Analysis

This section highlights the main elements of our analysis of the short story “The Park” by James Matthews.

The story’s plot structure is linear and focused on a short period of time, probably a few hours over the course of an afternoon and evening. There are a few moments of flashback, but the structure and narration remain mostly in the present.

There is only one main character in the story, the unnamed boy. There are a few other episodic characters, but they generally play symbolic roles in the story.

The social setting explores the difficult period of forced social separation between white people and people of color in South Africa in the second half of the 20^th century. Topics such as apartheid and poverty play an important role in understanding the context of the short story.

The story is told by a third-person narrator, through the perspective of the unnamed main character. The narrator has limited knowledge about other characters in the story.

Regarding language, the author uses several expressions in Afrikaans, the official language in South Africa at the time, to create authentic dialogue. There are also metaphors and symbols which draw attention to the story’s message.

You can find a more detailed analysis in the following pages.