The Sunday News
Charles Dube
THERE is no doubt that learners are absorbed in their studies in readiness for public examinations. Those who have been procrastinating telling themselves that there is still plenty of time to catch up with what they need to know and declare themselves ready for the examinations are in a state of panic. They feel they do not know anything and are running wild unable to find solid ground of where to start. However, those are the hazards of ill-preparedness.
Learners of Literature in English are also tying loose ends for they have long been reading and analysing set texts. They have discussed various aspects of set texts such as themes, characters, and literary terms they come across in the studied texts. Typical of learners, it is not all who grasp key concepts at the same time, hence, some have asked me to go over literary terms like the use of suspense in The Sun Will Rise Again. Literature, like other subjects, has its own language which helps learners produce good responses to questions.
Fatima reflects: “What am I going to bring back from the courtroom today? More burdens of death? What chances would Sofia stand? Can there still be the slightest shred of light which I can still cling on to? If the worst were to happen, then the cold bottle of pills will come to my salvation. I am very sure that it will be swift and painless.” As readers we want the story to move fast so that we know what happens to Sofia and in turn we want to know whether Fatima will carry out her threat of committing suicide.
Later on Nyati brings in suspense as well when he goes to the flat he bought for Sofia and finds her with her boyfriend, Jeremiah. He is so furious that he contemplates going in without knocking. He makes it clear that he would not talk to her, he is not in the mood of talking. He declares: “I will simply grab her and throw her down. Then I will rape her. Would such a thing be called rape? How can a man rape a woman for whom he paid ten thousand dollars cash?”
Readers are anxiously following Nyati and wondering whether he is really going to rape his wife Sofia? In the flat things turn upside down for the worst as Nyati gets to boiling point when he finds Sofia and Jeremiah laughing. He is insecure with his affair with Sofia since he is an old man and Sofia has decided to go back to her childhood sweetheart. When Nyati hears the two laughing he thinks they are laughing about him. He says: “I can feel intense rage swelling inside my bones.
“Like an angry tornado, I throw the door wide open. They are sitting so close to each other and it would be very difficult to draw a line between the two.” He grabs Sofia by the throat shouting obscenities and saying that she deserves to die. As his fingers tighten around her throat she saves herself from further damage by digging her sharp fingernails into his eyes and he immediately releases her. He accuses Sofia of bringing her boyfriend into his house but Sofia flatly denies that claiming Jeremiah is just a friend and they grew up together.
Nyati insists the two were laughing about him and they had enjoyed their last laugh. He was going to kill them that day. Nyati reveals the abominable, his heinous crime. He tells Sofia that he is going to wash in her blood just as he did in her sister’s blood. Nyati believes he is in so much control of the situation and, he would kill both of them, so he goes on to reveal all details about the murder of Sofia’s sister, Tabitha. All along this has been a mystery.
Nyati reveals that somebody did it for him, and to Sofia’s shock that somebody was none other than her father, Takundwa. Still believing that he is in total control, Nyati says, “Well, now that you know the truth, I will simply take out my gun and finish the two of you off, Get ready to die!” The question is will Nyati kill them? Obviously, the reader is captivated and wants to read on and find out.
Later we find Sofia in intense rage. She says to Nyati: “I said I want my sister right now SATAN!” I quicken my step as I move towards my target. My intentions are clear. This is no longer the innocent and placid Sofia that both Nyati and Jeremiah have always known. This is a new me. I have become a stranger; even to myself. Nyati does not like what he sees in my eyes.” What happened next? These are just a few examples of areas where suspense is exhibited.
We can therefore define suspense as the growing feeling of anxiety and excitement that makes a reader curious about the outcome of a story. A writer creates suspense through techniques that raise questions in the reader’s mind about possible endings to the conflict. Other similar definitions of suspense are: it is the sense of anticipation or worry that the author makes the reader fee. It can also be defined as the lack of certainty the writer creates, leaving the reader to wonder what will happen.
It draws the reader into the story and creates a sense of momentum on to the plot. Learners also need to understand other literary terms used by authors like flashback. A flashback is an interruption in the chronological order of events in a story in order to present a conversation or event that happened before the beginning of the story. This background information helps explain the present actions or attitude of a character.
Along with the listed examples of literary terms there are many more like: foreshadowing, symbol, comic relief, fantasy, plot and others which will be explained later.
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