Her er vores study guide til novellen “The Guilt” (2001) af Rayda Jacobs, som findes i Contexts, s. 124. I guiden her finder du hjælp til de væsentligste pointer, som det er godt at have med i en analyse af teksten. Derudover får du et summary samt hjælp til at perspektivere teksten.
Rayda Jacobs (f. 1947) er født i Sydafrika og boede der til hun blev gift og flyttede til Canada. Hendes litterære værker omfatter noveller og romaner, men hun er også filmskaber. Rayda Jacobs er efter skilsmisse flyttet tilbage til Sydafrika.
Her finder du et uddrag af vores study guide:
Social setting
The story explores the class differences and the inequalities between white and black citizens post-apartheid in South Africa.
The apartheid regime offered multiple advantages to the whites, while the non-white majority was discriminated against. The story shows that after the end of apartheid, the situation remained largely the same, as the inequalities created by the discriminatory system were not addressed. While Lilian – a white woman – has a stable financial situation, William – and other black South Africans – still struggle to survive. They continuously ask for “food, old clothes, money, and work” (p. 125, l. 40), and they rely on the charity of white citizens to get by.
Moreover, although the government encouraged them to regain their rights (p. 125, ll. 41-42), black South Africans still struggled to do so. Some of them were desperate, like the woman who sells plants to Lilian: “The woman threw herself to the ground with her grocery bags in which she kept the plants individually wrapped in wet newspaper” (p. 126, ll. 22-24). Some ...
