This document contains 6 Theory of Flight example essays which I wrote as well as 2 bonus questions at the end of the document.
I achieved 85% average for English in my 2022 Matric year. These essays are of high quality and were all checked by multiple IEB English teachers throughout 2022. I cou...
The world is presenting itself in ways that you’ve never really seen, and you have to be able to
start defining and determining who you are.
It’s not always easy and a character like Genie’s struggles with that and then very bravely
choses herself in many different ways over the things that she could have chosen.
Genie is not the only character who is able to choose herself and her own ending. How is The
Theory of Flight used as a vehicle to explore the courage of what is required to truly love?
The Theory of Flight explores the theme of a realisation of one’s true heart and mind amidst the
chaos of our world. Through the characters of Genie and Eunice, the novel explores the
courage that is required to truly love - to fully understand the fluidity of their lives and clearly see
its beauty and fragility through the ugly. This liberation of the mind and heart allows Genie and
Eunice to choose their own endings despite the struggles they faced. On the other hand,
Marcus and Krystle initially present an inability to truly love which ultimately prevents them from
achieving their own endings.
Firstly, Genie’s journey towards her ultimate liberation of her mind and heart, provides her with
the courage to truly love Vida and choose her own ending. Genie understood that “one could
come into this world, live a life and leave it without a trace.” A central realisation which allows
her to smile in the face of her adversity, her rape and HIV diagnosis. “It would have been so
much easier to allow one’s self to give in to the barrenness of existence, love was the truest
defiance.” Instead of succumbing to a life of fear and anger towards her rapists, Genie chooses
to love Vida and as a result she is able to become like the elephant’s crossing the Zambezi
River. Her true belief in herself and her courage to truly love provides her the ability of flight, of
the impossible, liberating her from any constraints and evoking any power the disease could
have had on her life.
Furthermore, Eunice Masuku is a character who explores the courage that is required to truly
love and as a result chooses her own ending. Being mentally and physically abused by her
sadist husband, the easier option for Eunice would have been living in a constant state of fear.
However, just like the elephants crossing the Zambezi River, Eunice’s true belief in herself and
her true love for her Dingani, liberates her from the constraints of her husband and allows her to
transcend the trajectory of her life and make decisions that seem seemingly impossible.
Therefore, Eunice had the courage to defy her husband and choose her own ending.
Unlike Genie and Eunice, Krystle Masuku initially struggles to truly define and determine who
she is within the novel, leaving her unable to choose her own ending. However, her choice to
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