Nadine Gordimer Questions and Answers
Nadine Gordimer
What is the short story "The Moment Before The Gun Went Off" about?
The short story "The Moment Before The Gun Went Off" is about appearances and how they can deceive. Gordimer uses dramatic irony to offer insight into the realities of the story's central tragedy....
Nadine Gordimer
What is the moral, theme or lesson that is being taught in "Once Upon a Time"?
The central theme brought out through this short story is the idea that human fear represents the greatest obstacle to human happiness. The family "loves each other very much," as indicated in the...
Nadine Gordimer
What is an analysis of Some Are Born to Sweet Delight?
In this story, Nadine Gordimer explores issues of complicity in relationship to predetermination or coincidence. The class divisions of British society figure strongly in the unfolding events even...
Nadine Gordimer
Which type of irony is there in the story "The Moment Before the Gun Went Off" by Nadine Gordimer?
There are a number of different types of irony, but the relevant one in relation to "The Moment the Gun Went Off" is situational irony. This is a literary technique that gives us the exact opposite...
Nadine Gordimer
Point out the basic irony and small ironies mentioned in "Once Upon a Time". How is the the first and the 2nd part of...
The basic irony presented in "Once Upon a Time" is that the author herself does not believe in having to write a fairly tale. Gordimer opens her story with a statement against having to write a...
Nadine Gordimer
In “The Moment Before the Gun Went Off,” what do you make of the fact that Lucas’s mother is the daughter of parents...
Nadine Gordimer’s story “The Moment Before the Gun Went Off” conveys multiple dimensions of the complex relationships among race and class in South Africa. The emotional connections between parents...
Nadine Gordimer
What are the important symbols in the story "The Moment Before the Gun Went Off"?
The main character, Van der Vyver, describes the rifle he has inherited from his father. Guns are usually symbolic of violence and often foreshadow death. Indeed, it is a common movie trope that if...
Nadine Gordimer
What is an analysis of Nadine Gordimer's short story '"Crimes of Conscience"?
Nadine Gordimer's short story, "Crimes of Conscience" touches upon the themes of Political Transition, and Love. In this story, the male character from whose perspective the story is told, although...
Nadine Gordimer
How does "Happy Event" by Nadine Gordimer reveal the stereotyped social attitudes of white people towards Black...
Once instance of stereotyping in Nadine Gordimer's "Happy Event" occurs when, to placate her two quarreling Black servants, Ella gives them each a cheap item, as if they are children. In fact, she...
Nadine Gordimer
Point out at least two examples of irony in the story "Happy Event" by Nadine Gordimer. In each case, be sure to...
Situational irony occurs when events happen that are the opposite of what we might expect. The main irony in the story turns on the inversion of most people's innate sense of justice: normally, we...
Nadine Gordimer
Reading and reacting from the story "Once Upon a Time" by Nadine Gordimer as a fairy tale?
One way that the short story is similar to a fairy tale is in its title. "Once upon a time" is a very popular and familiar refrain in fairy tales. Another way it is similar to the fairy tale is...
Nadine Gordimer
What are two examples of Ella's perception of people and events being limited by her prejudices in Nadine Gordimer's...
In Nadine Gordimer's "Happy Event," Ella has limited views formed through her prejudice and misunderstanding of Black South Africans. When Ella chooses servants, she assumes Africans from the same...
Nadine Gordimer
What are the ethical or political implications of Nadine Gordimer's "Africa Emergent"?
One ethical implication which is constructed through the conflict in "Africa Emergent" is that oppression is upheld by generating mistrust between people. As the narrator opens his story, he...
Nadine Gordimer
Once Upon a Time's events are presented in strict chronological order. Give some examples of phases that move readers...
In Gordimer's short story, strict chronology of events is important because it shows the levels to which the family becomes more and more obsessed with their safety and security. Each step towards...
Nadine Gordimer
What are the criticisms and the social issues that are raised in "The Moment Before The Gun Went Off"?
Whether or not the version of the story that Van der Vyver tells is accurate—and we have hints that it is not—Gordimer's story critiques apartheid. Gordimer does this by telling the story through...
Nadine Gordimer
Is there a short story called The Children by Nadine Gordimer?
I am pretty familiar with several of Nadine Gordimer's collections, and thought I could find this short story for you fairly easily; however, I could not find it listed in the collections that I...
Nadine Gordimer
Explain why the author Nadine Gordimer has been the victim of censorship. At that time censorship was in the 20th...
Gordimer has been the victim of censorship because her subject matter demands the challenge of government and social structures. Her writing reflects the need for artists to be social commentators...