Essay 1 - Life Writing & Exile, Memory, and Gender
Course : ELL2001S
Topic: Life writing & exile
Essay question:
OPTION 1: LIFE WRITING AND MEMORY (A/Prof Hedley Twidle)
i was born 26 july 1939 in ventersdorp
i found myself in a situation
i was born 26 july 1939 in sophiatown
i found myself in a situation
i was born 26 july 1939 in district six
i found myself in a situation
i was born 26 july 1939 in welkom
i found myself in a situation
----from SPANNER IN THE WHAT? WORKS by Wopko Jensma
Choose one of the set readings (from lectures two to five) and explore how the piece grapples with ‘the situation’ that
the writer finds herself/himself/themselves in. What is the ‘situation’ from which the piece emerges? And how does the
reflective ‘I’ of the personal essay set about representing it and understanding it in retrospect?
In writing your answer, pay attention not just to what is said but how it is said (i.e. the formal, technical and aesthetic
aspects of the language and narration). I suggest that you 1) give your essay a title, 2) try to pose a framing question in
your introduction and 3) make an argument as you write your interpretation.
Feedback:
This is quite a good essay. You make some interesting observations about the text. You also express your thoughts on
the text in a clear and concise style, which is a pleasure to read. Overall, you essay was let down by being a little
rough at times. There were numerous editing errors, inconsistent referring, and a couple of places where you needed
to say more. I've highlighted a couple of points where you could have gone into more detail. I also think that you could
have touched on the wider political situations a little more. Your writing of apartheid is a vague and you do not mention
post-apartheid situations. This could have been an interesting extra thing to discuss.
Otherwise, this is good. Well done.
Mark – 66%
March 17, 2021
, Essay 1: Topic 1
Reading used: “I gave the names” by Adrian Leftwich
The silver lining behind every situation
Every situation poses us with the ultimate question as to what brought us to this point and what
lies ahead. This essay will focus on the various situations Adrian leftwich is faced with owing
to his confession in “I gave the names”, and how this suffocates him. This piece grapples with
the incidents behind the confession and how we are so overconsumed with picking on others
downfalls that we fail to grow together. This essay will unpack what a situation is and how
leftwich found himself in these situations throughout his life. Further focusing on how the
reflective “I” is a progressive mechanism in aiding our view of the real situation, ultimately
eluding to the fact that the situation is not the be all and end of our life and there is hope on the
other end of the spectrum.
The reflective “I” in the essay is personified as a human, harboring the ability to progress into
a character who gains maturity and understanding overtime. In the opening paragraph we are
faced with the line, “for reasons which I still do not fully understand, I tried to do things which
were far beyond me, and I failed” (Leftwich,3). The “I” is faced with self-doubt, which
overwhelms the reader with uncertainty regarding how this blameworthy and regretful state
came about, thus governing how we see the life of the “I”. In part 6 we see a sense of acceptance
and self-refection, where “I” is focusing on the mistakes made, to “acknowledge what I had
done…. I was yellow: straightforward cowardice explains a lot” (9). This focuses on the power
guilt has to aid us in owning to our mistakes instead of covering them. In the final part we see
a more mature and responsible “I”. “I learned… to take responsibility for what I had done”
(13). The “I” has progressed from one lost in fear and confusion to one who has owned up to
his mistakes, takes responsibility for them. The maturity aspects points to the bigger picture
that despite any situation one is faced with we should take responsibility and move past it.
Leading to the overall situation and how its perspective can govern whether the effects eats on
us and how there is an element of redemption, it is not the be all and end all.
The situation the writer is placed in was governed from a young age and we grapple why it
came about. The writer introduces us to his childhood in apartheid style owing to the diction
used to explain the life of the whites using “white-school”, “played rugby”, “climbed
2
Course : ELL2001S
Topic: Life writing & exile
Essay question:
OPTION 1: LIFE WRITING AND MEMORY (A/Prof Hedley Twidle)
i was born 26 july 1939 in ventersdorp
i found myself in a situation
i was born 26 july 1939 in sophiatown
i found myself in a situation
i was born 26 july 1939 in district six
i found myself in a situation
i was born 26 july 1939 in welkom
i found myself in a situation
----from SPANNER IN THE WHAT? WORKS by Wopko Jensma
Choose one of the set readings (from lectures two to five) and explore how the piece grapples with ‘the situation’ that
the writer finds herself/himself/themselves in. What is the ‘situation’ from which the piece emerges? And how does the
reflective ‘I’ of the personal essay set about representing it and understanding it in retrospect?
In writing your answer, pay attention not just to what is said but how it is said (i.e. the formal, technical and aesthetic
aspects of the language and narration). I suggest that you 1) give your essay a title, 2) try to pose a framing question in
your introduction and 3) make an argument as you write your interpretation.
Feedback:
This is quite a good essay. You make some interesting observations about the text. You also express your thoughts on
the text in a clear and concise style, which is a pleasure to read. Overall, you essay was let down by being a little
rough at times. There were numerous editing errors, inconsistent referring, and a couple of places where you needed
to say more. I've highlighted a couple of points where you could have gone into more detail. I also think that you could
have touched on the wider political situations a little more. Your writing of apartheid is a vague and you do not mention
post-apartheid situations. This could have been an interesting extra thing to discuss.
Otherwise, this is good. Well done.
Mark – 66%
March 17, 2021
, Essay 1: Topic 1
Reading used: “I gave the names” by Adrian Leftwich
The silver lining behind every situation
Every situation poses us with the ultimate question as to what brought us to this point and what
lies ahead. This essay will focus on the various situations Adrian leftwich is faced with owing
to his confession in “I gave the names”, and how this suffocates him. This piece grapples with
the incidents behind the confession and how we are so overconsumed with picking on others
downfalls that we fail to grow together. This essay will unpack what a situation is and how
leftwich found himself in these situations throughout his life. Further focusing on how the
reflective “I” is a progressive mechanism in aiding our view of the real situation, ultimately
eluding to the fact that the situation is not the be all and end of our life and there is hope on the
other end of the spectrum.
The reflective “I” in the essay is personified as a human, harboring the ability to progress into
a character who gains maturity and understanding overtime. In the opening paragraph we are
faced with the line, “for reasons which I still do not fully understand, I tried to do things which
were far beyond me, and I failed” (Leftwich,3). The “I” is faced with self-doubt, which
overwhelms the reader with uncertainty regarding how this blameworthy and regretful state
came about, thus governing how we see the life of the “I”. In part 6 we see a sense of acceptance
and self-refection, where “I” is focusing on the mistakes made, to “acknowledge what I had
done…. I was yellow: straightforward cowardice explains a lot” (9). This focuses on the power
guilt has to aid us in owning to our mistakes instead of covering them. In the final part we see
a more mature and responsible “I”. “I learned… to take responsibility for what I had done”
(13). The “I” has progressed from one lost in fear and confusion to one who has owned up to
his mistakes, takes responsibility for them. The maturity aspects points to the bigger picture
that despite any situation one is faced with we should take responsibility and move past it.
Leading to the overall situation and how its perspective can govern whether the effects eats on
us and how there is an element of redemption, it is not the be all and end all.
The situation the writer is placed in was governed from a young age and we grapple why it
came about. The writer introduces us to his childhood in apartheid style owing to the diction
used to explain the life of the whites using “white-school”, “played rugby”, “climbed
2
