|
READ THIS
The poet describes the obscene conditions of living in White City Jabavu. Almost as a metaphor to life
there, he sees a group of scavenging dogs ripping apart the corpse of a baby which had been dumped.
In the meantime, the baby's mother continues with her life without even a care for what she has done.
ABOUT THE POET
Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali was born in Vryheid (Natal) in 1940, where he grew up and completed his
schooling.
He desired thereupon to attend Wits University but was unable to do so because the Apartheid laws
forbade Black people studying at "White" institutions except under exceptional circumstances.
Instead, he travelled to the United States where he attended Columbia University, graduating with a
Masters degree in Creative Writing and Education.
On his return to South Africa, he completed his first volume of poetry which he called Sounds of a
Cowhide Drum. It was published in 1971 and had a dramatic impact because it was the first major
work by a Black poet in South Africa.
It was also eagerly studied by liberal White South Africans who were anxious to read poetry from their
Black brothers. The anthology, however, was criticised by fellow Black poets on the grounds that it was
too conservative and not at all militant.
When Mtshali published Fireflames in 1980, he had responded to his critics. Indeed, this second
anthology tended to foster open rebellion, being partially inspired by the Soweto youth uprisings of 1976.
After this second anthology, Mtshali settled down as an educator, first at Pace College in Soweto where
he became vice-principal, and then at the New York City College of Technology where he became an
Adjunct Professor, teaching African folklore and modern African history.
In 1971 Mtshali was honoured with South Africa's Olive Schreiner Poetry Prize. In 1973 he was awarded
the Poetry International Award in London.
"An Abandoned Bundle" is characterised by graphic imagery of appalling savagery. The images are
meant to shock.
Indeed, the very powerful visual impact instills in the reader a strong feeling of disgust for the dreadful
conditions under which the people of White City Jabavu lived.
Or is the poet commenting on the people in general who are living under the apartheid regime?
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
|
TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
"The morning mist
and chimney smoke
of White City Jabavu
flowed thick yellow
as pus oozing
from a gigantic sore."
- Comment on the most graphic imagery used in these lines. (6)
[Need help?]
"White City Jabavu" is a suburb of Soweto, a township lying to the south-west of Johannesburg.
The imagery here is particularly graphic. The entire neighbourhood is compared to a gigantic sore on a
body that is very sick. The body is, of course, Soweto -- or perhaps even South Africa -- and the sore
on this body is White City Jabavu.
The neighbourhood is run down, with rubbish everywhere and everything buried in pollution. But this is
merely a metaphor for the people living there, people whose lives are also run down, spiritually sore, a
great cancer eating at the heart of their lives.
The poet takes the image of the sore to its extreme. The sore itself is infected, oozing with pus. The mist
and smoke are symptoms of this.
The neighbourhood is heavily polluted, not only with rubbish but the air reeks with smog -- fog and
smoke. The mist (white) and the smoke (grey) combine in the early morning light to form a thick yellow-
grey colour: the colour of pus.
|
"It smothered our little houses
like fish caught in a net."
- In what way could the little houses be said to be smothered "like fish caught in a
net"? (4)
[Need help?]
The little houses are compared to fish caught in a net (simile). This comparison gives a graphic idea of
the size of the houses (tiny), that they are many (like thousands of fish in a net) and that they are trapped
(like the fish that are trapped in the net, unable to escape).
The net, on the other hand, is the thick smog that covers everything, trapping it within its suffocation. The
poet is therefore emphasising the inescapable squalor of life in White City Jabavu.
|
"I threw a brick;
they bared fangs
flicked velvet tongues of scarlet
and scurried away,
leaving a mutilated corpse --
an infant dumped on a rubbish heap."
- What is the implication of the expression "bared fangs"? (2)
[Need help?]
The "bared fangs" indicate that the dogs are snarling and unfriendly, about to rip the baby to pieces.
|
- Why does the poet use the word "fangs" rather than "teeth"? (4)
[Need help?]
The poet uses the word "fangs" rather than "teeth" because the former word denotes
savagery and horror, whereas the latter word is completely neutral.
The poet wishes to emphasise the sheer horror of the dogs and what they are doing.
|
- What figure of speech is found in "velvet tongues of scarlet"? (1)
[Need help?]
The "velvet tongues of scarlet" is a metaphor.
A metaphor is a direct comparison where something is said to be something else, as opposed to a simile
where something is said to be like something else.
|
- Why does the poet use this image? (2)
[Need help?]
In this case, the dogs' tongues are described as being velvet, a rich and very smooth material. The poet
wishes to contrast the soft smoothness of the dogs' tongues with the savagery of their action. There is
a contrast here between the richness of velvet but the barbaric action the dogs are performing.
Is he also trying to say something else?
|
- What do the words "leaving a mutilated corpse" tell you about the state of the
bundle? (4)
[Need help?]
"Leaving a mutilated corpse" tells us TWO things.
First, the baby is now dead -- it is now a corpse.
Second, the body of the baby has been severely damaged by the dogs. Indeed, it is probable that the
baby has been virtually torn apart -- it is "mutilated".
|
" 'Oh! Baby in the Manger
sleep well
on human dung.' "
- What do the words "on human dung" suggest about the social circumstances of White City
Jabavu? (4)
[Need help?]
Quite literally, the rubbish heap on which the baby lies consists of human excrement, an indication of the
dreadful sanitary conditions which exist in the township.
It is also a statement of the shocking emotional circumstances of the people of White City Jabavu.
|
"Its mother
had melted into the rays of the rising sun,
her face glittering with innocence
her heart as pure as untrampled dew."
- What does the mother feel about having abandoned the bundle? Provide TWO quotes to substantiate
your answer. (4)
[Need help?]
The mother shows complete disinterestedness in the fate of her child. There is no remorse, no guilt.
"Her face glittering with innocence" and "her heart as pure as untrampled dew".
|
|
