Consequences Of Violence In Ways Of Dying By Busisiwe Magocoba

BACKGROUND TO THE NOVEL (Busisiwe Magocoba)

The novel Ways Of Dying is set in an undisclosed city during that last years under the apartheid regime in South Africa. This novel deals with the period between 1990 and 1994, tis period is the transition period from the apartheid regime and democracy. This was the period in which significant events occurred, events such as, Nelson Mandela was released from Robben Island, the removal of bans on black political parties, the release of political prisoners and the first democratic elections in South Africa.

This period was marked by a great deal of violence. There was violence between the African National Congress (ANC) and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) when conflict broke out between the supporters of the respective parties, resulting in the two parties competing for political influence and violence inflicted by White supremacists (AWB) in attempt of self-preservation and an independent state (Volkstaad) free from rule of “blacks”.

The Apartheid government that was publicly negotiating reform was also provoking violence between black South Africans in an effort to demonstrate that the black majority was too divided to rule the country.

In the novel the impact of the Apartheid system on the characters is eminent. One of the protagonists of the novel, Noria, has lost her child due to unexplained violence. The violence between the ANC and IFP may have been the cause of her son’s death. This is implied when Toloki learns newspaper reporters have been particularly keen to get close to her, to ask her questions about the way she felt about her son being killed by his own people (p.9). Although Noria’s life is already gloomy with the loss of her son it is even gloomier as she has lost all her ...

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...appy and content with life. She wants Toloki to teach her to forgive all those who have wronged her, in order to move on with her life.

With these words one feels that Zakes Mda was trying to convey to the reader the message that death is everywhere. It is a natural part of life. It can neither be stopped nor controlled. When death arrives one cannot allow themselves to be controlled by it. They cannot let it consume their lives. If one spends so much time thinking and being haunted by death, one forgets to live.

Death is a part of life, but it is not life. Living your life in fear of death can only result in more pain. There is life after the death of a loved one. The best one can do is to embrace that life and live with the hope that life can become better if they let it.

Toloki and Noria only have each other now, buts that’s all that they need to be happy.