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QUESTION ONE
1. Write a well-developed analytical paragraph in which you critically examine how linguistic
and stylistic choices in EXTRACT A construct meaning.
The linguistic and stylistic choices in Nandi Mokoena’s "Tracks in the Dust" utilize evocative
imagery and metaphorical shifts to explore the internal transition from childhood to maturity. A
prominent stereotype presented in the extract is that of the "traditional African warrior," personified
by the boy standing barefoot with a spear in an African savannah setting. While this reinforces a
romanticized, primitive trope of African masculinity, the author subverts its external expectation by
shifting the focus from physical survival to psychological development. This shift is facilitated by
the use of lexical cohesion, specifically through the repetition of the "hunting" motif and the
semantic field of the wild (lion, savannah, tracking, game). The cohesive link between the lion’s
physical hunt and the boy’s emotional quest creates a unified theme of "the wait," binding the
narrative together. Critically, the figurative use of the word “hunting” serves as a powerful metaphor
for an internal odyssey. By stating the boy is "not hunting for game" but "hunting for courage," the
verb is stripped of its literal, predatory denotation and elevated to a symbolic search for identity and
ancestral legacy. The "fading footprints of his father" represent a path the boy must find the strength
to follow, transforming the "hunt" from a violent act of taking life into a constructive act of building
character.
QUESTION ONE
1. Write a well-developed analytical paragraph in which you critically examine how linguistic
and stylistic choices in EXTRACT A construct meaning.
The linguistic and stylistic choices in Nandi Mokoena’s "Tracks in the Dust" utilize evocative
imagery and metaphorical shifts to explore the internal transition from childhood to maturity. A
prominent stereotype presented in the extract is that of the "traditional African warrior," personified
by the boy standing barefoot with a spear in an African savannah setting. While this reinforces a
romanticized, primitive trope of African masculinity, the author subverts its external expectation by
shifting the focus from physical survival to psychological development. This shift is facilitated by
the use of lexical cohesion, specifically through the repetition of the "hunting" motif and the
semantic field of the wild (lion, savannah, tracking, game). The cohesive link between the lion’s
physical hunt and the boy’s emotional quest creates a unified theme of "the wait," binding the
narrative together. Critically, the figurative use of the word “hunting” serves as a powerful metaphor
for an internal odyssey. By stating the boy is "not hunting for game" but "hunting for courage," the
verb is stripped of its literal, predatory denotation and elevated to a symbolic search for identity and
ancestral legacy. The "fading footprints of his father" represent a path the boy must find the strength
to follow, transforming the "hunt" from a violent act of taking life into a constructive act of building
character.
