THE UNCANNY AND PATHOLOGICAL CIRCUMSTANCES OF APARTHEID’S INCARCERATION IN BESSIE HEAD’S WHEN RAIN CLOUDS GATHER
Abstract
As a South African author, Bessie Head has chosen to write in the tradition of social realism. Drawing her artistic inspiration from the social circumstances surrounding her own life, she addresses the central issue which prevails in South Africa—the question of power and oppression. The thrust of this essay is to demonstrate that power and its mismanagement is a fundamental concept in Head’s works. Using the sociological orientation of Raymond Williams, the paper will examine the use or abuse of power at the level of social relationships applicable to the apartheid South African context. Keywords: Uncanny, Pathological, Apartheid, Incarceration
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