ENG2603 – Colonial and Post-colonial African Literature
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA
Exam
POETRY
THE CHILD WHO WAS SHOT DEAD BY SOLDIERS IN NYANGA
By Ingrid Jonker
The child is not dead
the child raises his fists against his mother
who screams Africa screams the smell
of freedom and heather
in the locations of the heart under siege
The child raises his fists against his father
in the march of the generations
who scream Africa scream the smell
of justice and blood
in the streets of his armed pride
The child is not dead
neither at Langa nor at Nyanga
nor at Orlando nor at Sharpeville
nor at the police station in Philippi
where he lies with a bullet in his head
The child is the shadow of the soldiers
on guard with guns saracens and batons
the child is present at all meetings and legislations
the child peeps through the windows of hous es and into the hearts of mothers
the child who just wanted to play in the sun at Nyanga is everywhere
the child who became a man treks through all of Africa
the child who became a giant travels through the whole world
Without a pass
, Comment on the poet’s effective use of metaphor to demonstrate how brutality
bounces back on the aggressor in Ingrid Jonker’s “The Child who was Shot Dead
by Soldiers at Nyanga”.
The poem, “The child who was shot dead by soldiers at Nyanga”, is about the injustices
that were faced in South Africa during the apartheid regime. The poem was written after
the poet saw the body of a child who was shot by soldiers and died in the hands of his
mother in Philippi. Prior the incident, there was a massacre of the youths who were
protesting against carrying a ‘pass document’ in their own country in Sharpville.
In the first stanza, the poet expresses the level of suffering that South Africa and its people
endured during apartheid. She expresses the hope that is there, “the child is not dead”,
and the suffering that people are going through in their own country to seek justice and
freedom, “who screams Africa shouts the scent of freedom and the veld in the location of
the cordoned heart.” The second stanza portrays the child as longing for justice and
freedom due to the long suffering and oppression of black people. The lifting of fists
against the mother and father symbolizes resilience of the parents. The child is then, the
remnant that will reign. In the third stanza, the poet uses contradiction to emphasize the
resilience that the child possesses and symbolizes the freedom that is longed for by black
people. The child is dead physically, but multiplied through inspiring others to join the
movement against apartheid. The fourth stanza echoes the third as the child is seen to
be resilient and keeps on fighting for freedom until he is heard by the whole world.
In the poem, ‘the child’, can symbolize a young person in politics who is fighting against
the injustices and the oppression caused by the apartheid regime. “The child lifts his fists
against his mother…” This means that he protects or shields his mother from the
aggressor. In this case, the ‘mother’ symbolizes his country, South Africa. In the poem,
the child seek help from other African countries in order to overthrow the oppressor. The
poet says, “…who screams Africa shouts the scent of freedom and the veld in the location
of the cordoned heart.” This shows that he yearns for freedom and the word ‘scent’
suggests that he smells freedom coming and needs persistence in fighting and
advocating freedom of his people and his country which is under siege by the aggressor.
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA
Exam
POETRY
THE CHILD WHO WAS SHOT DEAD BY SOLDIERS IN NYANGA
By Ingrid Jonker
The child is not dead
the child raises his fists against his mother
who screams Africa screams the smell
of freedom and heather
in the locations of the heart under siege
The child raises his fists against his father
in the march of the generations
who scream Africa scream the smell
of justice and blood
in the streets of his armed pride
The child is not dead
neither at Langa nor at Nyanga
nor at Orlando nor at Sharpeville
nor at the police station in Philippi
where he lies with a bullet in his head
The child is the shadow of the soldiers
on guard with guns saracens and batons
the child is present at all meetings and legislations
the child peeps through the windows of hous es and into the hearts of mothers
the child who just wanted to play in the sun at Nyanga is everywhere
the child who became a man treks through all of Africa
the child who became a giant travels through the whole world
Without a pass
, Comment on the poet’s effective use of metaphor to demonstrate how brutality
bounces back on the aggressor in Ingrid Jonker’s “The Child who was Shot Dead
by Soldiers at Nyanga”.
The poem, “The child who was shot dead by soldiers at Nyanga”, is about the injustices
that were faced in South Africa during the apartheid regime. The poem was written after
the poet saw the body of a child who was shot by soldiers and died in the hands of his
mother in Philippi. Prior the incident, there was a massacre of the youths who were
protesting against carrying a ‘pass document’ in their own country in Sharpville.
In the first stanza, the poet expresses the level of suffering that South Africa and its people
endured during apartheid. She expresses the hope that is there, “the child is not dead”,
and the suffering that people are going through in their own country to seek justice and
freedom, “who screams Africa shouts the scent of freedom and the veld in the location of
the cordoned heart.” The second stanza portrays the child as longing for justice and
freedom due to the long suffering and oppression of black people. The lifting of fists
against the mother and father symbolizes resilience of the parents. The child is then, the
remnant that will reign. In the third stanza, the poet uses contradiction to emphasize the
resilience that the child possesses and symbolizes the freedom that is longed for by black
people. The child is dead physically, but multiplied through inspiring others to join the
movement against apartheid. The fourth stanza echoes the third as the child is seen to
be resilient and keeps on fighting for freedom until he is heard by the whole world.
In the poem, ‘the child’, can symbolize a young person in politics who is fighting against
the injustices and the oppression caused by the apartheid regime. “The child lifts his fists
against his mother…” This means that he protects or shields his mother from the
aggressor. In this case, the ‘mother’ symbolizes his country, South Africa. In the poem,
the child seek help from other African countries in order to overthrow the oppressor. The
poet says, “…who screams Africa shouts the scent of freedom and the veld in the location
of the cordoned heart.” This shows that he yearns for freedom and the word ‘scent’
suggests that he smells freedom coming and needs persistence in fighting and
advocating freedom of his people and his country which is under siege by the aggressor.
