Nadine Gordimer

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....

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...

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...

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...

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'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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...