4.1 THE WIND AND THE BOY
4.1.4 PROBING THE GAPS, SILENCES AND ABSENCES IN THE STORY
position Friedman as special may be observed in clued adjectives like, 'tall, graceful', 'a musical lilt to speech when he teased', 'king of kings of all boys in his area', 'he made the best wire cars', 'his mannerisms were neat, compact and decisive', 'he was a boy who knew his mind' (1994, 41). I focus on the discourse on gender by considering the
following issues arising from the narrative. This is a particular discourse that proposes a patriarchal or gendered discourse and can be identified by reversing gender roles
The male character of Friedman may be changed to represent a female character called Freda. In this regard I question the following:
Would Freda be constructed as special as Friedman?
Would her mischief and disobedience be seen as cute and beyond admonition?
Would it have made her so adorable in the eyes of the women of the village as was with Friedman?
Would the folktales Sejosenje told Friedman about the bravery of Robinson Crusoe be told to her?
Would she have been taught household chores, how to tote water, learn
submissive obedience and to remember her responsibilities in taking care of the home?
Would she have been given a bicycle?
By raising questions on gender a different reader position is constructed and an
alternative interpretation is produced. When the gender of the boy child is changed, a new range of attitudes and feelings in the reader are engaged with. For example, she would
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not have been viewed by the villagers as a source of support, both physical and moral, to her grandmother because she would not have enjoyed the privileges accorded to the boys of the village. The expectations of her could have been restricted to eventual motherhood and caregiver, and to continue to live in the same way the other women, including
Sejosenye, did.
Similarly, an examination of the discourse on patriarchy provides a different entry point into the narrative. In this regard I focus on the visible absence of men in the story. The migrant labour system is very much a part of the lifestyle of rural African people, and whilst the story focuses on Friedman's death, what becomes naturalised is the acceptance of such a lifestyle for women and children. This lifestyle is addressed in the story in terms of poverty and disadvantage, but the discourse on patriarchy is marginalized in its reading.
That the men go out to seek jobs outside the rural village, which is presented as being correct in order for families to survive, is an inherent aspect of patriarchal power relations and is not questioned in this account. The women and children are left behind to eke out an existence from the land. In this regard Friedman is prepared through the folktales, which convey men as the hunters and gatherers, to live accordingly.
Interrogating the discourses in the text helps develop a broader understanding of writing strategies employed by the writer in his/her presentation of reality in the text. For
example, if the bicycle is removed from the story:
Would this not make Friedman's death all the more unacceptable, because in this reading the bicycle is seen as an indulgence even though it serves a practical purpose?
Would blame for his death not rest squarely on the corrupt civil servant, as this reading would take away the element of recklessness that characterizes Friedman?
Linked to the interrogation of the different discourses in the text, is the question of pleasure, which forms an important part of reading or viewing. Enjoyable work on texts in classrooms comes from reflection and analysis, from seeing more in the text, things not noticed on first reading, seeing different possibilities that the sharing of different readings in the class builds up (Misson, 1996).
Much pleasure may be gained in challenging character constructions and recognising reader positioning attempted through the different discourses at work in the text.
In "The Wind and the Boy", the binary oppositions are used to position the ideal reader into condemning the actions of the government official who kills Friedman, and the gross injustice suffered by Sejosenye, which leads to her death. This also serves to incite anger at the driver whilst neglecting to examine Friedman's wilfull recklessness. The privileged status of Sejosenye and Friedman in this village is a technique used to position the reader into wanting to lobby against incompetence and corruption especially at government level, in keeping with the postcolonial discourse underpinning the story.
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The fact that Friedman's character at the time of his death was transformed into a responsible teenager assisting his old granny in their survival, positions the reader as the sympathetic subject, overlooking his desire to be willfully negligent and daring. His daringness is part of his masculine construction in the story. Further entry points may be used to interrogate the discourses in the text. For example, the binaries contrasting Friedman and Sejosenye may be used to examine particular concerns from others' points of view. In this regard there might be greater empathy with the other boys or women who seem destined to a meagre existence, enjoying nothing special in their lives. If the
character of Friedman was not killed, and lived to support Sejosenye, would the focus not become rural poverty, disadvantage and marginalisation of the rural poor from the
benefits of political transformation? If Friedman had grown to manhood would he not have left the rural nest as a migrant labourer like the rest of the men in the village?