Mother to Mother Literary Elements

Literary Fiction

Apartheid in 1990s South Africa

Mandisa, first-person limited

Autobiographical: reflective and full of grief

Protagonist: Mandisa, Antagonist: Racism, Apartheid

There are a few major conflicts in the novel. The first is between Mandisa and herself as she deals with the shame of what her son has done. Next, there is the very physical conflict between Mxolisi and Amy. The main conflict, however, comes between the oppressive government and its resistors. All of the conflicts that occur in the novel can be traced back to the poor treatment of black people in South Africa by white settlers.

Dual climaxes come one after the other: First, a moment of revelation, where Mandisa is made to face what her son has done; and second, the act itself, when Mxolisi kills Amy.

There are many instances of foreshadowing in the novel. As Mandisa comes to terms with what her son has done, those around her are able to accept the truth more quickly. Although they refuse to tell Mandisa the truth, they foreshadow her revelation as she interacts with them. Dwadwa, in particular, has seen Mxolisi's act coming: "Don't say I never told you so, this son of yours... one shushu day, you mark my words, one shushu day, wait and see... he will come here dragging such a thorny bush of a scandal, you won't know what to do with yourself of where to hide your eyes" (120).

The author alludes to "A Room of One's Own" by Virginia Woolfe when Mandisa moves into her own home for the first time. She rents a room at the back of another person's property and calls it "A hokkie of my own" (103).

Mandisa describes Amy's mother's loss as one that has glory, as she is able to feel terrible pain without shame.

As Amy and her friends in the yellow Mazda approach Mxolisi and his friends at their street corner, the two groups mirror each other. Both groups sing and are preoccupied with saying goodbye to their friends.

Mandisa's use of the phrase "the location" to discuss Guguletu is a metonym that helps to highlight how little regard she has for the place she was relocated to as a child. It is not a township or a community, just a location.

The personification of the government: "The government was not laughing. The government never showed its smiling teeth when dealing with any matter in connection with Africans" (42).