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ENGL Notes - Summary Dreaming of light By JAYNE BAULING English (University of the Free State)
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HOËRSKOOL WATERKLOOF DREAMING OF LIGHT: REVISION WORKSHEET ENG. FAL TERM 4 2024 English (University of Pretoria)
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Dreaming of Light Booklet 2024 Complete Study Guide By Jay Bauling English (University of Pretoria)
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ENGL Notes - Summary Dreaming of lightBy JAYNE BAULING
, but Regile tells him that the police have
lOMoARcPSD|44397427
been bribed to leave the mines alone.
DREAMING OF LIGHT Taiba believes that they will be able to go
By JAYNE BAULING back home eventually. He asks lots of
questions and Regile becomes very
CHAPTER 1 (ANALYSIS) irritated with him. Taiba talks about a
former zama zama, Spike Maphosa, who
In this section of the text, the following he believes will come to rescue them.
main events take place: Regile does not believe that Spike exists.
We meet 18-year-old Regile Dlamini, the
narrator and protagonist. He is in charge of a
team of young boys (called ‘recruits’) in an
illegal gold mine in
Barberton, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa.
They have all been illegally trafficked to work
underground on this abandoned mine.
We learn that the legal owners of the mine had
closed it because it no longer brought in enough
profit. Corrupt criminal gangs (syndicates) have
taken control of the mine. The people they send
down into the mine are called zama zamas.
Regile has been there for 4 years. His boss,
Papa Mavuso, trusts him now. When he is above
ground, he is not locked in a shed like the other
boys. He has been allowed to visit his mother in
Swaziland a few times and has given her some
of the money he has earned. Papa Mavuso
keeps the rest of the money to make sure that
Regile will always come back.
Taiba Nhaca and his friend, Aires, have been
trafficked from Mozambique and are on Regile’s
team. They are about 13 or 14 years old. Both of
them have been badly beaten by Faceman,
Regile’s supervisor, because he did not think
they were working properly. Aires is now very
weak and ill. They have been underground for at
least two months now.
The novel starts with the noise of gunfire. Taiba
thinks it is the police coming to rescue them,
, Aires are only 13 or 14 years old and are much too
young to be working in a mine. They are not able to
ENGLISH FAL GRADE: 11 go to school. They are far from their families and
home and their parents probably do not know what is
happening to them. They seem to be completely
powerless. They have been physically beaten and live
in constant fear of violence.
THEME 1 (Illegal mining, Corruption and Exploitation)
THEME 3 (Optimism and Hope AND Deception
DEVELOPMENT:
and Innocence)
The first chapter gives us some details about how the illegal DEVELOPMENT:
mines work, and how much danger the miners are in. We learn
about the corruption that goes on above ground, and We meet Taiba who remains optimistic and full of hope,
that the police are bribed to leave the mines alone. This even after being beaten by Faceman. He believes they
makes us feel that the recruits are in a terrible situation. will be rescued. Taiba becomes the voice of hope for the
There doesn’t seem to be much hope for them. reader: his situation is horrible but he does not become
THEME 2 (Human Trafficking and Child Labour) hopeless. We realise that he is the complete opposite of
Regile, who does not believe that things will get better.
DEVELOPMENT: Regile thinks it is best to accept things in order to
survive and not die.We learn that the traffickers made
We hear about how the zama zamas were taken from their false promises about earning lots of money to persuade
homes and have come to the mine. Papa Mavuso keeps the children to leave home for the mines. The young
imprisons them, but promises to pay them later. Taiba and recruits are not free to leave. (Papa Mavuso even
1
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, lOMoARcPSD|44397427
many of the other characters in the novel,
especially Taiba and the other recruits (and
DREAMING OF LIGHT Katekani, whom we will only meet later on).
By JAYNE BAULING 4. Dialogue: There is a lot of dialogue in
Chapter 1.
deceives Regile by keeping some of his money. He
does this so that Regile will always come back to the We read the external dialogue or conversation
mine to collect this and then want to stay to earn between Regile and Taiba. We also read
more money.) However, through all of this hardship, the conversation that Regile has with himself in
Taiba seems to have remained innocent and childlike. his own mind. This is called an internal
Taiba talks about his belief in Spike Maphosa and how dialogue. This is the author’s way of showing us
he will rescue them. Regile, on the other hand, has what the narrator is thinking, and what
become hardened and cynical. Regile criticises Taiba
harshly for being naïve and thinking Spike Maphosa
can really help them.
In this section of the text, the following style or
structural elements have importance:
1. Story structure: This chapter is the exposition
of the plot: we are introduced to almost all the main
characters, and we are given lots of information about
who they are and why they are there. We are shown
the horrific conditions in the mines for the zama
zamas, as well as the constant threat of violence in
their daily lives.
2. Narration: Regile narrates the novel. He is a
first person narrator. We see all the
events and other characters through his eyes. Many
times we hear his actual thoughts when he uses ‘I’
and ‘me’. At other times, we read about what he sees
and hears around
him. We have a special knowledge that no other
characters have: we are able to be inside Regile’s
mind so we know his reactions, feelings and inner
conflicts.
3. Protagonist: Regile is the protagonist of the
novel. He is the main character and we follow his
development through the story. He is faced with
difficult decisions and situations. His actions affect
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