Project Topics
Get Complete Project Material File(s) Now! »
CHAPTER 4 THE IMAGERY OF THE SUN
Introduction
This chapter attempts to analyze the symbolic use of the sun in Ntuli’s writing. Ntuli’s symbols can be taken as a dream in terms of what Bressler (1994:126) writes:
For Freud, the unresolved conflicts that give rise to any neurosis constitute the stuff of literature. A work of literature, he believes, is the external expression of the author’s unconscious mind. Accordingly, the literary work must then be treated like a dream, applying psychoanalytic techniques to the text to uncover the author’s hidden motivations, repressed desires, and wishes.
It is possible that Ntuli pondered about using the weather symbols as he does. That thought can be taken as a dream. It is this dream of Ntuli that is analyzed in this chapter. It is the purpose of this chapter to uncover Ntuli’s hidden motivations, and his repressed desires and wishes when using the sun symbol.
One can generally say that language is used in two ways: denotative and connotative usage.
This study deals with the connotative employment of words by Ntuli: using weather aspects as symbols of something else. On using symbols, Sanders (1967:238) remarks:
The symbol most difficult for the reader is the author’s personal symbol, one which has meaning for him but which may lack personal meaning for the reader.
This is what Ntuli has done, creating symbols known only to him, neither current nor traditional. The sun symbol has been used in Ntuli’s literature in a manner that is somewhat different from its usage by other writers. This symbol is not generally used with the same meaning as theirs, but is specific to Ntuli’s literature. One cannot expect to find these symbols and their symbolic meanings used similarly by other writers, even if they use the same language as Ntuli.
The symbolic use of the sun
On the symbolic use of the sun Mathenjwa (1999: 146-7) remarks:
A variety of modern poems use the sun while some are even entitled after it, and others mention it as a reference. IsiZulu poetry relies solely on how the poets perceive the sun and these poets also show how the sun is related to man and on earth. Different poets, though, have different perceptions about the sun. Some look at it as a symbol of life, a symbol of redemption, source of hope, symbol of superiority as well as a cause of disaster. Unsurprisingly it arouses mixed feelings. The poets react to the sun in a variety of ways sometimes even mixed in one poem. Therefore, critics need a wide scope of the understanding of meanings that may be inspired by the sun according to isiZulu belief and understanding. The understanding of imagery used in poetry could be the only key that may unlock the world of understanding different meanings brought by the sun.
Here Mathenjwa highlights a very important point about the sun symbol, that it can be: a symbol of life, of redemption, of hope, of superiority and of disaster. This is exactly what Ntuli does, by regarding the sun as both a symbol of hope and a symbol of disaster. From the latter, Ntuli coins the symbol of trouble that is mostly used in his literary works, as will be shown in the following paragraphs. Ntuli succeeds in doing this because of his knowledge of isiZulu beliefs and understanding of the use of the sun as a symbol in literature and speech.
Other critics also observe the symbolic usage of the sun symbol, in literature, as is found in Makhambeni (1991:120) where she relates:
It is worth noting that these supernatural images, especially the sun, are employed by other non-isiZulu poets as well.
This extract depicts the fact that non-isiZulu writers also use the sun symbol in their literature.
The sun exhibits different degrees of heat: mild sunshine, warm sun and very hot sun. The sun provides light and warmth. Other linguists who relate to the sun as the provider of light and heat. It is from the heat that Ntuli creates a very effective sun symbol. The writer enriches his artistic style in using these features. On symbolization, Reaske (1966:108) remarks:
The usual answer is that if some pictures are representation which is repeated over and over again it becomes a symbol; if a poet uses the word “sun” every time he obviously is speaking about goodness, the sun may be said to be a symbol of goodness. If there is some sunlight in the background setting every time something good happens, or if sunlight is, in any way, consistently associated with good, we can speak as well about the symbol sunlight.
Ntuli uses the sun symbol to mean the opposite of the above extract. In his work, the hot sun symbol is used to convey the meaning of difficulty; thus it is interpreted as the symbol of adversity. The warm sun symbol is interpreted to mean that there is a quiet situation and there is no trouble.
The sun defined
Hawkins (1991: 1449) defines the sun as:
(a) The star round which the Earth orbits and from which it receives light and warmth.
(b) Any similar star in the universe with or without planets.
The light or warmth received from the sun And sunny (p1450-1451) as:
(a) Bright with sunlight Exposed to or warmed by the sun.
2 Cheery and bright in temperature Hawkins points out that the sun provides light and warmth to the Earth. Probably it is from such a definition that Ntuli coined the mild sun symbol. Although the sun symbol connotes difficulty, when one imagines warmth one is soothed and imagines a more peaceful situation.
This may be the reason why the mild sun symbol connotes lighter troubles. Procter (1996:459) provides a striking definition of the sun:
Sun; the star that the Earth spins around, which provides light and heat for the Earth, or the light or heat that the Earth receives from this star.
This definition adds the word ‘heat’. It is from this heat that Ntuli develops the hot sun symbol and the extremely hot sun symbol. As will be seen when this study unfolds, the mere warmth of the sun could not be the motive for the use of these weather images, as reflected by the former definition. Heat, in the latter definition, is the core. It is not easy to perform any duty when there is heat. So the sun symbol represents something else; Mathenjwa (1999:59-60) has this to say about symbolism and representation:
a metaphor is an implied comparison between two fairly specific things and is a representation rather than a comparison. One should not, however, see these two as separate entities because a symbol may be used metaphorically. The sun is seen as a symbol.
Here Mathenjwa demonstrates that the sun is indeed used as a symbol and also that a symbol is a representation. This means that when a writer wants to write about an entity, the writer may omit it, and in its place use the symbol which represents it, as Ntuli does with the sun.
The symbolic use of the sun in prose
Again Mathenjwa (1999:90) highlights some important aspects of the sun:
Amongst all the wonders of God, the sun makes a isiZulu person think deeply when he looks at it. He suggests that it is perhaps for this reason that izimbongi of traditional kings mainly used it in their compositions. From what is suggested by Msimang one can say that izimbongi used the sun because they were trying to assign meaning and make something out of it. They then started to relate the sun to something powerful and close to them, their kings. Their power is measured against that of the sun. According to them, there is no celestial body or thing that could be compared to the sun.
It is therefore correct to assume that it is from this traditional background that Ntuli started to view the sun from a different perspective. From this angle, Ntuli thought that as there was no other celestial body that is equivalent to the sun, it could be the symbol of trouble as all creatures are defenseless against its heat.
The warm sun
The warm sun symbol is found in Ntuli’s story Isitimela, the story of Donald, who had a terrible dream. In it he was going to school very early in the morning while it was still dark. In the dream Donald is attacked by criminals who strip him of clothes, tie him on the cold rail and leave him for the train to crush. It is when the sun comes out that the train approaches him.
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Aim
1.2 The study
1.3 Definition of some literary concepts
1.4 Scope
1.5 Methodology
1.6 Chapter breakdown
1.7 Recapitulation
CHAPTER 2 THE SYMBOLIC USE OF MIST, FOG, OVERCAST-WEATHER AND CLOUDS.
2.1 Introduction
2.2 The symbolic use of mist and fog
2.3.1 Definition of overcast weather and clouds
2.4 The significance of the symbolic use of mist, fog, overcast weather and clouds in Ntuli’s literature
2.5 Conclusion
CHAPTER 3 THE SYMBOLIC USE OF RAIN, THUNDER AND THE RAINBOW
3.1 Introduction
3.2 The symbolic use of rainfall
3.3 The symbolic use of thunder in literature
3.4 The symbolic use of the rainbow in literature
CHAPTER 4 THE IMAGERY OF THE SUN
4.1 Introduction
4.2 The symbolic use of the sun
4.3 The significance of the sun element in literature
4.4 Conclusion
CHAPTER 5 THE SYMBOLIC USE OF THE COLD WEATHER
5.1 Introduction
5.2 The symbolic use of cold
5.3 The significance of the cold weather in literature
5.4 Conclusion
CHAPTER 6 GENERAL CONCLUSION
6.1 Introduction: aim and analysis
6.2 Observations
6.3 Recommendations
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ADDENDUM
GET THE COMPLETE PROJECT
WEATHER SYMBOLISM IN DBZ NTULI’S LITERATURE
