By Nadine Gordimer

Nadine Gordimer
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 ◈ Publishes first collection of
short stories, Face to Face ◈ ReceivesNobel Prize for
◈ Marries Gerald Gavron Literature
◈ Born in - have a daughter ◈ Publishes Jump and Other
South Africa - divorce in 1952 Stories

1923 1933 1949 1954 1991 2014

◈ Diagnosed with a heart ◈ Remarries: Reinhold Cassirer ◈ Dies at age 90

condition - Have a son
◈ Pulled out of school and
tutored at home
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Imagery
◈ use of words to engage the physical senses
◈ immerses the reader in a full-body experience of the text and deepens the connection

Symbolism
◈ use of words, people, actions, objects, or locations to represent an idea outside of its
literal meaning
◈ adds complexity and underscores the story’s themes

Irony
◈ use of contradictory statements or situations reveal a reality that is different from what
appears to be true
◈ can create humor and suspense, showcase character flaws, or highlight central themes
Setting
❀ Mozambique ⇾ Kruger Park ⇾ Refugee camp in South
Africa
❀ 1980s

Genre ❀ Postcolonial
❀ Initiation Story

POV First Person

 The Bandits
Unnamed Narrator First-born brother

❀ Young Black girl Baby Brother

❀ Between 9-11 years old Narrator’s father & mother

Grandmother, “Gogo” Narrator’s grandfather

The man who led the people all throughout the
journey
The white people in the camps
Loss & Sacrifice

Fear

Displacement

Struggle & Survival

Hope & Courage

 Young Girl Grandmother New Shoes
◈ ◈ ◈

◈ ◈ ◈

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 The grandmother decides to give up the search and
continue the trek through Kruger park.
Climax

On the way, the grandfather is lost when They reach the refugee camp where they
he goes into the tall grass. They wait and receive space in a tent, free food, and
search for him for a day. medicine.

One night as they slept huddled together, they

heard lions. Fortunately, the man who is guiding The grandmother gets a job. She uses
them jumps up and scares away the beasts. Falling the money to take care of the children,
Rising Action sending them to school and ensuring
Action they do their homework.
They meet a group of people going their way and join them as
they traverse Kruger Park while trying to avoid the electrified
fences, the animals, and the white people’s camps.

Resolution

Journalists interview the grandmother about the family’s

Introduction experience and ask her if she would return to Mozambique.
The grandmother says no, which confuses the young girl
One day, the children’s mother left but never came back. because she still hopes to return and find her parents and
The children wait for her while hiding from the bandits grandfather there.
terrorizing their village. Eventually, word gets around to
their grandmother, who brings them to the grandparent’s
house. After starving for a month, the grandmother
decides they should leave to find a new home
The diction of the story is simple, like a child’s. How
does this limit what the girl can tell us? How does it
intensify the effect of her descriptions?

How does she experience the animals of the park,

in contrast to the presentation we see of the
animals through nature films?

What can the reader know about the fate of the

grandfather? What was the reason for Gordimer to
leave it unclear?

What is ironic about the title of the story?

What is the tone of the story? How does the author

create that tone?
Novels
✤ Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston & James D. Houston
✤ The Wave by Todd Strasser
✤ Children’s Children by Jan Carson

Short Stories
✤ Loot and Other Stories by Nadine Gordimer
✤ Six Feet of the Country by Nadine Gordimer
✤ The Old Chief Mashlanga by Doris Lessing
✤ Crackling Day by Peter Abrahams

Plays & Poetry

✤ “Death and the Maiden” by Ariel Dorfman
✤ “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley