This document entails an in-depth analysis of a literary question on 'The Theory of Flight,' by Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu. This analysis also includes specific quotations from the novel. Using these notes, I placed in the Top 1% Nationally for English Home Language in the IEB NSC Examinations of 2023, ...
Auerello Matthaeus Pillay Reddam House Waterfall 12 – Mrs de Carvalho
RHW PRELIM 2022 – THE THEORY OF FLIGHT
QUESTION 5:
“Everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedom - to
choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
– Viktor Frankl
TOPIC:
Critically evaluate to what extent Genie chooses her “own way” and refuses
to be defined by the events that happen to her and around her. Refer to
pivotal moments in Genie’s life and how her responses to these events
define her character.
Unravelling the depths of human connection, The Theory of Flight, by Siphiwe Gloria
Ndlovu, underscores one’s power in achieving lasting human freedom. This is
demonstrated by one’s positive resilient attitude. Accordingly, the novel’s protagonist,
Genie, chooses her own way and refuses to be defined by events that happen to her
and around her. This is exhibited in the pivotal moments in her life, such as growing
up in a politically unstable country in which her father is a liberation hero whose
decisions and actions have a lasting impact on her life. Moreover, her personal fate
is encompassed by hardship and sickness as espoused in the attack on Beauford
Farm and Estate and her ensuing hospitalisation, after a car accident. In response to
these seemingly detrimental circumstances, Genie portrays her transcendental
nature in choosing her own ending. By examining the character-shaping events and
Genie’s subsequent autonomous reactions, Ndlovu presents the notion that despite
hardship being inevitable, it is one’s choice to live with that suffering or positively
reclaim one’s narrative.
The novel unfolds in an unnamed Southern African nation, on which the story of
Imogen ‘Genie’ Zula Nyoni is said to be “the story of many other characters.” In this
way, Ndlovu showcases the interconnectedness between individuals, that they
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