Discourse-based Analysis of Narrative Monologue as a Medium of Historical Allegory in Nadine Gordimer's Burger's Daughter

This paper explores narrative monologue as a medium for depicting history in Nadine Gordimer's Burger's Daughter by applying discourse-based analysis. The study's objective is to examine the novel's events that are told from an interior narrative perspective and how they depict historical phases in the course of the novel's plot. On the one hand, it examines the characters' internal monologue and how it functions as an expression of the characters' communicative relationships. On the other hand, it demonstrates how narrative monologue serves as a means of allegorical depiction of the historical layers related to the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa. Therefore, the study's methodology depends on a close reading of the characters' internal monologue. Furthermore, it conducts a textual analysis of the historical narrative implications regarding the anti-Apartheid struggle portrayed in the fictional events of the plot. In this way, the study makes a narrative and historical interpretation of literary allegory employed by Gordimer to paint a vivid picture of contemporary anti-Apartheid activism. Therefore, the study will examine the thematic characteristics of apartheid and how it influences the characters' narrative discourse. The interpretation of the narrative discourse will rely on Gordimer's perception of real people who live in apartheid conditions and how they cope with it.