SHADOWS ON THE WALL
The story begins with a motif of shadows. This device runs through the story. This establishes a gloomy atmosphere characterised by hopelessness and dejection of the child narrator. It also emphasises the neglect and emptiness the narrator is experiencing. Even in the presence of his parents, the child feels abandoned. The family is so dysfunctional that the child finds solace in the shadows instead of the real parents. The "wall" symbolises a barrier to freedom and happiness. It represents the depressing effects of the narrator's parents' tempestuous relationship. The narrator has lost sense of reality after failing to find love and protection from the parents especially from the father who is abusive and callous. The real world exposes the narrator to cruelty and abuse hence the fascination on the shadows.
Through their sitting location in the hut, a huge social distance between the father and the child is reflected. The father is sitting near the door and the child is sitting "far across". Although the two are in the same vicinity, there is no social connection between them. So strong is the dislike that the narrator has towards his father that he chooses to deliberately ignore him. Instead, the narrator ridicules his father through the similes he uses to describe the shadow images he is observing on the wall. For example, the image of a "scarecrow" brings out the idea of a father who is not real, just like a scarecrow is made to look like a real person, but it is not a real person. The narrator chooses to be antagonistic towards his father simply because he regards the father as lacking the virtues that evoke respect.
The father is portrayed as a hindrance to happiness since his sitting position blocks the sunlight. Sunlight symbolises happiness which the child narrator is longing for. The abusive behaviour of the father and his insatiable desire for women causes the child to be rebellious. Through his behaviour, the father deprives the child of his innocence as the child shifts his attention towards brooding hatred. To bring out the theme of estranged relationships, the author uses short choppy sentences. These successive sentences illustrate this point, "He is talking. I am not listening. He gives up." The author also uses juxtaposition to contrast the attitude of the father and the son. The actions of the father and the son are described as being incompatible. For example, the communication breakdown which occurs when the father is talking while the child is not listening, illustrates the tension between the two.
The phrase "his wife", first encountered in paragraph 3, suggests disassociation. The child refuses to address the father's sweatheart as a mother. This portrays the child narrator as being rebellious. However the child feels justified given the unpleasant character of the woman who controls the father. The sweetheart's voice, which is described as, "shrill" and "strident" "like a cicada's", accentuate her acerbic behaviour.
To bring out the quarrels that exist between the father and the mother of the chid, the narrator uses the motif of hailstorm. This motif also creates a gloomy atmosphere characterised by suffering. For example, the chickens get affected by the cold whether which comes along with the rain. Ironically, rain, which normally rejuvenates life, is portrayed here as bringing gloom. Together with the dark clouds, the rain symbolises the unpleasant life the child narrator is going through as a result of witnessing quarrels and abuse as well as experiencing illness.
Through this story, the author illustrates the evils of patriarchal tendencies. These societal beliefs are not only harmful to women but also to everyone in the society. For example, the father refuses to believe that his son is ill. Instead he accuses his wife of wanting "to turn him into a woman." Getting ill if you are a man is regarded as a sign of weakness. Women are also treated as beasts of burden. The narrator's mother is portrayed as carrying a basket of mealies and pieces of firewood yet the father is unwilling to carry his child.
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