Ronald’s Kaffir Boy cover seems to be the best cover on the market! He has incorporated symbolism and colors into the cover giving it an attractive look with items making the reader ask “Why?” when they look at the cover. Everything on the cover was mentioned in the book and can be proven.
The two characters appearing on the cover is the protagonist, Johannes Mathabane and a black police officer. The police officer represents the black people that were manipulated by the white people of South Africa to help them enforce the laws. That evening the neighborhood was gripped by the rumors that the Peri-Urban police were going to launch another raid soon…searching for people whose pass books were not in order, gangsters, prostitutes, black families living illegally in the township, shebeen owners and those persons deemed ‘undesirables’ under the Influx Control Law. (16)”
In Johannes Mathabane’s hands two items. Each item represents an important idea in the story which leads to the ending. The tennis racket is what gets Mathabane his scholarship in America to finally leave for a new education which is symbolized by the paper with the A+ grade on it. It can be found in the book when Johannes receives a letter from Limestone College. The letter read Dear Mark, … I’m offering you a full tennis scholarship, which includes tuition, room, and board, and books. (342)”
Then the backgrounds in the cover show the two worlds that are present but where the black and the white people segregated into. The wasteland with two shacks is Johannes’ home which is Alexandria. Then the nice big house on the right is the white people’s homes which have green grass. The Black people had to go over there to work. In this case the cover depicts Johannes trying to get to the white peoples’ side showing that Johannes is trying to be equal and be on the same side and have everything they have. Then the police officer holds him back with the rope around his neck. The rope in this case represents the Apartheid which can tell the setting of the story. The Apartheid was the policy in South Africa in which all races were segregated. This happened during the 1970’s.This cover suggests all the important ideas of the story all in the cover. It would make a great cover for the book and is appealing to the eye because of its uniqueness, its details and its color.
1 comment:
This assignment was one of the most entertaining and amusing assignments of the year. I truly liked this assignment because it was when I could mesh my creativity with a book that I read. It was fun to do and at the same time it was hard work. This assignment was my representation of my imagination in my English class.
Post a Comment