Main Article Content

Qholorha and the Dialogism of Place in Zakes Mda’s <i>The Heart of Redness</i>


S Koyana

Abstract

Appraisals have focused on the historical components of Mda’s novel, although the role of the present in The Heart of Redness is equally if not more important. By concentrating on the dialogism of place as a device for connecting the past, present, and the future, this paper points to some of the ways in which Mda challenges our thinking about race, class, gender, history, the economy, the environment and, ultimately, the new African identity within the context of the ‘African Renaissance’. The setting of Qholorha, once a significant landmark in the encounter between British colonialism and traditional African culture, is now a microcosm of South Africa: an ideal place for defining and implementing strategies for sustainable development at the turn of the twentieth century.

Journal Identifiers


eISSN: 2159-9130
print ISSN: 1013-929X