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The representation of character in Es'kia Mphahlele's writings : a comparison of the autobiography Down Second Avenue (1959) and the novel The Wanderers (1971) with his philosophy in The African Image (1974)

Literary representation of character in South Africa is not just problematic but also
complicated by racial dynamics, which easily lead to prejudiced portrayal by most
writers. Mphahlele's reaction to White writing's "distortion" of the image of
Blacks, in his critical texts resulted in his being labelled a protest writer.
Concerning his creative writing, he admits that he initially couldn't portray the
character of a white person roundedly due to limited acquaintance with him.
What he only knows about him and therefore depicts in his early writings is the
White stereotype. His acquaintance with the White world through varied
interaction gives a leverage that improves his portrayal of the White character.
Consequently his later works reflect objective representation of characters from
different races. The study therefore concludes that he falls outside the bracket
of protest writers, as his literary works prove to transcend the limitations of
stereotypical character representation. / Afrikaans and Theory of Literature / M.A. (Theory of Literature)

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:umkn-dsp01.int.unisa.ac.za:10500/16030
Date06 1900
CreatorsSicwebu, Noel Zanoxolo
ContributorsGrabe, R. C.
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeDissertation
Format1 online resource (138 leaves)

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