Exam (elaborations)
Rock - Lindiwe Nkutha
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This is an assignment short story based. Rock by Nkutha
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NAME:SURNAME:
STUDENT NUMBER:
MODULE CODE: ENG1501
MODULE NAME: ACADEMIC LANGUAGE AND
LITERACY IN ENGLISH
UNIQUE NUMBER:
DUE DATE: STILL TO BE ANNOUNCED
ASSIGNMENT 2 ( SHORT-STORY BASED ASSIGNMENT)
SEMESTER 1
1
, Short story based quest
Rock' (Lindiwe Nkutha)
1. This story uses first-person narration. Explain how the narrative style influences our
perception of the events in the story, and how this contributes to the story’s meaning.
The first-person narration in "Rock" by Lindiwe Nkutha encourages the readers to experience
the story through the belief of the protagonist, who is a young girl living in a small village in
South Africa. This narrative style gives insight into the protagonist's internal thoughts, feelings/
emotions, and backgrounds, which enables the readers to appreciate her personal misfortunes
and the challenges she faces as a young woman in a patriarchal community. For example,
when the protagonist proclaims, "I hated my mother for giving birth to me as a girl," ( Nkutha,
2013),readers can realize the gender discrimination and societal burden that she experiences.
The use of first-person narration furthermore builds a sense of isolation between the protagonist
and the readers, enabling them to feel for the narrator and relate to her battles. Eventually, this
narrative style provides the story's meaning by emphasizing the importance of individuality and
self-discovery, even in the face of societal standards and expectations.
2. Discuss the story’s setting and analyse how Zibusiso manages to describe her
surroundings and the hardship her family is faced with, with wry humour.
The background of "Rock" is a small village in South Africa, which is vividly narrated by the
author, Lindiwe Nkutha, through the eyes of the protagonist. The narratives of the village reveal
the challenging living circumstances of the protagonist and her family, who endeavour poverty,
lack of access to education, and patriarchal cultural standards. Nevertheless, despite the
hardship, the protagonist manages to narrate her surroundings with a wry understanding of
humour, which brings out her strength and ability to find happiness in even the bleakest of
circumstances ( Nkutha, 2013, p 185).
For instance, when narrating the makeshift school in the village, she says, "Our classroom was
a tiny hut... we sat on the floor, backs aching, butts numb, and legs stretched out in front of us
like we were practicing for a yoga classes “ ( Nkutha, 2013). This humorous explanation of their
classroom reveals the protagonist's ability to find humour in the centre of hardship. Also,
Zibusiso uses humour to clarify the cultural standards of the village, especially in regards to
gender roles.
For instance, on page 190 of ROCK by Nkutha, 2013, the protagonist narrates her brother's
hesitancy to help with household duties, saying, "I'm sure if we told him it was a man's job to
sweep and clean, he'd be all over it like white on rice." This silly statement sheds light on the
gender inequalities that exist in the village, while also indicating the protagonist's wit and
intelligence. In this way, Zibusiso manages to use wry humour to both describe the challenges
of the story's setting and the stability of the protagonist.
2
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