Want to ace your Final English Paper 2 exam? Maybe you have a couple of months to spare, maybe a couple of days or maybe it is TOMORROW?! Nevertheless, I got you covered. Breathe my friend. I even went to school in the same area as Craig Higginson's novel is set. These notes break 'The Dream House'...
Table of Contents
Characters ......................................................................................................................10
Plot Summary .................................................................................................................10
Themes...........................................................................................................................11
1. Truth (past) and Memory ............................................................................................... 11
2. Identity and Belonging ................................................................................................... 11
3. Love and Hate ................................................................................................................ 12
Symbols ..........................................................................................................................12
Quotes ...........................................................................................................................13
Characters
• Patricia Wiley – White lady spending her last night on Dwaleni Farm.
• Richard Wiley – White man, with dementia, married to Patricia.
• Looksmart – Black man, raised (in part) by Patricia.
• Beauty – Grace’s younger sister. Grows up to be Richard and Patricia’s domestic worker.
• Grace – Black girl that Looksmart wanted to marry.
• Bheki – Patricia’s driver. Beauty secretly loves him.
• John Ford – Patricia’s lover. Commits suicide.
Plot Summary
Patricia and her husband, Richard, are supposed to pack their belongings to move to
Durban, South Africa. She peeps through the window of their house and notices a thick mist
on the valley. Their farm, Dwaleni, has been bought by property developers. As a result,
they are supposed to leave with immediate effect. The couple have a housemaid named
Beauty and a driver named Bheki; they have been working with them for a long time.
Richard has dementia and needs special care. He is directed to the dining room by Beauty to
take breakfast. In the dining room, Richard appears disorderly and unsettled. Here, he
explains about a weird dream he has had the previous night.
Patricia is driven by Bheki to visit John Ford. Ford called Patricia and instructed her to visit
him before moving out of their farmhouse. On their way to Ford’s house, Patricia tells Bheki
how lately she has been thinking about her father. She remembers him as a good man who
died young. Richard has let the farm go. Patricia has had a secret affair with Ford. When
they reach Ford’s house, they are welcomed warmly. Ford serves Patricia tea and biscuits to
bid her goodbye. He also promises to be calling her regularly.
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