The treatment of the theme of childhood in Njabulo s. Ndebele's fools and other stories

Abstract

The prime concern of this project paper is to give critical attention to Njabulo S. Ndebele's treatment of the theme of childhood in five short stories: "The Test", "The Prophetess", "Uncle", "The Music of the Violin" and "Fools". The stories, making up the book Fools and Other Stories, are a depiction of the world of the child in relation to the adults' in a writer's effort to depart attention from the tense political atmosphere of the time to dwell on everyday township living. While it is true that this paper adopts a thematic approach to the stories, it does not ignore the relevance of the short story form in the aesthetic realization of the content. This mutual relationship of theme and style is enhanced by the psychoanalytic approach employed in this study, which acknowledges the characters' subconscious drives to behaviour. Further, the theoretical framework lends credence to the artist's creation as a revelation of his and his community's subconscious fears and desires. This study recognizes Ndebele's portrayal of a different kind of South Africa as well as his belief in childhood as an explorable theme in the art of an ailing nation. Moreover, the author views childhood as a period of immense social and psychological adventures uniquely personal, albeit ordinary. What emerges at the end of the study is the author's artistic worldview: a profound belief in childhood as a period that contributes significantly towards awakening the consciousness of both the child and the adults in his life.