...Mickey McMahon Dr. KS International Business Study Feb. 25 2012 Kaffir Boy Discussion Questions What the author means by, “Kaffir Boy is also about how, in order to escape from the clutches of apartheid, I had to reject the tribal traditions of my ancestors” is that to progress through South African society and to achieve more than his descendants did, certain aspects of his culture would have to be laid to rest. The author states that his heritage was demonized by apartheid. In order to be viewed as an equal member of society he had to shed tribalism, which came at the cost of losing his heritage. Kaffir is a derogatory and offensive term used by white to describe black South Africans. The word is of Arabic origin meaning “infidel”. This word is often described as the equivalent to the term “nigger”. Segregation was officially enacted in the election of 1948, however racism existed far before that. Government propaganda and censorship of the media popularized stories that the culture of black Africans was less than whites, therefore encouraging racism. Ultimately public sentiment from internal and outside pressures forced the government to end apartheid. The life expectancy for a South African is 49 years. The HIV/AIDS epidemic struck South Africans hard, for example, in 1990 life expectancy was 62 years old. Funding for precautions against the virus has been sparse with many social work programs unable to support the population. Yes I did realize...
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...In the book Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathebane there are many obstacles that Mark the protagonist has to overcome. The first of his problems was to get through school in his poor South African ghetto. The second was to achieve his goal and receive a tennis scholarship to an American college. Mark’s father is one of the major antagonist, he was opposed anything to do with Mark getting an education in a school. He was a very traditional man and he didn’t like anything that had to do with the “white man”. He thought it was nonsense to get a whiteman’s education and he wouldn’t provide the money that was necessary to get Mark through school. Mark was helped through this situation by his Mother who was the person who wanted Mark so desperately to attend school. She decided to go against Mark’s Father and send Mark to school. She then had to get a job which was illegal for her to do so because she didn’t have the required pass from the South African government. With the little money that his mother made and some money that his grandmother gave him he was able to pay for his schooling or at least some of it. He often was without the required materials like a school uniform and books. This then resulted in Mark being beaten at school. These beatings became so intense and often that Mark thought about dropping out of school. His Mother helped him decide that he should stay in school because she knew that an education was the only way out of their life of poverty. Through the support...
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...In chapter 20 of Kaffir Boy, Johannes is once again woken up by his mother at four in the morning. Johannes is told by his mother that the two are going to the superintendent's office for “important papers.” The two arrive at the office sometime around 5:00 am, and have to wait for another four hours until the office opens. After a perpetual wait out in the cold, Johannes and his mother make it to the front of the office, ready to see the superintendent. A officer tells them that the bass will be out shortly. After a “short” two hour wait, the officer returns and tells them that the superintendent is going home early and that Johannes’ mother can’t return for another month. His mother tries to fight the officer to see the bass but nothing works....
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... in a number of countries, between women and children, education cannot be the number one priority. This could be because of the lack of schools, the rights of women, or the government not funding enough money, women and children do not have the proper education rights that they deserve. In Africa, every two out of three children are left out of secondary school (UNESCO). Women and children must have better education rights to enhance a better future. Injustices in the education rights of women and children have occurred in parts of South Africa. In the short story “Kaffir Boy” by Mark Mathabane, a young boy had been forced to enroll into school by his mother and grandmother to help him move toward a healthier future that did not include gangs or violence. The boy did not want to go to school because he “…had grown up in an environment where the value of education was never emphasized…” (Mathabane 70). The boy in the story would have rather stayed home and joined gangs, then...
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...Kaffir Boy 2. The literary device used in this quote is a metaphoric antithesis. It is metaphoric because his parents are not literally drinking from a well of knowledge or ignorance. It is an antithesis because the ideas are contrasting due to the ignorance and intelligence aspect of the metaphor. The mother represents drinking from the well of knowledge because even though she has no education she wants her son to have a better life. The father represents the well of ignorance because he has no education and therefore hates and fears knowledge. Typhoid Fever 1. A stock character is a flat unchanging character that normally plays off a stereotype, providing contrast to the main character. One stock character in the story is Kerry Nurse, she plays on the stereotype of stern and unsympathetic nurse providing contrast to Frank’s character. Sister Rita is also a stock character who plays a mean old nun contrasting Frank. Both characters are unchanging throughout the story making them stock characters with no lesson learned for their characters. Living Well, Living Good 1. An anecdote is a short interesting story surrounding a real person....
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...The Nelson Mandela quote depicts apartheid as the root cause for oppression of blacks in South Africa. During this time in South Africa, apartheid plagued the country. Although many people fought to bring down Apartheid, Nelson Mandela played a major role in actually ending Apartheid. After spending years in jail for opposing the government on apartheid, he gave a speech. Durning Mandela's 1962 speech on the South African apartheid he stated, "But there comes a time, as it came in my life, when a man is denied the right to live a normal life, when he can only live the life of an outlaw because the Government has so decreed to use the law to impose a state of outlawry upon him." In Mandela's speech he talks about what it was like to live his...
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...A Tale of Three Lions Haggard, Henry Rider Published: 1887 Type(s): Short Fiction, Adventure Source: http://www.gutenberg.org 1 About Haggard: Henry Rider Haggard was born at Bradenham, Norfolk, to Sir William Meybohm Rider Haggard, a barrister, and Ella Doveton, an author and poet. He was the eighth of ten children. He was initially sent to Garsington Rectory in Oxfordshire to study under the Reverend H.J. Graham but, unlike his older brothers who graduated from various Public Schools, he ended up attending Ipswich Grammar School. This was because his father, who regarded him as somebody who was not going to amount to much, could no longer afford to maintain his expensive private education. After failing his army entrance exam he was sent to a private ‘crammer’ in London to prepare for the entrance exam for the British Foreign Office, which in the end he never sat. Instead Haggard’s father sent him to Africa in an unpaid position as assistant to the secretary to the Lieutenant-Governor of Natal, Sir Henry Bulwer. It was in this role that Haggard was present in Pretoria for the official announcement of the British annexation of the Boer Republic of the Transvaal. In fact, Haggard raised the Union Flag and was forced to read out much of the proclamation following the loss of voice of the official originally entrusted with the duty. As a young man, Haggard fell deeply in love with Lilith Jackson, whom he intended to marry once he obtained paid employment in South Africa...
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...The Birth of the “Troublemaker” Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, in a small village in South Africa’s Transkei region. His father named him Rolihlahla, which colloquially translates to “troublemaker” in Xhosa. This moniker proved prophetic. Mandela was born to a noble lineage. His father was a chief of the Thembu tribe, part of the ancient Xhosa nation. As a child, Mandela was a “herd-boy,” tending calves and sheep. His meager diet consisted primarily of “mealies” (corn). He attended a small one-room schoolhouse in his village, often wearing his father’s cutoff pants secured by a string around the waist. When Mandela was nine, his father died. His family sent him to live with Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo, the Thembu’s acting regent in Mqhekezweni, “the great place,” Thembuland’s provincial capital. Mandela received a good education for a black South African of his generation, studying at Healdtown, a Wesleyan college in Fort Beaufort, and at the University College of Fort Hare, in Alice. While he was a student, the regent arranged for him to marry the daughter of a Thembu priest. Mandela refused and ran away to Johannesburg. A Rebel from the Start Mandela went to work as a night watchman at Crown Mines, a local gold mine. He used subterfuge to get the job, pretending that the regent, a respected figure throughout black South Africa, approved of his move to Johannesburg. Mine officials quickly learned the truth and told Mandela to return immediately to...
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...LECTURE 1 THE KHOISAN AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT Introduction: Khoisan are historically the earliest inhabitants of Southern Africa. They dominated Southern Africa for hundreds of years before the arrival of the Bantu groups. Archaeological evidence obtained from sites on the West Coast such as Kasteelberg show occupation by herders between 1600 and 1800 years ago, ie around 200-400AD They owed to a great extent their livelihood to the natural environment conditions which obtained. This is demonstrated by the fact that they derived the three basic fundamentals of life; food, shelter and clothing from the flora and fauna of the region. The San They were referred to as hunter-gatherers. [Bushmen by whites; Twa by Xhosa, Roa by Sotho and San by Khoikhoi] They occupied the mountainous, plateau and coastal areas of Southern Africa as evidenced by their paintings on rocks and cave walls throughout the sub-continent. They were neither herders nor agriculturalists, so they depended on hunting and gathering. [ie they survived on what the environment provided] Archaeological evidence has proven that the San might have made meat an important part of their diet before the invention of projectile weapons. How was this possible without weapons? The San killed newly born or sick animals Ran down animals Scavenging They drove large animals over cliffs or into swamps and then slaughtered them. Meat was thus an important part of their diet from time immemorial. As their Stone Age technology improved...
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...analysis of apartheid on womens lives in s.a Strategists in the National Party invented apartheid as a means to cement their control over the economic and social system. Initially, aim of the apartheid was to maintain white domination while extending racial separation. Starting in the 60's, a plan of ``Grand Apartheid'' was executed, emphasizing territorial separation and police repression. With the enactment of apartheid laws in 1948, racial discrimination was institutionalized. Race laws touched every aspect of social life, including a prohibition of marriage between non-whites and whites, and the sanctioning of ``white-only'' jobs. In 1950, the Population Registration Act required that all South Africans be racially classified into one of three categories: white, black (African), or colored (of mixed decent). The coloured category included major subgroups of Indians and Asians. Classification into these categories was based on appearance, social acceptance, and descent. THE EFFECT OF APARTHEID ON WOMEN IN RURAL AREAS African women in South Africa, being both black and female, suffered a triple oppression. As Africans—which for the most part defines their class position—they had to contend with the restrictive and repressive apartheid legislation, which ensures alien control over all facets of their lives. In addition, as women, they had to contend with the fact that they are regarded as dependants and as inferior to men; as such, they are even further discriminated against...
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...A CRITICAL SURVEY OF CONTEMPORARY SOUTH AFRICAN POETRY A CRITICAL SURVEY OF CONTEMPORARY SOUTH AFRICAN POETRY: THE LANGUAGE OF CONFLICT AND COMMITMENT By Laura Holland, B.A. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts McMaster University September 1987 MASTER OF Arts (1987) (English) McMASTER UNIVERSITY Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: A Critical Survey of Contemporary South African Poetry: The Language of Conflict and Commitment AUTHOR: Laura Linda Holland, B.A. (University of Alberta) SUPERVISOR: Dr. Alan Bishop NUMBER OF PAGES: v, 134 ii ABSTRACT The thes is concentrates on South African poetry from 1960 to the present. It closely examines a selection of poems by Breyten Breytenbach, Dennis Brutus, Pascal Gwala, Wopko Jensma, Oswald Mtshali, Arthur Nortje, Cosmo Pieterse, Sipho Sepamla, and Wally Serote, among others. The body of the thesis discusses these poets' contributions to poetry about prison, exile, and township life. The thesis focuses on the struggle between various polical, racial, and cultural groups for hegemony over South Africa's poetic development. Such issues as language, ideology, and censorship are explored insofar as they in! .luence t:ne content and structure of the poetry. This body of poems, sadly, is little studied in North America. The thesis presents an introduction to and a survey of the major tendencies in South African poetry and, in part...
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...How To Use Chopsticks Will you eat a sandwich with a spoon or use a fork to have an ice cream? No? Why? Because every food, to taste better, must be consumed using the right vessels and cutlery! Same is the case with Chinese and Japanese foods which seem to taste better when eaten with chopsticks. The origin of chopsticks can be dated back to China, around 3000 to 5000 years ago. Widely used in Japan, China, Korea and Vietnam to eat all kinds of foods, most of the chopsticks are made of bamboo while some are also made of ivory, plastic, silver and jade. They are considered as extensions of the fingers and are considered much better than spoons and forks in their usage. Although the respective Asian communities use chopsticks as effortlessly and naturally as Europeans use forks, it doesn’t really come that easily for the rest of us. Despite the fact that most of the world thinks of them as impossible feats, chopsticks actually provides your hands with a physical affinity with the food — something that our quintessential spoons, forks and knives can never boast of. Having said that, we also acknowledge that eating with chopsticks could require some training and hence the next section that talks about how to use chopsticks. Eating With Chopsticks * Clasp one chopstick between your thumb and middle finger. The chopstick must be in such a position that it is placed at the base of your thumb and at the lower joint of the middle finger. While the bottom chopstick remains intact...
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...Acknowledgments ix Acknowledgments This book owes a great deal to the mental energy of several generations of scholars. As an undergraduate at the University of Cape Town, Francis Wilson made me aware of the importance of migrant labour and Robin Hallett inspired me, and a generation of students, to study the African past. At the School of Oriental and African Studies in London I was fortunate enough to have David Birmingham as a thesis supervisor. I hope that some of his knowledge and understanding of Lusophone Africa has found its way into this book. I owe an equal debt to Shula Marks who, over the years, has provided me with criticism and inspiration. In the United States I learnt a great deal from ]eanne Penvenne, Marcia Wright and, especially, Leroy Vail. In Switzerland I benefitted from the friendship and assistance of Laurent Monier of the IUED in Geneva, Francois Iecquier of the University of Lausanne and Mariette Ouwerhand of the dépurtement évangélrlyue (the former Swiss Mission). In South Africa, Patricia Davison of the South African Museum introduced me to material culture and made me aware of the richness of difference; the late Monica Wilson taught me the fundamentals of anthropology and Andrew Spiegel and Robert Thornton struggled to keep me abreast of changes in the discipline; Sue Newton-King and Nigel Penn brought shafts of light from the eighteenthcentury to bear on early industrialism. Charles van Onselen laid a major part of the intellectual foundations on...
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...BANGKOK GUIDE YOUR FREE BANGKOK GUIDE FROM THE ASIA TRAVEL SPECIALISTS www.asiawebdirect.com Cultural phenomenon, shopping haven and tourist treasure. Welcome to Bangkok; one of the most cosmopolitan, contrasting and, above all, compelling of Asian cities. A steamy, pulsating, yet smiling metropolis of more than ten million souls – intense at first, but addictive as anything. Come find your niche among dazzling temples, hotels of every type and size, eclectic markets, gleaming palaces, ritzy shopping malls, a famous nightlife and the many things in between. Enjoy a memorable dinner cruise along the Chao Phraya River. Bask in the city’s warm, affluent glow at a skyscraping rooftop bar. Experience all the things – a tuk-tuk ride, a ladyboy show, Muay Thai (kickboxing) match, Thai massage – everyone always comes home talking about. WEATHER Bangkok has a tropical monsoon climate and holds claim to being the hottest city in the world. Sitting close to the equator, it is both hot and humid in equal measure, is unrelenting simply because it doesn't cool significantly at night. The period between April and May is the steamiest (avg. 25-35° C). The Southwest monsoons arrive between May and October, and with it pouring rain and thunderstorms – for many, though, this is a welcome respite. http://www.bangkok.com/weather.htm SIM CARDS AND DIALING PREFIXES Pre-paid SIM cards are available for purchase at most convenience stores (you will find 7-Elevens everywhere) as well as the...
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...Section A: Basic Microbiology 1 SCOPE AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN MICROBIOLOGY “Science contributes to our culture in many ways, as a creative intellectual activity in its own right, as a light which has served to illuminate man’s place in the uni-verse, and as the source of understanding of man’s own nature” —John F. Kennedy (1917–63) The President of America The bacterium Escherichia coli INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE MICROBIOLOGY is a specialized area of biology (Gr. bios-life+ logos-to study) that concerns with the study of microbes ordinarily too small to be seen without magnification. Microorganisms are microscopic (Gr. mikros-small+ scopein-to see) and independently living cells that, like humans, live in communities. Microorganisms include a large and diverse group of microscopic organisms that exist as single cell or cell clusters (e.g., bacteria, archaea, fungi, algae, protozoa and helminths) and the viruses, which are microscopic but not cellular. While bacteria and archaea are classed as prokaryotes (Gr. pro-before+ karyon-nucleus) the fungi, algae, protozoa and helminths are eukaryotes (Gr. eu-true or good+ karyon-nucleus). Microorganisms are present everywhere on earth, which includes humans, animals, plants and other living creatures, soil,water and atmosphere. Microorganisms are relevant to all of our lives in a multitude of ways. Sometimes, the influence of microorganisms on human life is beneficial, whereas at other times, it is detrimental. For example...
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