The black South African boys

Outer characterization

The group of four black South African boys, led by Dumile, who acts as their spokesman, are a collective character in the short story “Comrades” by Nadine Gordimer. The boys have been to the conference on People’s Education. As Dumile is the only one who speaks English, he becomes their representative and voices their struggles. We also know that another boy is named Shadrak Nstusha. The boys’ outer characterization reveals that they come from “Harrismith, Phoneng Location” (p. 99, l. 3). They belong to the Youth Congress (p. 99, l. 6), and they have come by bus for two hundred kilometers for the conference on black people’s education. The other details that are given are that they are young and that they have not been in school for several years (p. 100, ll. 37-38).

Dumile is described as being “so slight and slim, he seemed a figure in profile” (p. 98, ll. 12-13), with a “thin, little-boy neck” (p. 101, l. 5) and the start of a beard (p. 101, l. 16). Dumile is the chairman of his branch of the Youth Congress (p. 100, ll. 42-43). He was expelled from school two years before for “ ‘political activity’ ” (p. 101, l. 2) and has spent six months in prison...