Structure

The short story “The Guilt” by Rayda Jacobs is structured around a single event: a black South African man comes to Lilian’s house under the pretext of collecting money for an organization. The encounter has multiple implications for both characters, who become aware of their class differences in post-apartheid South Africa. 

The story begins in medias res and presents Lilian Thurgood noticing that someone is at the property’s gate (p. 125, ll. 1-4). A foreshadowing element is introduced when Lilian describes her two dogs as “sentinels” (p. 125 l. 16) that protect the gate. The dogs are also said to be trained to follow specific commands (p. 125, l. 17). This foreshadows the ending, when Lilian orders the dogs to attack William (p. 128, l. 42). 

The n...