A multiple representation of the Shebeen Queen

Résumé du document

"More than a shebeen queen, she is the incarnation of motherhood?: a theme that Peter Abrahams develops in Mine Boy. Xuma, the protagonist, is surrounded by support and advice. Surprisingly, Leah is not the only mother figure in Mine Boy; a white woman called Di also plays this role. In addition to this, I will demonstrate that through his novel, Peter Abrahams asks the people of South Africa to gather as one people; as a people "without color." Eventually, I will study the image of a "cat and mouse game" as the metaphor used to show that no matter how strong the black South African women were, they remained the victims of racism and sexual discrimination, and ultimately, of the apartheid government. What is striking in the description of Malay Camp is the difficulty the newcomer faces in finding his way. As Xuma shows it, the streets and the houses and even the walls of that place all look the same. There is no point of reference. The first chapter of Peter Abrahams' Mine boy opens on a very important scene. Xuma, a stranger who comes from the countryside arrives at Malay Camp, a township adjoining the big city of Johannesburg. Like many other black South Africans, he has come to the city in order to find a job as a mine boy. As a newcomer, Xuma's feeling of alienation is deep when he enters into the unknown township of the Malay Camp.

Extraits

[...] The crowd who was watching the fight suddenly scatters to avoid being arrested. Xuma keeps on watching what's happening without trying to escape. We are given very few details concerning the region he comes from, we only know that he comes from the North, but his behaviour lets us guess that he is not used to violence and certainly not to the unjust treatment given to black South African. It is as if he came from another dimension. Contrarily to him, Joseph runs away and warns him, but Xuma does not understand why he should run since he has done nothing wrong. [...]

[...] Ogungbesan, The Writing of Peter Abrahams, op.cit., p K. Ogungbesan, The Writing of Peter Abrahams, op.cit., p M. J. F. Chapman, Southern African Literatures (London; New York: Longman, 1996), p.229. F. Grellet, A Handbook of Literary Terms, op.cit. p.95. [12]F. Grellet, A Handbook of Literary Terms, op.cit. [...]

[...] For a split second there was confusion. A torch shone full into Leah's face. Leah stared at the glaring light without blinking her eyes. ‘Hello Leah,' a white voice said softly. ‘Take the light off me,' Leah said. The Fox switched off his torch. I've got you at last,' he said. Leah smiled from the side of her mouth and pulled her shoulders back. you've got ( ) set a trap, Leah and the mouse jumped into the trap. And what a jump! [...]

[...] Di believes that women are all the same, no matter what their colour is, but Xuma does not share this opinion. To him, it is not normal for a black girl (that is to say for his girlfriend Eliza) to wish to have the same advantages as a white one. The reader can understand Xuma's point of view knowing that the political context in South Africa, at that time, did not help black South Africans to climb the social ladder. [...]

[...] A multiple representation of the Shebeen Queen In the last part entitled Multiple Representation of the Shebeen Queen,” I will unveil the mystery of Leah. More than a Shebeen queen, she is the incarnation of motherhood, a theme that Peter Abrahams develops in Mine Boy. Xuma, the protagonist, is surrounded by support and advice. Surprisingly, Leah is not the only mother figure in Mine Boy; a white woman called Di also plays this role. In addition to this, I will demonstrate that through his novel, Peter Abrahams asks the people of South Africa to gather as one people, as a people “without colour.” Eventually, I will study the image of a and mouse game” as the metaphor used to show that no matter how strong black South African women were, they remained the victims of racism and sexual discrimination—and ultimately, of the apartheid government. [...]