O Mother, Where Art Thou?: Parental Absence in Literatures of Conflict Anonymous College

Bernard Maclaverty’s Cal and Sindiwe Magona’s Mother to Mother both present the larger conflicts of a country through the voice of a single protagonist. The violence plaguing the lands of both Northern Ireland and South Africa in the late 1900’s situate the reader in the reality of each country, and through fictional characters, the authors portray the effects of conflict on the individual. In Mother to Mother, Magona recreates the circumstances that black South Africans grew up in, highlighting how the education system, separation from original community, and likelihood of teenage parenthood come together to inevitably create a brew for violence. Mandisa’s pregnancy at a young age puts a huge strain on her relationship with her traditional, religious family as well as teenage boyfriend, China, as they are forced into a loveless marriage. The subsequent abandonment of her and her child by China plays a huge role in Mxolisi’s upbringing, and this lack of parental presence, albeit only one part of the problem, directly leads to Mxolisi’s active engagement with the violent youth that occupy the townships. Similarly in Cal, the reader notices how familial dynamics can come together to negatively influence a child. Cal’s mother...