsened his state of fury and conflict
within himself. He stated that “it will never make sense to [him] why the eighteen-year
punishment” (Mohlele, page 103). His time in prison gave him “irresolvable anger, anger in search of
meaning” (Mohlele, page 103). He felt as if he had been wronged by the justice system, and
searched high and low for a meaningful reason, a meaningful justification for his cruel and unfair
sentence.
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