Justice or Injustice: An Analysis of Selected Stories in Petina Gappah’s Rotten Row

Abstract

Taking a purely literary analytic approach, this article explores use of the notion of justice in Petina Gappah’s collection of short stories entitled Rotten Row. Each story begins with a quotation from the Bible and reflects on the abortion of justice in the context of applied system; Roman-Dutch law, mob justice, karma or Ngozi (retributive spirit). The article explores the ironies represented in the stories with regard to the expectations of the execution of justice and what actually happens. Gappah seems to be calling on humanity to reflect on their actions in as much as they impact on other people no matter how insignificant they may seem. This serves to redefine the causes and effects of crime which in turn redefines victims, perpetrators  and victors in various crime contexts.