My Name Poem Analysis

Study Notes

The poem "My Name" by Magoleng wa Selepe explores the impact of apartheid on personal identity.
The speaker's name, Nomgqibelo Ncamisile Mnqhibisa, is a symbol of her African heritage.
The bureaucrat, a representative of the apartheid regime, disregards the speaker's name and instead assigns her a European name, "Maria."
This forced name change reflects apartheid's attempt to erase African culture and identity.
The poem highlights the pain and indignity of being stripped of one's heritage.
The word "Apartheid" originates from Afrikaans and refers to a system of racial segregation and discrimination.
The apartheid regime in South Africa lasted for 50 years, from 1948 to 1994 and resulted in significant social and political upheaval.
There were 148 apartheid laws that enforced racial segregation in various aspects of life, including education, housing, and employment.
One of the key aspects of apartheid was the banning of interracial marriages, further enforcing racial separation and discrimination.

The poem "The Secret Language" explores themes of assimilation and cultural identity.
The speaker, whose native name is Binaay, learns English to please the "fair stranger."
This act of learning a different language highlights the pressures of adapting to a new culture.
The poem suggests that colonization imposed Western norms on indigenous cultures, including dress codes and female body image.
The speaker's adoption of the name Christina signifies her assimilation into a foreign culture, potentially due to her new occupation.
The poem discusses how the speaker cooks for her guests and receives praise for her English but feels conflicted about her authenticity.

"Gentlemen of the Jungle" by Jomo Kenyatta is a satirical allegory that critiques the system of colonial justice in Africa.
The story uses animal characters to represent different social groups: the man symbolizes the colonized, the lion represents the colonial power, and the other animals represent colonial officials.
The elephant claims ownership of the man's hut, highlighting the way colonial powers often exploited and displaced indigenous people.
The lion establishes a "Commission on Enquiry" to investigate the dispute but ultimately favors the elephant, reflecting how colonial courts often favored the colonial elite.
The man's repeated attempts to build a new hut that is continually taken over by other animals represent the ongoing struggle of colonized people to assert their rights under colonial rule.
The story satirizes the notion of fairness and impartiality in colonial systems where the colonized were frequently denied justice.