When Rain Clouds Gather
1. Briefly dexcribe the setting of the novel
The ecents within the novel refer to a beginning in SA, but takes place in
Botswana
2. In 3 sentences, summarise its plot
The protagonist within the novel, Makhaya Maseko, illegally crosses the
border from SA into Botswana during the Apartheid era to escape
prison
Makhaya dreams of a better life in Botswana, and believes he had found
it when he settles in a village that seems modern and prosperous at 1st
Makhaya quickly learns that this is not so, as traditional ways of
surviving leads to disaster for the subsistence village and, it appears,
change into modernity is resisted by the leaders as it threatens
traditional power hierarchies
3. List at least 7 characters in the novel
Makhaya Maseko
Dinorego
Gilbert Balfour
Mma Millipede
Paulina
George Apple-by Smith
Matenge
4. Choose one of the character and describe his/her charactersitics –
both positive and negative
Makhaya
Makhaya, the protagonsit, has the positive characteristics of being
hones, honourable and, in some sense, a moral character
He refutes the idea of tribalism and, to some extent, it can be inferred
that he refutes racism
He is intelligent in the sense that he learns very quickly and his
dedication to change could be seen as an admirable trait
Some of the negative charactersitics of Makhyay are introduced later
within the novel where we learn about his true feelings towards racism
and how he regarded white people
We also learn about his ambitions that focused more on riches
, 5. Write 2 to 3 sentences describing the main theme (or idea) of the
novel
Many of the minor themes can be linked to the theme of ‘tribalism’, so I
would describe this as a main theme
In some sense, the protagonist believes that he runs away form
tribalism (racism as a form of tribalism as well) in SA, but ends up in a
village in Botswana where their very existence relies on the framework
of tribalism in terms of governance and subsistence
This extens beyond the boundaries of governance and subsistence to
legitimise selfish ambitions of power and exercises of power with
impunity at the xpense of the villagers in Golema Mmidi
6. What do we mean when we refer to the theme of a literary work?
The concept of theme can really be defined in 2 ways if one really thinks
about it
In the 1st instance, a theme can be defined as the message or particular
doctrine that the novel is to convey to the reader
It can be identified as an opinion that is emobodied throughout the
literary work with the intent to influence and persuade the reader to
accept it’s particular viewpoint
In the 2nd instance, a theme can also be defined as patterns created
within literary work by using repetition of specific lanuage and images
I now turn to ‘When Rain Clouds Gather’ for a more specific discussion
of themes
Many of the minor themes can be linked to the theme of ‘tribalism’, so I
would describe this as a main or major theme
In some sense, the protagonsit believes that he runs away form
tribalism (racism as a form of tribalism as well) in SA, but ends up in a
village in Botswana where their very existence relies on the framework
of tribalism in terms of goveranance and subsistence
This extends beyond the boundaries of governance and subsistence to
legitimise selfish ambitions of power and exercises of power with
impunity at the expense of the villagers in Golema Mmide
1. Briefly dexcribe the setting of the novel
The ecents within the novel refer to a beginning in SA, but takes place in
Botswana
2. In 3 sentences, summarise its plot
The protagonist within the novel, Makhaya Maseko, illegally crosses the
border from SA into Botswana during the Apartheid era to escape
prison
Makhaya dreams of a better life in Botswana, and believes he had found
it when he settles in a village that seems modern and prosperous at 1st
Makhaya quickly learns that this is not so, as traditional ways of
surviving leads to disaster for the subsistence village and, it appears,
change into modernity is resisted by the leaders as it threatens
traditional power hierarchies
3. List at least 7 characters in the novel
Makhaya Maseko
Dinorego
Gilbert Balfour
Mma Millipede
Paulina
George Apple-by Smith
Matenge
4. Choose one of the character and describe his/her charactersitics –
both positive and negative
Makhaya
Makhaya, the protagonsit, has the positive characteristics of being
hones, honourable and, in some sense, a moral character
He refutes the idea of tribalism and, to some extent, it can be inferred
that he refutes racism
He is intelligent in the sense that he learns very quickly and his
dedication to change could be seen as an admirable trait
Some of the negative charactersitics of Makhyay are introduced later
within the novel where we learn about his true feelings towards racism
and how he regarded white people
We also learn about his ambitions that focused more on riches
, 5. Write 2 to 3 sentences describing the main theme (or idea) of the
novel
Many of the minor themes can be linked to the theme of ‘tribalism’, so I
would describe this as a main theme
In some sense, the protagonist believes that he runs away form
tribalism (racism as a form of tribalism as well) in SA, but ends up in a
village in Botswana where their very existence relies on the framework
of tribalism in terms of governance and subsistence
This extens beyond the boundaries of governance and subsistence to
legitimise selfish ambitions of power and exercises of power with
impunity at the xpense of the villagers in Golema Mmidi
6. What do we mean when we refer to the theme of a literary work?
The concept of theme can really be defined in 2 ways if one really thinks
about it
In the 1st instance, a theme can be defined as the message or particular
doctrine that the novel is to convey to the reader
It can be identified as an opinion that is emobodied throughout the
literary work with the intent to influence and persuade the reader to
accept it’s particular viewpoint
In the 2nd instance, a theme can also be defined as patterns created
within literary work by using repetition of specific lanuage and images
I now turn to ‘When Rain Clouds Gather’ for a more specific discussion
of themes
Many of the minor themes can be linked to the theme of ‘tribalism’, so I
would describe this as a main or major theme
In some sense, the protagonsit believes that he runs away form
tribalism (racism as a form of tribalism as well) in SA, but ends up in a
village in Botswana where their very existence relies on the framework
of tribalism in terms of goveranance and subsistence
This extends beyond the boundaries of governance and subsistence to
legitimise selfish ambitions of power and exercises of power with
impunity at the expense of the villagers in Golema Mmide
