Amnesty
Freedom over Family for the Family
In Amnesty, the narrator’s husband opted out of being a family man in order to join the movement to fight for his right as a farmer. The story was written during the time when the apartheid was going on in South Africa, and it was extremely hard for blacks to get their way. The whites, especially in the area of work that he was in were constantly oppressing them. He had to make a living to provide for his family, so he was constantly away working. One day, he got arrested for inciting riots among his fellow workers right after he had joined the union. That moment was when everything had changed for him and his family. He decided to join the movement and fight for the rights of his fellow workers and for his family’s well being.
After his bid of six years in prison, everything started changing for him and his family. He was there for the family, but his presence was not really felt. His main focus was not really on building a close bond with his family. He was focusing on a bigger picture, which was fighting for the rights of his fellow farmers and also for his family to eventually live peacefully. His daughter was born when he went to jail, and he did not have time to even see her. He named his daughter Inkululeko, which is a Xhosa term that signifies freedom. His daughter’s name indicates that he was thinking more along the lines long-term freedom instead of short-term family bonding. His family was really affected by his actions. They were terrified of the fact that he was fighting a battle was dangerous during that time and that he could be taken away from them again at any given moment.
His family had the right to be worried because a lot has happened to him already, but I think they
