Jrl Rafapa: an Exploration of His Novels
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JRL RAFAPA: AN EXPLORATION OF HIS NOVELS by PETER LEPONO BOSHEGO Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY in the subject AFRICAN LANGUAGES at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA PROMOTER: PROF SM SERUDU NOVEMBER 1998 -i- DECLARATION I declare that JRL RAFAPA: AN EXPLORATION OF HIS NOVELS, is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete reference . .. ~ 9.. -~~~~'!':'.~P.R. !1.98 ..SIGNATURE DATE (P.L.R~~·-················ Boshego) -ii- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the following people who have helped me to make it over the hump: First and foremost, my supervisor Prof. SM Serudu. I sincerely appreciate your patience and expert guidance through this study. May the Lord God preserve you. Mokwena! To my colleague and friend, Ledile la Mosekedi, thank you very much for your interest, willingness and readiness to discuss contents of this thesis. I duly appreciate! To the teachers of Mmadikana Secondary School, especially Mr Kutumela, Mr Thema and Mr Kekana who helped in the compilation of some information about JRL Rafapa. Thank you very much. My sincere gratitude also goes to my friend, Freddy Papo of the Department of Applied Linguistics and to my colleague Prof. IM Kosch of the Department of African Languages, for reading and editing this thesis. To Mr AS Mudau who typed this work I want to say: "I truly appreciate." Lastly to my wife Boitumelo and our beloved children, Mpho, Lesego and Baarabile: You have been there for me from day one. This was a rough one, but finally I have made it. "Thank you! God bless you!" 11111111n111 0001728897 -iii- DEDICATION This book is dedicated to: my late father, Matseutseu a Monare, Mot16kwa a Mamphela a Boroku, Kolobe! and to my mother, Matemane Ngwa' Mashile, Motau! -iv- SUMMARY The main objective of this study is to explore the literariness in JRL Rafapa's novels published between 1979-1991. This study was prompted by views of literary scholars who claim that post-0.K. Matsepe writers such as Rafapa were all influenced by Matsepe's writings to such an extent that they actually emulate his themes, settings, characters, plots and so on. This kind of emulation is said to have put the Northern Sotho Novel in a cul-de-sac. The modus operandi in this study is as follows: Chapter one deals with the aim of study, critical comments on the post-Matsepe writers, biographical sketch on Rafapa, literary approaches and method as well as the scope. The second chapter concentrates on the relationship between the writer and characters as his creations. It also deals with conventional character stereotypes such as the hero, the opponent and the supporter. Narrative strategies such as self-display or exteriorization, the narrative voice and the creation of an autobiographical narrative are also looked into. Chapter three explores Rafapa's themes. The main themes discussed are: social decay, madness and vengeance, as well as protest and conflict. We conclude the chapter by examining Rafapa's titles. Chapter four focuses closely on "place" and "time" in Rafapa's novels. The two mentioned aspects of setting are discussed separately according to: place as a space of action and place as acting space. convoluted time and chronological time. The chapter ends with a brief discussion of the functions of setting. Rafapa's idiolect is dealt with in chapter five. Here, we consider the word as the writer's main tool of communication. The use of words in different types of sentences as well as in various types of paragraphs come into focus. -v- Chapter six looks into Rafapa's use of non-prose forms such as the interior monologue, the dialogue and the praise poems as the writer's means of extending meaning. Chapter seven is the recapitulation of the main findings in the thesis. It also touches on aspects which may form bases for future research. It is followed by a bibliography and an Appendix. -vi- TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................... 1 1.1 Aim of study ............................................ 1 1.2 Critical comments on the post-Matsepe writers ................. 2 1.3 Studies on JRL Rafapa .................................... 6 1.4 Biographical sketch ....................................... 7 1.5 Synoptic survey of the five novels to be studied ................ 12 1.5.1 Leratosello . 12 1.5.2 Mogwane o a Ila ........................................ 15 1.5.3 Bohwa bja Madimabe ................................... 17 1.5.4 Bowelakalana . 19 1.5.5 Diphiri tsa Soweto tse di gagolago ........................ 22 1.6 Literary Approaches and Method ........................... 25 1.6.1 The historical-biographical approach ........................ 26 1.6.2 Marxist approach ........................................ 26 1.6.3 Structuralism ........................................... 27 1.6.4 The pragmatic approach .................................. 27 1.6.5 The comparative method ................................. 28 1. 7 Scope and composition of chapters ......................... 29 CHAPTER 2 THE WRITER AND HIS CHARACTERS: A QUESTION OF POWER ......... 31 2.1 Introduction ............................................ 31 2.2 The concept "character" .................................. 35 2.3 The conventional stereotypes .............................. 38 2.3.1 Leratosello ............................................ 39 2.3.2 Mogwane o a Ila ........................................ 49 2.3.3 Bohwa bja Madimabe ................................... 57 2.3.4 Bowelakalana ......................................... 61 -vii- 2.3.5 Diphiri tsa Soweto tse di gagolago ........................ 66 2.4 Narrative strategies ...................................... 69 2.4.1 Self-display or exteriorization .............................. 69 2.4.2 The narrative voice ...................................... 74 2.4.3 The creation of an autobiographical narrative ................. 77 2.5 Resume ............................................... 80 CHAPTER 3 THEMES OF PREOCCUPATION ..................................... 81 3.1 Introduction ............................................ 81 3.2 Social decay ........................................... 84 3.3 The theme of madness and vengeance ...................... 95 3.4 Protest and conflict ..................................... 110 3.5 Titles ................................................ 120 3.5.1 Leratosello ........................................... 121 3.5.2 Mogwane o a Ila ....................................... 122 3.5.3 Bohwa bja Madimabe .................................. 122 3.5.4 Bowelakalana ........................................ 123 3.5.5 Diphiri tsa Soweto tse di gagolago ....................... 123 3.6 Resume .............................................. 124 CHAPTER 4 THE CONSIDERATION OF PLACE AND TIME IN RAFAPA'S NOVELS ...... 126 4.1 Introduction ........................................... 126 4.2 Place . 129 4.2.1 Place as a space of action ............................... 129 4.2.2 Place as acting space ................................... 136 4.3 Time ................................................ 147 4.3.1 Convoluted time ....................................... 148 4.3.2 Chronological time ..................................... 154 4.4 Functions of setting ..................................... 160 -viii- 4.5 Resume .............................................. 165 CHAPTER 5 RAFAPA'S IDIOLECT ............................................. 167 5.1 Introduction ........................................... 167 5.2 Choice of words and their usage . 170 5.2.1 Choice and usage of compound nouns ...................... 179 5.2.2 Other word types ....................................... 185 5.3 From the word to the sentence ............................ 191 5.3.1 Short sentences ....................................... 191 5.3.2 Long sentences ........................................ 195 5.4 The paragraph ......................................... 199 5.4.1 Introductory paragraphs ................................. 200 5.4.2 The middle paragraph ................................... 203 5.4.3 The closing paragraph .................................. 205 5.5 Resume .............................................. 21 o CHAPTER 6 NON-PROSE FORMS AS THE MEANS OF EXTENDING MEANING ........ 212 6.1 Introduction ........................................... 212 6.2 Interior monologue ..................................... 212 6.3 Dialogue ............................................. 216 6.4 The praise poems ...................................... 225 6.5 Resume .............................................. 235 CHAPTER 7 RECAPITULATION ............................................... 237 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................. 243 APPENDIX ...................................................... 250 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 AIM OF STUDY Matsepe's unique workmanship in the manipulation and presentation of his subject matter has placed the Northern Sotho novel in a cul de sac. Each and every budding novelist wants to dress his thoughts and ideas in the style and language of Matsepe, which remain an indelible mark on the mind of any avid reader of his works (Serudu, 1993:301). This thought-provoking statement is the genesis of this thesis. As the above quotation may suggest - our primary aim is not to make a comparative study of OK Matsepe and JRL Rafapa, who is a post-Matsepe writer,