THE LASTING EFFECTS OF THE APARTHEID

Abstract

The apartheid was an era of terror for black South Africans as they faced many challenges. Through literature, writers such as: Zakes Mda, Damon Galgut, and Nadine Gordimer used their voices to speak out against the poor treatment of black South Africans. The writers exposed these issues through highlighting the different treatment regarding jobs and housing. In my paper, I analyze and discuss their treatment noting The Excelsior 19, racism, segregation, and identity. In an effort show this, I explore these issues through novels such: The Madonna of Excelsior, Ways of Dying, The Promise, and July’s People. The paper is written in sections: apartheid, transition, and post-apartheid. The Madonna of Excelsior by Zakes Mda discusses the early apartheid and notes the experience of mixedraced babies and the hardships they faced. The Promise by Damon Galgut serves as a transitional piece that foreshadows the end of the apartheid. Ways of Dying—also by Zakes Mda marks, in my opinion, the post-apartheid era. Zakes Mda recounts the horrific aspects of the apartheid in a postapartheid text. He tells the story through Toloki—a professional funeral mourner and Noria—who has lost her child and has endured much tribulation. July’s People, by Nadine Gordimer is also a postapartheid text. This text describes a utopic South Africa as Gordimer demands for a better South Africa. The novels discussed in this paper prove that no matter the period, black South Africans are still struggling to find their place.