The Lemon Orchard (1962)
English Literature
Context
- Alex La Guma is a South African fiction writer who was active in anti-apartheid politics. He voices out the cruelty and horrors of Apartheid which banned him from writing stories in South Africa. He and his wife struggled with house arrest, confinement and several punishments for standing up against Apartheid.
- Apartheid– A former social system in South Africa where the blacks did not share the same economic and political rights as the whites. They were forced to live separately in ghettos away from the whites as they were segregated. The ghetto lifestyle was inhuman as the space was insufficient and the amenities were primitive. Simultaneously, the whites invented themselves. This lead to violence.
- QUOTES
- “moon is hidden behind long, parallel of cloud”
- “angled branches”, “tips and edges”, “quivering shine of shattered quicksilver”,
- “dirty cotton wool in the sky”
- “sharp bitter sweet citrus smell”
- “gently on the night air” “pleasant scent”
- “dog stopped barking” “monotonous creek-creek-creek”
- “shooting jacket” “loaded shotgun”
- “two frozen lakes” “myriad lines”
- “fear mixed with stubbornness” “speaking with a mixture of dignity and contempt”
- “this is as good place as any”
- “blended into solid strips of high pitched sound”
- Active verbs such as “crouched” “harsh whispering”
- “one who had complained about the cold and one who had spoken of his fear”
- “educated bushmen” “slim hotnot” “donders” “verdomte” “kaffir”
- “i would like to take care of such a dog”
prepIGCSE 