ENG1501 SMALL THINGS NOVEL
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ENG1501 SMALL THINGS
STUDY NOTES 2022
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ENG1501
SMALL THINGS
NTHIKENG MOHLELE
NOTES
Please take note of the following:
1. This document is only to be used for comparison purposes.
2. This document is intended only for comparison, research, guidance, and reference
purposes. Directly submitting this is not permitted. Failing to do so will lead to plagiarism.
3. Reselling and distributing of any part of this document is not permitted, this is the
authors work and therefore it is illegal to resell and distribute any part of this document.
4. Please use this document for guidelines only – do not copy or directly submit as this will
be marked as plagiarism as it is not your own work, you still need to answer in your own
words the assignment and this document is only for reference and guideline purposes.
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About the author
Nthikeng Mohlele is a South African novelist whose novels include Michael K (Picador Africa, 2018),
a rewriting of J. M. Coetzee's Life & Times of Michael K. His other novels are: Scent of Bliss (Kwela
Books, 2008), Small Things (University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, 2013), Rusty Bells (University of
KwaZulu-Natal Press, 2014), Pleasure,(Picador Africa, 2016), and Illumination (Picador Africa, 2019).
Nthikeng Mohlele was born in 1977 and grew up in Limpopo and Tembisa township, South Africa. He
studied BA Dramatic Art and African Literature. He was listed by Bloomsbury Publishing, Hay Festival
and Rainbow Book Club among the 39 most promising authors under the age of 40 from sub Saharan
Africa and the diaspora. His latest novel, Rusty Bell, came out in 2014.
Sypnopsis
Sometimes melancholy, sometimes brutal, occasionally funny and infuriating, a journalist-comrade-
lover caught up in the shade and shadow of politics and social injustice faces treachery and betrayal
on every level. Set against the backdrop of a cityscape that taunts and tantalises, this is where love
fails and passion wanes.
In this haunting tale of love and learning, the existential chaos of a life ravaged by circumstance
takes on a rhythm of its own, one bound by loss and loneliness, but also an intelligent awareness of
self. Sometimes melancholy, sometimes brutal, occasionally funny and infuriating, a journalist-
comrade-lover caught up in the shade and shadow of politics and social injustice faces treachery
and betrayal on every level. Set against the backdrop of a cityscape that taunts and tantalises, this is
where love fails and passion wanes, "where suffering has no meaning", where an individual escapes
death only to find himself confronted with choices wrought by remorse and retribution, by
conscience and character. And yet, with all trauma, there is a distinct musicality to the lyrical
unpacking that follows a string of small things.
Plot
Who narrates the story in the novel?
The narrator narrates the story from a first person perspective. The narrator, who remains
unnamed, is simultaneously the main character in the story.
Who is the main character, where is he from and what does he do?
The main character is a young black boy, who upon being orphaned, was schooled around monks.
He lives at a place called the Benevolence House, where he attends school classes and completes
chores. He was expelled from Benevolence House because he used to sneak out of the campus at
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NOTES 2022
written by
StudyUnisaHelp
www.stuvia.com
Downloaded by: jujuassist840 |
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, Stuvia.com - The study-notes marketplace
ENG1501 SMALL THINGS
STUDY NOTES 2022
Downloaded by: jujuassist840 |
Distribution of this document is illegal
, Stuvia.com - The study-notes marketplace
ENG1501
SMALL THINGS
NTHIKENG MOHLELE
NOTES
Please take note of the following:
1. This document is only to be used for comparison purposes.
2. This document is intended only for comparison, research, guidance, and reference
purposes. Directly submitting this is not permitted. Failing to do so will lead to plagiarism.
3. Reselling and distributing of any part of this document is not permitted, this is the
authors work and therefore it is illegal to resell and distribute any part of this document.
4. Please use this document for guidelines only – do not copy or directly submit as this will
be marked as plagiarism as it is not your own work, you still need to answer in your own
words the assignment and this document is only for reference and guideline purposes.
Downloaded by: jujuassist840 |
Distribution of this document is illegal
, Stuvia.com - The study-notes marketplace
About the author
Nthikeng Mohlele is a South African novelist whose novels include Michael K (Picador Africa, 2018),
a rewriting of J. M. Coetzee's Life & Times of Michael K. His other novels are: Scent of Bliss (Kwela
Books, 2008), Small Things (University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, 2013), Rusty Bells (University of
KwaZulu-Natal Press, 2014), Pleasure,(Picador Africa, 2016), and Illumination (Picador Africa, 2019).
Nthikeng Mohlele was born in 1977 and grew up in Limpopo and Tembisa township, South Africa. He
studied BA Dramatic Art and African Literature. He was listed by Bloomsbury Publishing, Hay Festival
and Rainbow Book Club among the 39 most promising authors under the age of 40 from sub Saharan
Africa and the diaspora. His latest novel, Rusty Bell, came out in 2014.
Sypnopsis
Sometimes melancholy, sometimes brutal, occasionally funny and infuriating, a journalist-comrade-
lover caught up in the shade and shadow of politics and social injustice faces treachery and betrayal
on every level. Set against the backdrop of a cityscape that taunts and tantalises, this is where love
fails and passion wanes.
In this haunting tale of love and learning, the existential chaos of a life ravaged by circumstance
takes on a rhythm of its own, one bound by loss and loneliness, but also an intelligent awareness of
self. Sometimes melancholy, sometimes brutal, occasionally funny and infuriating, a journalist-
comrade-lover caught up in the shade and shadow of politics and social injustice faces treachery
and betrayal on every level. Set against the backdrop of a cityscape that taunts and tantalises, this is
where love fails and passion wanes, "where suffering has no meaning", where an individual escapes
death only to find himself confronted with choices wrought by remorse and retribution, by
conscience and character. And yet, with all trauma, there is a distinct musicality to the lyrical
unpacking that follows a string of small things.
Plot
Who narrates the story in the novel?
The narrator narrates the story from a first person perspective. The narrator, who remains
unnamed, is simultaneously the main character in the story.
Who is the main character, where is he from and what does he do?
The main character is a young black boy, who upon being orphaned, was schooled around monks.
He lives at a place called the Benevolence House, where he attends school classes and completes
chores. He was expelled from Benevolence House because he used to sneak out of the campus at
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