ENG1501. ‘Rock’, analysis. Short story by
Lindiwe Nkutha.
This analysis explores the literary elements used in this short story and
they comprise of narrative technique, setting, characterization, story title,
symbolism and themes. The document is a respond to UNISA module
ENG1501 assignment 02 (2023).
Author: Malesela
For more information contact:
maleselamakwesa1@gmail.com
, Analysis of literary elements in the short story: ‘Rock’
In this analysis, to uncover the meaning conveyed by the narration we will focus on
the following literary elements: (i) narrative technique; (ii) setting; (iii)
characterisation; (iv) symbolism; (v) story title and (vi) themes layered in the
narrative. First to examine is the narrative technique.
Narrative technique
The narrative technique used in the story is first-person narrative. There are
numerous definitions of this narrative style but according to Mafela, Ntuli and Saule
(2014:8), in this narrative technique the narrator either narrates from personal
experience or is at least involved in the actions of the story. It is true in this respect
because the main character Zibusiso is part of the story and he or she reports the
events from his or her point of view. From my understanding Zibusiso’s gender is not
stated and nor is there any indication to suggest his or her gender. However, for
convenience let us pretend the main character is a ‘she’. Now let us look at how
Zibusiso perceives her surrounding and people around her and how this contributes
to the meaning or interpretation of these events.
First, the reader is exposed to how Zibusiso sees herself. She seems to have
accepted her fate as someone living with a disability, judging from this statement: “I
have had to make peace with children in my neighbourhood whispering “Rock ‘n
Roll” every time I … wheeled myself [around the area]” (Nkutha 2013:185). Zibusiso
observes the other characters around her but she is also aware of how they regard
her, presumably just as another disability case. One can argue that Zibusiso is
lonely, and her physical condition could be a contributing factor to her lack of having
friends. This could be something people living with a disability experiences in their
lives. As a result, she spends more time alone watching people from “the vintage
point of her [wheelchair she dubbed] Rockmobile” (Nkutha 2013:189).
From the above analysis we get the sense people in Zibusiso’s neighbourhood treat
her with prejudice, this supported by this statement: “none of them ever spoke to
me”. In argument, Zibusiso feels unnoticed for she adds that they regard her as if
she were a nonentity, simply another property her mother Sis’ Ncedi owned (Nkutha
2013:189). This is a sad revelation. Zibusiso seem to presume that people do not
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, engage her because of the thinking that “people with physical disability are also
mentally challenged” (Nkutha 2013:194). As we speak, there are real people living
with disability who could be feeling the same way as Zibusiso does. Zibusiso is no
different to any other human being with dreams. In the story she dreams of become
a guitar player one day.
To escape her loneliness Zibusiso retreats to her mind which seem to transport her
to places her wheelchair cannot reach. In Nkutha (2013:190) Zibusiso mentions that
“[her] favourite destination had become any place where she could sneak a peek at
human interaction outside [her] own home”. She seems to have concluded that
chances were thin that neighbours were going to invite her to their homes because
of her disability. As a result, she can only wonder how her neighbours live like. We
learn that her mind transports her to the homes of her mother’s co-gamblers,
wherein she could create in her mind’s eye, fantasies about what some of these co-
gamblers had for breakfast, or whom they had woken up next to that morning
(Nkutha 2013:190).
It appears that Zibusiso has made observing people her pastime if not a hobby. As
much as people in her neighbours do not talk to her, she is able to converse to them
in her imagination and had “secretly christened one of her mother’s co-gamblers
“The Glove” (Nkutha 2013:190). To summarise the above, one can say Zibusiso
feels prejudiced against, by members of her community for the fact while adults
ignore her completely, children mock her because of her physical condition, by
mimicking the action of her mobility as “Rock ‘n Roll”, whenever she passes on the
street pulling herself on her wheelchair (Nkutha 2013:185); apparently not a friendly
neighbourhood for someone living with a disability. Be that as it may, because
Zibusiso is one telling us about what is happening in her neighbourhood, it is easy to
sympathise with her and conclude that the neighbours ill-treats her, since we have
no access to the perception of how the neighbours views her.
Setting
The name of the neighbourhood is not provided, but we could presume it to be
predominantly a black area because of the characters described by Zibusiso. But
one can argue that the area is impoverished, so much that the neighbour’s dog that
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