Once Upon A Time Nadine Gordimer Theme
Camila Farah
The theme of the short story is that people create their own downfall or destruction.
The title once upon a time is how fairy tales begin. Gordimer experienced the apartheid system in south africa firsthand and uses once upon a time to express the fear and anxiety she and others felt during that violent period. Within the story once upon a time by south african author nadine gordimer one of the main themes discussed would have to be that fear in the end leads to disaster. None of the characters have names suggesting they re representative rather than real individuals.
The frame story establishes that the writer was asked to come up with a children s story and it s presented as a bedtime story. The racist attitudes held by the inhabitants of the white suburb. Though fairy tales may tell readers that their lives are shaped by their fate the alternative fairy tale presented in the short story once upon a time by nadine gordimer tells the reader something else. The setting in a house in a suburb in a city is vague.
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