We gotta number there

I denne study guide kan du få hjælp til at analysere novellen "We gotta number there" af Rayda Jacobs. Udover analysehjælpen kan du finde et summary af teksten samt idéer til fortolkning og perspektivering.

Præsentation af teksten

Titel: “We gotta number there” (2012)
Forfatter: Rayda Jacobs
Genre: Short story

Rayda Jacobs (f. 1947) er sydafrikansk forfatter, som både er kendt for sine romaner og noveller. Hendes værker har ofte fokus på forholdene i Sydafrika under og efter apartheid.

Dette tema ser vi da også i Jacobs' novelle "We gotta number there" fra 2012, som foregår kort tid efter apartheids fald.

Uddrag

Nedenfor kan du læse et kort uddrag fra vores study guide til teksten:

Title

The title of Rayda Jacobs’ short story “We gotta number there” captures the readers’ attention. Although the title may be confusing at the beginning, as the story progresses, readers understand that it is part of what Jonas Mbulu tells Richard Cook: “ ‘We've always lived in the Imizamo Yethu village, boss. We don't know any other place. We gotta number there. We feel strong about that number, it’s the only thing we have.’ ” (ll. 100-102). The title, then, could refer to the South African village in which Jonas and Lucky Mbulu have lived all their lives. While the expression is still unclear, Jonas Mbulu could be referring to the hopes of having an address there in the future. In this way, the title could refer to a house number.

The title’s symbolism can be seen when Jonas explains to the Cooks why he and his wife want to keep on living in the Imizamo Yethu village, in a new yet modest house paid for by themselves, not offered by the government for free:

A lot of people are waiting for the free houses the ANC promised. Lucky and me, we don't want anything for free. We want to build our first home in the new South Africa. We want to say Jonas and Lucky did it, and pay for it with our own money. (ll. 108-111)