National Character in South African English Children's Literature (review)
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Elwyn Jenkins takes on the enormous task of examining the historical, cultural, and sociopolitical influences on the development of South African children's literature in English written from 1883 to 2004 and tracing its transformative role in shaping an emerging national consciousness. This vast material is organized into nine chapters, each featuring a specific topic or genre that is analyzed chronologically, with detailed plot summaries of significant works. Wherever pertinent, the trends in this evolving body of literature are compared to similar phases in Afrikaner, British, American, Canadian, and Australian children's literature.
National Character in South African English Children's Literature begins with books set in the countryside and the efforts of the early writers to firmly ground their stories in their adopted country, transforming the unique Karoo and bushveld regions of South Africa "into a mystic homeland" (1). Jenkins argues that most fictional works had predictable episodic plots, lacked in-depth characterization, and were written in a banal style. The conclusion to this chapter emphasizes that after the 1950s, when the apartheid policy had become firmly entrenched and opposition to it had gained momentum, the settings of children's books shifted to the city. However, literature could no longer foster a love of homeland because of the political upheaval. It is only after the democratic elections in 1994 that urban settings became sites of transformation for youth. While no specific books about city life are mentioned here, readers are referred to the final chapter. This circular organization is typical of National Character; themes are often introduced or briefly discussed but considered in more depth in a future or previous chapter.
Furthermore, organizing each chapter chronologically proves to be both the strength and weakness of the book. While each chapter provides a complete survey of a particular topic or genre, from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries, it also leads to some repetition, gaps, and uneven emphasis. For instance, chapter 2 gives a brief overview of the canon of important South African authors and books that embody national identity, including black authors Es'kia Mphahlele and Njabulo Ndebele, while three chapters (4, 5, and 6) focus on fantasy, folktales, and the various subgenres of imaginative literature. The latter discussion ranges from efforts to forge a national literature in the first half of the twentieth century, when writers "naturalized" British and American fairy and animal fantasies into a South African setting—frequently with factual errors—to stories of realistic talking animals with the victory of the National Party and formalization of apartheid, because they struck a patriotic chord during World War II. Jenkins points to the [End Page 399] equally strong tradition of appropriating and romanticizing San, Khoi, and Xhosa oral tales. While the early writers promoted colonialist discourse and exploited indigenous beliefs, he praises a few recent authors, such as Marguerite Poland and Cicely van Straten, for their thorough research and respect for the intrinsic value of traditional lore; Gcina Mhlophe, Dinah Mbanze, Bob Leshoai, and Nombulelo Makhuphula for their authentic voices in retelling African stories; and collections such as African Myths and Legends and Madiba Magic: Nelson Mandela's Favourite Stories. Jenkins sees folktales as the most national form of literature because they "can bridge the gap between black and white children" (98) and serve as a unifying force in the new South Africa.
Perhaps the most satisfying approach to National Character is to read each chapter as an individual essay. For example, chapter 3 is an informative account of books that reflect changing attitudes toward the construction of nature, from "colonial and imperialistic assumptions of power" (44) and the "right" to hunt wild animals and "strip colonized lands of their natural assets" (44); to books about natural history and domestication of the land in the twentieth century, when farms symbolized the "borderline between civilization" and the "untamed wilderness" (47); to the modern focus on ecological issues, harmony between humans and nature, and the African roots of conservation. Likewise, chapter 7 examines representations of the San, from...
