, ENG1501 ASSIGNMENT 03 ANSWERS - DUE DATE 17 JULY 2026
(TWO ANSWERS PROVIDED)
The Narrator’s Relationships with Bra Todd and Gabriel Sanchez in Small Things by
Nthikeng Mohlele
In Nthikeng Mohlele’s novel Small Things, the unnamed narrator navigates a life marked by
loss, political turmoil, unrequited love, and the search for meaning. Central to his
development are relationships with mentor figures like Bra Todd and later friend Gabriel
Sanchez. Using the provided extracts, this essay argues that while both relationships offer
guidance, intellectual stimulation, and a sense of belonging to the isolated narrator, they
differ significantly in emotional depth, reciprocity, and lasting impact. Bra Todd represents a
formative but somewhat distant apprenticeship shaped by youthful admiration and restraint,
whereas Gabriel Sanchez embodies a profound, mutual friendship that provides ongoing
emotional solace. The essay will first examine similarities in their roles as intellectual and
cultural guides, then highlight key differences in intimacy and support, drawing on diction
and characterisation to illustrate these dynamics.
Both Bra Todd and Gabriel Sanchez serve as surrogate father or mentor figures who
introduce the narrator to sophisticated worlds of journalism, culture, and ideas, helping him
combat feelings of abandonment and aimlessness. In Extract 1, the narrator describes himself
as “like a stray dog” seeking “not food, but meaning,” immediately establishing his
vulnerability. He “hung out with Bra Todd, a respected newsman,” listening to American
swing records, polishing shoes, doing dishes, and learning “sophisticated ways to woo a lady.”
The diction here—apprentice-like actions and “willing apprentice” in newsrooms—evokes a
hierarchical yet affectionate mentorship. Bra Todd’s “infectious laughter” and growl that
“Everyone is a politician” infuse political awareness and levity into the narrator’s life during
his turbulent adolescence in Sophiatown. Similarly, Extract 2 portrays Gabriel Sanchez as a
journalist from a musical Cuban family, whose “midnight liaisons with his typewriter” and
opinion pieces on the Kennedy-Khrushchev stalemate parallel the narrator’s own journalistic
(TWO ANSWERS PROVIDED)
The Narrator’s Relationships with Bra Todd and Gabriel Sanchez in Small Things by
Nthikeng Mohlele
In Nthikeng Mohlele’s novel Small Things, the unnamed narrator navigates a life marked by
loss, political turmoil, unrequited love, and the search for meaning. Central to his
development are relationships with mentor figures like Bra Todd and later friend Gabriel
Sanchez. Using the provided extracts, this essay argues that while both relationships offer
guidance, intellectual stimulation, and a sense of belonging to the isolated narrator, they
differ significantly in emotional depth, reciprocity, and lasting impact. Bra Todd represents a
formative but somewhat distant apprenticeship shaped by youthful admiration and restraint,
whereas Gabriel Sanchez embodies a profound, mutual friendship that provides ongoing
emotional solace. The essay will first examine similarities in their roles as intellectual and
cultural guides, then highlight key differences in intimacy and support, drawing on diction
and characterisation to illustrate these dynamics.
Both Bra Todd and Gabriel Sanchez serve as surrogate father or mentor figures who
introduce the narrator to sophisticated worlds of journalism, culture, and ideas, helping him
combat feelings of abandonment and aimlessness. In Extract 1, the narrator describes himself
as “like a stray dog” seeking “not food, but meaning,” immediately establishing his
vulnerability. He “hung out with Bra Todd, a respected newsman,” listening to American
swing records, polishing shoes, doing dishes, and learning “sophisticated ways to woo a lady.”
The diction here—apprentice-like actions and “willing apprentice” in newsrooms—evokes a
hierarchical yet affectionate mentorship. Bra Todd’s “infectious laughter” and growl that
“Everyone is a politician” infuse political awareness and levity into the narrator’s life during
his turbulent adolescence in Sophiatown. Similarly, Extract 2 portrays Gabriel Sanchez as a
journalist from a musical Cuban family, whose “midnight liaisons with his typewriter” and
opinion pieces on the Kennedy-Khrushchev stalemate parallel the narrator’s own journalistic
