The Context of the Awful Event
Nadine Gordimer's The House Gun
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4603733 |
|---|---|
| Authors | David Medalie (0000-0002-1080-3072, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1999 |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 633-644 |
| Publication date | 1999-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Southern African Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0305-7070 • E-ISSN: 1465-3893 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/030570799108506 |
| OpenAlex | W2058207688 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 6 |
The House Gun (1998) is the first novel by Nadine Gordimer to be set firmly in post-apartheid South Africa. In this work, Gordimer explores questions of individual and social responsibility in the context of widespread violence. The central incident is a murder that seems to have no obvious political (or even specifically South African) etiology or ramifications. Nonetheless, Gordimer uses this enigmatic crime and its repercussions to probe obliquely the complex relationship between the individual and the wider social context in post-apartheid South Africa. This article relates that investigation to the often expressed claim that Gordimer's works are predominantly concerned with the relationship between the 'personal' and the 'political'. It also considers trends in Gordimer criticism, arguing for a fuller recognition of the modernist elements in Gordimer's fiction
Archaeology · Criminology · Criticism · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Gender Studies · History · Law · Legal Issues in South Africa · South African History and Culture
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,21 |
| Citation span | 2007 - 2022 (16) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |