In the preface we read, "I am, in a sense, grateful for the gaps, the ready-made absences, so that I do not have to invent them" (2) Wicomb here is drawing attention playfully to the way in which postmodernism "foregrounds and thus contests that assumption of seamlessness and asks its readers to question the processess by which we represent our selves and our world to ourselves and to become aware of the means by which we make sense out of and construct order out of experience in our particular culture." 3 At the same time, the narrator adds a disclaimer to this use of postmodern technique when she writes "I take no responsibility for the fragmentary nature of this story" (2) and seems perturbed by the excess of rupture and lack of continuity in this story. This narrator proves herself to be both subjective and unreliable and yet manages to congratulate herself on her use of postmodern conventions in the writing of David’s story. The use of a first person narrator draws attention to inevitable subjectivity and possible unreliability. 4 Dorothy Driver, "Afterword," David’s Story, 230.ĥ Wicomb is overtly playing with narrative convention in her choice of narrator.3 Linda Hutcheon, The Politics of Postmodernism, (1989, London & New York: Routledge, 2002, 51). ![]() The focus will then shift to Wicomb’s extensive use of intertextuality which reveals something of the fallibility of the construction of a particular ethnic identity. Wicomb herself has commented in her critical writings on the "failure, in coloured terms, of the grand narrative of liberation," and points out the necessity of "fresh enquiry into the questions of postcolonial ‘hybridity’ and identity." 1ģ This paper will therefore concentrate firstly on the narrative techniques employed by Wicomb to undermine any claims to truth, before focussing on the ways in which Wicomb plays with language and points towards its fundamental instability as well as its inadequacy. David’s interest in his Griqua heritage at a time when the construction of national unity is the central focus raises interesting questions about identity and the wisdom of concentrating on a monolithic ethnic identity. David, a high-ranking member of MK (UmKhonto we Sizwe-Spear of the Nation) and the protagonist of the novel, has employed an amanuensis to write his story, but his reluctance to divulge any sensitive information (either about himself or Dulcie, a high-ranking comrade to whom he is attracted), added to the narrator’s inventions, omissions and filling in of gaps, forces us to concentrate on the question of mediation and the problematic of our being privy to any truth regarding David. Indeed, David’s Story abounds in references to truth and the style of the narrative leads us to question the very nature of truth, its accessibility and multiplicity. 1 Zoe Wicomb "Shame and Identity: the case of the coloured in South Africa" Attridge and Jolly eds., (.)Ģ The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, now renowned worldwide, took place between 19 and although Wicomb’s novel does not explicitly deal with it (being predominantly set in 1991), the preponderance of truth within the novel is perhaps partly explained by this contextual information. ![]() More games should definitely follow in Steelrisingand Lies Of P's footsteps and explore different time periods with an eye to originality. Steelrising has the sumptuous aesthetics and signature design of late 1800s France, but it can add lethal automatons and fantastical technologies on top of these to give players something fresh. Wolfenstein: The New Order can effectively use elements that players will already be familiar with, like the undeniably evil antagonists that don't need any introduction or further setup, but it can still add so many original aspects thanks to its deviation from actual history.Īlternate history settings can have the appeal of their real-world period counterparts, but also don't have to be slaves to historical accuracy. ![]() Blazkowicz is still fighting Nazis in 1946 at the start of the game. Although at first it seemed as if it was an FPS set during World War II, players immediately knew something was amiss when B.J. Wolfenstein: The New Order released in 2014 and used its alternate historical setting perfectly.
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