An Abandoned Bundle by Oswald Mtshali

An Abandoned Bundle

I am convinced that you enjoyed this poem as much as I enjoyed our class discussions.

Some of you presented collages that evoked deep emotion. For those who slept instead of engaging in the discussion, I will present a brief analysis. Note: I say BRIEF, so don't think that you will be prepared for the exam just by reading these notes.

The entire poem is a metaphor for the atrocities of apartheid South Africa and the oppression of black South Africans.

White City Jabavu represents all the black townships of South Africa.
The scavenging dogs could represent the security police who were commissioned to keep black South Africans in line - submissive to the oppressive laws.
The baby represents the black South Africans.

You will notice that I refer to black South Africans. This is deliberate to dispel the notion that only ethnic blacks were oppressed by the system of apartheid. Coloureds, Indians and Chinese were subject to laws of apartheid. I shared my personal experience with you in class.

Stanza 1 sets the stage for the poem. A vivid description is given and Mtshali appeals to your sense of vision ( white mist, black smoke, the golden glow of the morning sun, yellow pus) and olfactory ( the smell of smoke / smog and pus ).

I noticed many of you squirm when I read this stanza. This is exactly Mtshali's aim. The description of the township makes you squirm, almost sick because of the atrocious living conditions under apartheid.

Remember, the gigantic sore is a symptom of a greater problem, a disease that has taken over the entire nation. The disease is apartheid and the symptoms are the conditions that people lived in: no electricity, no infrastructure, pollution, poor health as a result of inhaling the smoke from coal fires, etc.

White City Jabavu is a suburb in the greater Soweto. I am not sure whether it is still known by that name today, but when I was a teenager, I had a friend who lived there. The name White City Jabavu is ironic on three levels. First, only black people lived there even though the houses were painted white. Secondly, the term 'city' suggests a developed location with infrastructure, electricity and all the comforts of living in a city. This suburb in Soweto had no infrastructure at the time of writing the poem. There were no tarred roads, pavements, traffic lights, shops, hospitals, and so on. Then lastly, Jabavu  is a term or name of Xhosa intellectual and political activist who became a powerful political voice in the 1880s. However, could the name Jabavu be connected to the Zulu word 'jabulani' or 'jabule' which means happiness. The fact is, no one was happy in the 1070s during apartheid.


Note: The simile must be explained clearly. When you write about the effect of a simile, you must look for similarities in shape, size, colour, amount, etc. In this stanza, Mtshali compares the smog with pus. The extent of the pollution - flowing and the pus oozing. Both flowing and oozing suggest a vast amount of degradation and deprivation for the people in the township.

Stanza 2 starts with personification. The smog smothers the people instead of the houses. This is transferred epithet  - the poor living conditions as a result of the system prevents the people from breathing, living normal lives as humans.

In this second simile, the poet compares the smothered houses with fish in a net. Again, the similarities in this comparison are as follows: The people are trapped by the system of apartheid like the fish caught in a net. The houses are close to each other and several people live in one tiny house just like a school of fish that is trapped in the limited space of a net. This suggests congestion and just as much as the fish cannot escape the net, so are the people trapped by the system of apartheid.

Stanza 3 is rich with metaphors: The dogs are draped in red bandanas of blood - their heads and necks are red with the blood of the baby.

Note the alliteration in 'fought fiercely'. This creates the impression of determination and resolution. The baby is still alive as it is squirming.

Scavenging dogs is a metaphor for the security police who are forced to obey orders.

Stanza 4 involves the writer. However, all he can do is throw a brick. In fact, the dogs scurry away and they leave a corpse.

The dogs bared fangs: The dogs are aggressive and they are predators in this case. They baby is their prey - it is vulnerable and helpless. They intimidate the writer by baring their fangs. This could be a metaphor for the might of the apartheid police force who patrolled the township with military caspers and who were armed with rubber bullets, water canons and tear gas.

The dogs flick their velvet tongues of scarlet. This metaphor suggest that the tongues of the dogs have soaked up the blood of the baby. Velvet is an expensive fabric and soft to absorb liquid. The dogs' tongues are rich with the blood of the baby.

The word scarlet is the colour of blood. This is metonomy as the poet could have stated " flicked velvet tongues of blood" Instead he uses scarlet to mean blood.

Note the allusion to the baby Jesus. This allusion is important as it is intended to stress the irony of the situation. Jesus was born in a manger, a place where domesticated animals are stalled to protect them from danger. This baby is dumped on a rubbish heap, in fact, human excrement. There is no protection here as the baby is exposed to the wild, non-domesticated dogs.

Notice the irony is 'sleep well'. This is usually a greeting one says to others. It suggests that they will rest after a days work and that they will rise the next morning completely refreshed. In this case the only good that comes to the baby is death. It is better to be dead than alive and live in the system of apartheid. Death is a pleasure for the baby.

Stanza 5 focuses on the baby's mother. Her response to what has just happened must be noted. She disappears into the rays of the rising sun. In other words, she just walks away.

The rising sun suggests that she walks away from what was a burden and starts a brand new life, a new day, new opportunity.

The last two lines suggest that she is just as vulnerable and now forgiven. Perhaps it is better to give your child over to death than to raise your child to be oppressed and live a life of deprivation and suffering.

The final simile compares her heart with untrampled dew. She is forgiven, relieved and virginal once again - untrampled dew. This refers to her innocence. She is not to blame for a system that is so wrong. She suffered enough and abandoning the baby is the only way she could redeem it from the dangers of apartheid. This was the most just and pure thing to do. She did not want her baby to live because if that was the case she would have placed the baby where someone would find it - a doorstep, taxi rank, etc. She places the baby on a rubbish heap. People discard what they do not need.

This poem must be understood on both the literal and metaphorical levels. Make sure that you read the questions carefully and in your answers state both the literal and figurative interpretations. State your answer as follows: Literally, the dogs are scavengers, they are homeless and desperate for devouring whatever they can feed on. However, on a metaphorical level, the dogs are the security police of the apartheid system who are determined to keep blacks in submission to apartheid laws.