Reading the Ideological Contradictions in Time of The Butcherbird

Abstract

This paper focuses on Alex La Guma’s last published novel, Time of the Butcherbird. Starting with the critical reception of this work, in which it becomes clear that the bulk of the critics have reservations about the aesthetic quality of the work, the paper attempts to locate Time of the Butcherbird within La Guma’s literary oeuvre of social realism by employing George Lukács’s theory. Although I share with other critics the sentiment that this novel seems to be somewhat different from La Guma’s previous work in terms of its focus and ideological orientation I argue that this does not diminish the aesthetic validity of the novel in any way. The central thrust of this paper, however, is that, unlike other La Guma novels, not only is this novel somewhat inconsistent with La Guma’s own ideological convictions, but the text itself is characterised by ideological contradictions which may, arguably, be attributed to La Guma’s attempt to deal in fictional terms with the (still) unresolvable South African national question at the time of the text’s composition.

Opsomming

Hierdie essay fokus op Alex la Guma se laaste gepubliseerde roman, Time of the Butcherbird. Die essay begin met die kritiese ontvangs van sy werk, waar dit duidelik word dat die meerderheid van die kritici voorbehoude het oor die estetiese gehalte van die werk. Die doel van die essay is om die plek van die roman in La Guma se gesamentlike literêre werke oor  sosiale realisme te bepaal deur George Lukács se teorie toe te pas. Hoewel ek ander kritici se sentiment deel dat hierdie roman ietwat anders as La Guma se vorige werk is ten opsigte van die fokus en  ideologiese oriëntering daarvan, redeneer ek dat dit nie die estetiese geldigheid daarvan op enige manier verminder nie. Die sentrale tema van hierdie essay is egter dat hierdie roman (in teenstelling met ander romans deur La Guma) nie net teenstrydig is met die outeur se eie ideologiese oortuigings nie; die teks self word gekenmerk deur ideologiese teenstrydighede. Hierdie teenstrydighede kan stellig toegeskryf word aan La Guma se poging om die (steeds) onoplosbare Suid-Afrikaanse nasionale vraag in die tyd waartydens die teks opgestel is – in fiktiewe terme – te hanteer.