Thesis (MA) -- University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / Examines theme and conflict in the drama Ditshwantshiso tsa Zakes Mda, which was translated into Sesotho / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study examines theme and conflict in the drama Ditshwantshiso tsa Zakes Mda, which was translated into Sesotho by M.W. Tsiu, and published by Unisa Press, in 2002 in Pretoria. This drama book has five plays. Chapter 1, introduces the aims of study, problem identification as well as the organization of study. Chapter 2, deals with literature review on theme and conflict. Chapter 3, is the analysis of theme and conflict in Se kgitlile lejwe. Chapter 4, analyses theme and conflict in Re tla binela fatshe la bontate. Chapter 5, is the analysis of theme and conflict in Mantswe a tebileng a a /la. Chapter 6, is the analysis of theme and conflict in Lera/la. Chapter 7 analysis of theme and conflict in Tsela. Chapter 8, deals with conclusion about theme and conflict in Ditshwantshiso tsa Zakes Mda. It is found that in these five plays, Zakes Mda try to make us aware about the events in the past in South Africa, a political system in which white people had power over black people and made them live separately. We learn from these plays how should we live together and happily. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek die tema en konflik in drama boek Ditshwantshiso tsa Zakes Mda, soos dit vertaal is in Sesotho deur M.W. Tsiu, en uitgegee is deur Unisa Press, in 2002 in Pretoria. Hierdie dramaboek bevat vyf toneelstukke. Hoofstuk 1, stel die doel van die studie voor, identifiseer probleme, asook die organisasie van die studie. Hoofstuk 2, hou verband met teorlee en metodes wat in die studie gevolg word. Hoofstuk 3, ondersoek die tema en konflik in Se kgitlile lejwe. Hoofstuk 4, ondersoek die tema en konflik in Re tla binela fatshe la bontate. Hoofstuk 5, ondersoek die tema en konflik in Mantswe a tebileng a alia. Hoofstuk 6, ondersoek die tema en konflik in Leralla. Hoofstuk 7, ondersoek die tema en konflik in Tsela. Hoofstuk 8, gee die gevolgtrekking van die studie, met tema en konflik in Ditshwantshiso tsa Zakes Mda. Dit bied 'n opsomming van die belangrikste bevindinge van die studie. / Thuto ena e reretswe ho hlahloba mokotaba Ie kgohlano bukeng va lakes Mda, e leng, Ditshwantshiso tsa Zakes Mda, e fetoletsweng Sesothong ke M.W. Tsiu, mme va phatlalatswa ka selemo sa 2002, ke Unisa Press, Pitoria. Buka ena e na Ie ditshwantshiso tse hlano. Tshwantshisong ka nngwe ho tlo shebanwa Ie mokotaba, ho boelwe ho shebanwe Ie kgohlano. Kgaolo va 1, ke selelekela sa thuto ena ka bophara. Mona ho hlaha nalane va lakes Mda ha kqutshwanyane, sepheo Ie hlophiso va mosebetsi ona. Kgaolo va 2, e hlahisa diteori tse tla sebediswa ho manolla mokotaba Ie kgohlano ditshwantshisong tsena tsa lakes Mda. Kgaolo va 3, ho hlahlojwa tshwantshiso va, Se kgitlile lejwe, moo ho shejwang mokotaba Ie kgohlano. Kgaolo va 4, ho hlahlojwa tshwantshiso va, Re tla binela fatshe la bontate, moo ho shejwang mokotaba Ie kgohlano. Kgaolo va 5, ho hlahlojwa tshwantshiso va, Mantswe a tebileng a a /la, moo ho shejwang mokotaba Ie kgohlano. Kgaolo va 6, ho hlahlojwa tshwantshiso ve, Lera/la, moo ho shejwang mokotaba Ie kgohlano. Kgaolo va 7, ho hlahlojwa tshwantshiso va, Tsela, moo ho hlahlojwang mokotaba Ie kgohlano. Kgaolo va 8, ke qeto, mme ho tlo shejwa hore na mokotaba Ie kgohlano di fihletswe, mme bohlokwa ba ditaba ke ho sheba ka moo mawala a dingolwa a sebedisitsweng ka teng; tsela eo mokotaba 0 fihletsweng ka ona Ie tsela eo kgohlano e hlahang ka teng. Qeto e fihlellwang ke hore lakes Mda 0 re elelliswa ka diketsahalo tsa nakong va kgethollo, mme thuto eo re e fumanang ke va hore re tshwanetse ho phela ha mmoho Ie ka kgotso.

I shall argue in this thesis that Zakes Mda's novels Ways of Dying (l995a) and She Plays with the Darkness (1995b) are magic realist texts that are representative of the hybrid nature of this literary mode. Furthermore I shall demonstrate that Ways of Dying (l995a) and She Plays with the Darkness (1995b) share common elements with a variety of magic realist texts. Mda's own creative and literary consciousness has been shaped by an intellectual background stemming from tertiary education at Ph.D level, his teaching positions at various international universities, and his knowledge of African folk-culture. The seemingly contesting streams of Western education and African mysticism are not presented as sources of conflict in Mda's novels, but rather as syncretic forces of potential transformative power. Mda displays in his project as a novelist, the continuing concerns of black writers who saw the novel as a tool for socio-political change. My thesis therefore also investigates the extent to which Mda's use of magic realism in the novels mentioned above, signals a radical shift in literary representation by South African black writers who wrote in English. Mda's novels transcend Black Consciousness-inspired protest that characterised black literature in the 1970's and 1980's. His use of tropes associated with magic realism, African folk-culture, the apocalyptic and carnivalesque has enabled him to create a discursive space for South African black writers on the international stage, and foregrounds a movement towards literature that offers opposition to being classified as merely ''black writing". The death of the old order in South Africa and the birth of a new one, invites questioning and analysis of the position of the self during a period of cataclysmic change. That the apocalypse brings with it both death and renewal could be seen within the context of post modernist visions of the erosion of the self and death as the ultimate reality. Mda's novels, Ways of Dying (l995a) and She Plays with the Darkness (1995b), are the first English narratives by a South Afiican black author that can claim affinities with postcolonial writers such as Carpentier, Marquez, Okri and Rushdie. These writers reflect in their narratives, the infinite possibilities of magic realism in reclaiming the self submerged by the colonial experience. I shall attempt, in Chapter One, a survey of specific theoretical assumptions relevant to magic realism. Chapter Two will provide biographical details of Zakes Mda the playwright, poet, theatre practitioner, film producer and novelist and the importance of magic realism in his writings. Chapter Three is an analysis of Mda's published plays and points to the early uses of elements consistent with magic realism in his work. Chapters Four and Five are investigations into Mda's use of magic realism in Ways of Dying (1995) and She Plays with the Darkness (1995), respectively. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1998.

Post-apartheid South African fiction has been the subject of much heated debate. One specific aspect of this debate has revolved around the role of history in this fiction. This is linked to general concerns in the country around ways of understanding history, especially in relation to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s research into the past. Tracing the lines of debate which emerged out of the discussions around the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, this research report focuses on the way history is presented in two novels from the post-apartheid period. These novels are This Day and Age by Mike Nicol and The Heart of Redness by Zakes Mda. Each of the two novels concerns a specific incident from the past of South Africa, the Bulhoek massacre and the Xhosa cattle-killing respectively. Through tracing their intertextual relations with mainstream accounts of the historical events, the research shows how they interrogate these accounts. Detailed examination of the portrayal of history in each of the novels leads to conclusions being drawn about the way in which the novels conceive of such historical ideas as causality, linearity and responsibility. Finally, the research examines the role of prophecy in the novels, showing how in both of the texts prophecy can be read as an alternative explanation for events. The research endeavours ultimately to contribute to the body of critical thought concerning the analysis of post-apartheid South African fiction.

Magister Artium - MA / This thesis analyzed Zakes Mda's The Heart of redness in the tradition of South African pastoral and counter-pastoral. It proposed that the novel is a hybrid of both African and European tradition and perspectives. It adduced Northrop Frye's theory of myth and archetypes in literature as a basis for study. It also analysed the novel in its use of irony. / South Africa

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2009. / Open access. Includes bibliographical references (p. 56-58).

In this study, D.P.S. Monyaise’s Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Zakes Mda’s Black Diamond are analysed in relation to narrative perspectives on female characters. The main aim of this study is to show how cultural narrative perspectives apply in the comparative study in Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Black Diamond, to determine how female characters, particularly Diarona in Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Tumi in Black Diamond, are portrayed. The argument maintained in this study is that, although Monyaise in his Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka gives his female characters an exceptionally strong voice, the social and literary perspectives in his novel still draw very sturdily on traditional frameworks. Monyaise’s narrative style and his narrative investigation of his main themes are evidently influenced by views informed by a traditional frame within which women occupy a culturally marginalized position. Mda, on the other hand, controversially challenges dominant views and consequent modes of behaviour, while also expanding the boundaries of creative writing. Research on the portrayal of female characters in Batswana literature is still lacking. This study makes a contribution in the sense that it is an explorative investigation from the perspective of postclassical cognitive narratology, which therefore attempts to approach Batswana literature from a fresh theoretical point of view. The intention is also to enrich the field of Batswana literature by adopting a comparative approach. In achieving this aim, this work adopts the following structure. Chapter one provides the aim and focus of the study. Chapter two discusses the theoretical framework and crucial key terms. Chapter three establishes a background with regard to traditional Batswana cultural views on Batswana women, with emphasis on stereotypical perspectives on women identified through the application of theoretical insights with regard to frames and scripts. The analysis of these traditional perspectives is carried out with reference to traditional Batswana women and the following: the work place; family life; legislation and leadership roles; education; religious belief; and traditional marriage. Chapter four is a comparative analysis with specific attention to the portrayal of the main female characters, that is Diarona in Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Tumi in Black Diamond, through application of the theoretical and cultural framework constructed in chapter two and three respectively. Chapter five provides concluding remarks. / MA (Setswana), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

In this study, D.P.S. Monyaise’s Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Zakes Mda’s Black Diamond are analysed in relation to narrative perspectives on female characters. The main aim of this study is to show how cultural narrative perspectives apply in the comparative study in Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Black Diamond, to determine how female characters, particularly Diarona in Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Tumi in Black Diamond, are portrayed. The argument maintained in this study is that, although Monyaise in his Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka gives his female characters an exceptionally strong voice, the social and literary perspectives in his novel still draw very sturdily on traditional frameworks. Monyaise’s narrative style and his narrative investigation of his main themes are evidently influenced by views informed by a traditional frame within which women occupy a culturally marginalized position. Mda, on the other hand, controversially challenges dominant views and consequent modes of behaviour, while also expanding the boundaries of creative writing. Research on the portrayal of female characters in Batswana literature is still lacking. This study makes a contribution in the sense that it is an explorative investigation from the perspective of postclassical cognitive narratology, which therefore attempts to approach Batswana literature from a fresh theoretical point of view. The intention is also to enrich the field of Batswana literature by adopting a comparative approach. In achieving this aim, this work adopts the following structure. Chapter one provides the aim and focus of the study. Chapter two discusses the theoretical framework and crucial key terms. Chapter three establishes a background with regard to traditional Batswana cultural views on Batswana women, with emphasis on stereotypical perspectives on women identified through the application of theoretical insights with regard to frames and scripts. The analysis of these traditional perspectives is carried out with reference to traditional Batswana women and the following: the work place; family life; legislation and leadership roles; education; religious belief; and traditional marriage. Chapter four is a comparative analysis with specific attention to the portrayal of the main female characters, that is Diarona in Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Tumi in Black Diamond, through application of the theoretical and cultural framework constructed in chapter two and three respectively. Chapter five provides concluding remarks. / MA (Setswana), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This thesis sought to demonstrate that humour and the grotesque are the primary tools by which Mda achieve his postcolonial strategies of &quot / writing back&quot / , that is, of asserting an identity in the face of colonial pressures, apartheid and the growing selfishness of many in the new, post-democratic South African society.

This thesis analyzed Zakes Mda's The Heart of redness in the tradition of South African pastoral and counter-pastoral. It proposed that the novel is a hybrid of both African and European tradition and perspectives. It adduced Northrop Frye's theory of myth and archetypes in literature as a basis for study. It also analysed the novel in its use of irony.

Thesis (M.A. (English) -- University of Limpopo, 2010 / This dissertation examines the way in which two South African novelists, Zakes Mda and J.M. Coetzee, portray the sexual abuse of women during the apartheid and post-apartheid eras. The two selected novels used in this research are The Madonna of Excelsior (2002) by Mda and Disgrace (2000) by Coetzee. The research, furthermore, analyses the attitudes of the sexual abusers and their victims in both eras as well as examines the effects of socio-economic imbalances that might have prompted the men to sexually abuse women whom they should be offering protection against any form of violence and abuse. The study furthermore identifies and analyses the factors that hinder victims from reporting their sexual abuse to the police. Finally, this dissertation also presents a comparative study of the differences and the similarities between the way the two novelists portray sexual abuse.