This essay will examine how Mandisa's story in Sindiwe Magonas 'Mother to Mother' represents the daily struggles of the Gugulethu community, in both during and towards the end of the apartheid period and will also reference specific scenes from the novel which will then support the arguments that are made. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Mother to Mother: A Tale of Empathy, Grief, and Healing It can be seen that the novel Mother to Mother is a touching and elegant story of race relations and misunderstanding in South Africa. We also see that the author bases his book on real incidents, but looks at it from the perspective of a mother who loves her son but recognizes his inadequacies. It is also a very devastating look at apartheid, violence and anger in a society long divided between whites and blacks. Mandisa asks the mother why the girl was in Gugulethu, where it is dangerous for white people. She believes that the girl has been naive in her commitment to helping others – that "people like your daughter believe so much in their goodness, know that they haven't hurt anyone, that they are actually helping, they never think that someone would want to harm them.” Mandisa suspects that if Mxolisi had killed one of the black women who accompanied the girl, there would have been no public outcry, no police involvement, and he would probably have been released. Mother to Mother is based on the real-life murder of a young white woman named Amy Biehl, a kind-hearted and selfless Fulbright student who was in South Africa to help locals prepare for their first democratic elections, in the black region poor. Guguletu commune. The novel never expressly states that the Girl and Amy Biehl are one and the same, but the way Mandisa reconstructs the Girl's life and murder largely echoes Biehl's life and its sudden end. Mandisa maintains that the Girl “paid for sins”. fathers and mothers who have not done their part to see this” Mxolisi lived a good life. Now that he is in prison, he has access to amenities he never had as a free man. She wonders why Mxolisi “lives a better life if he is in chains?” » Mandisa once again asserts that she should not be responsible for Mxolisi's crime. Instead, she points the finger at “the fathers and mothers who have not done their part” to ensure Mxolisi can live a good and meaningful life. Mandisa is probably referring to white settlers here, suggesting that the colonizers (who eventually became governors, then other politicians, then law enforcement officers) are like cruel, adoptive "fathers and mothers" of South Africa who care little about their “children”, only. providing them with basic necessities within the confines of a government-funded prison. Two days earlier, COSAS had ordered schoolchildren to join Operation Barcelona, ​​apparently in support of striking teachers. This involves children dropping out of school to “burn cars and drive reactionary elements out of town.” Although the students are calling on the government to improve their education, Mandisa notes that "these children who talk don't know anything" and warns that if they are not careful, they will end up like their parents, domestic workers for the rich. white people. The novel pays particular attention to the political and social fabric of South Africa that led to Mxolisi's murder of the girl, not to justify the crime but toexplain how it happened. Here, in describing how some well-intentioned political movements festered and erupted into outright violence, the novel also traces the increasing radicalization of Mxolisi's generation. This passage also reminds readers that Mxolisi's generation is still young and ignorant; although they have an abundance of pent-up energy and anger at the government and their situation, they are still just "loud-mouthed kids [who] don't know anything." Mxolisi and his friends pass the police station, which everyone treats with caution, because we don't know "what mood the pigs might be in." But “there is always the possibility of playing sports with them”. The group continues to split as people head toward their own homes. Mxolisi and his gang clearly despise the police, who are probably white and corrupt. This passage also suggests that white law enforcement is unreliable and unstable, as they serve the township according to their fluctuating "mood." Desensitized to violence and seething with anger, the boys also consider "playing sports," or playing games, with the police, meaning they view violence against their white oppressors as a darkly entertaining pastime. Mandisa walks towards a bus, densely packed with corpses. and packages and grocery bags. The bus driver shouts that Guguletu is “completely surrounded” by the police. Mandisa looks back on the unrest that has erupted in Guguletu since its creation by the government. She considers the irony of the name, which means "Our Pride", although locals call it Gugulabo, or "Their Pride". “The two slightly different names of the township highlight the anger and frustration of black South Africans with the government, and how this language can connect people to their shared experience or history. The name “Our Pride” suggests a unified and harmonious city (or, more broadly, country) that all citizens are proud to call their own, but this is far from the reality. Black South Africans feel like outsiders in their own country and therefore call the city "their pride", indicating that white people still rule the country and treat black residents as pawns to be displaced and pushed aside - and that white people are proud of it. Mandisa remembers being abandoned in Guguletu with her family as a child. She grew up in Blouvlei, but then, like tens of thousands of others, she was relocated from her former home to this huge city made up of small houses, which she describes as “squatted structures”. Ugly, impersonal and cold…” The Guguletu housing project functions as a symbol of government under apartheid; like buildings, the government is "ugly," "impersonal," and "cold" and cares little for the residents it is supposed to feed and protect. Mandisa relates her own education problems to current problems in Guguletu, where there are education problems. there are still not enough teachers or schools. Furthermore, she recognizes that mothers are working, or drunk, or dead ("We die young these days"), and are therefore incapable of forcing their children to go to school. Mandisa illustrates how the problems in Guguletu resemble a domino effect: because of institutionalized racism, black South Africans are kept in poverty and forced to work long hours for little pay. This arrangement is extremely irritating and many people turn to drinking. Whether parents drink, work or are dead, they simply cannot be involved in their children's lives and be present enoughto ensure that their children go to school. Additionally, institutionalized racism means that schools in black townships are rare, underfunded and understaffed, making education not only less attractive but also less effective. At 7:45 p.m., Mandisa's neighbor Skonana knocked on the door. Skonana is curious and wants to know what is happening to Mandisa, but Mandisa hopes to get information from her neighbor. Skonana reveals that she heard that a white woman had been killed in Guguletu earlier that day. Mandisa knows that “Guguletu is a violent place,” but violence against a white woman will have dangerous repercussions on the black community. Mandisa understands that the police "are not our friends" and that their involvement will only create more problems and "tear this township apart." In a context of political instability and an unreliable government, community provides people with a necessary sense of stability. Even though the township is already rife with violence, Mandisa knows that it is at least currently in the grip of violence. Left to their own devices, as the police and government care little about whether black South Africans are killing other black South Africans. But now that a white woman is the victim of violence, the township will surely receive more attention from the police, which is not a good thing. Skonana sees that Mandisa is upset and offers her tea. Mandisa appreciates the offer but, feeling "crying", refuses and goes back inside. Mandisa begins to address the Mother again, wondering why the Daughter was in Guguletu, why anyone would come there. Mandisa begins to recount how she found herself in the township, as if “carried by a whirlwind created by the government,” an “upheaval” so intense that “three decades later, my people are still in shock.” ". Mandisa now begins to recount how the racist apartheid regime moved her family to Guguletu commune. Because apartheid has been in effect since 1948, Mandisa explains that "three decades later, my people are still in shock." Although Mandisa refers to apartheid, this passage also highlights the legacy of colonialism in South Africa, the hallmarks of which (such as racial inequality) are still present three centuries later. Mandisa wonders how the government was able to displace the residents of Blouvlei. There are millions of residents in the town, which has served as home to its residents for generations. An elder comments: “The afterbirths of our children are buried deep in this earth,” as are “the whitened bones of our long dead.” Mandisa is reassured by this affirmation that Blouvlei will remain her home. The idea that the government could move such a large group of people suggests that, under apartheid, the government viewed black South Africans as pawns who could be picked up and moved out of sight. In other words, the government does not see black South Africans as genuine people rooted in their community and their land. A bell rings, announcing a town meeting, and the adults leave their homes to gather and (presumably) discuss the flyers. . Mandisa is happy to have more time to play, as her parents stay at the meeting after sunset. When they finally return, they are frustrated. The meeting was full of endless questions and very few answers. The meetings continue for days and weeks. Representatives are sent to the government, but are rejected. Even white employers are being asked to help, but nothing will change the minds of the government and its.