"He will die in another way before he is dead". The violence of the prison system in "The Double Dying of an Ordinary Criminal" by Breyten Breytenbach

This contribution focuses on the analysis of some of the major themes in the short story The Double Dying of an Ordinary Criminal, which provides one of the strongest examples of prison literature. The story under scrutiny is taken from the collection The Heinemann Book of South African Short Stori...

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Main Author: Rosa Calì
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: Università degli Studi di Torino 2024-12-01
Series:RiCognizioni
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Online Access:https://ojs.unito.it/index.php/ricognizioni/article/view/11253
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author Rosa Calì
author_facet Rosa Calì
author_sort Rosa Calì
collection DOAJ
description This contribution focuses on the analysis of some of the major themes in the short story The Double Dying of an Ordinary Criminal, which provides one of the strongest examples of prison literature. The story under scrutiny is taken from the collection The Heinemann Book of South African Short Stories: from 1945 to the present, first published in 1994; however, it is intended to be read as a fragment of a novel from the collection Mouroir, written by Breytenbach while in prison. First, the article will explore Breytenbach’s political activism during South African Apartheid and his following exile and imprisonment. Then, it will present a short introduction to the South African prison literature genre. Then, Breytenbach’s short story The Double Dying of an Ordinary Criminal will be analysed, with special emphasis on the themes of the double and death, and Breytenbach’s indictment of prison conditions and the death sentence during Apartheid (1948-1991). Finally, the philosophical musings on death and mirrors in the second chapter of the story will be further explored, describing the role of writing and thinking about death.
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issn 2384-8987
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publisher Università degli Studi di Torino
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spelling doaj-art-efe5758afd2c453cb224def034c400582025-01-03T09:34:29ZdeuUniversità degli Studi di TorinoRiCognizioni2384-89872024-12-011122"He will die in another way before he is dead". The violence of the prison system in "The Double Dying of an Ordinary Criminal" by Breyten BreytenbachRosa Calì0University of Torino This contribution focuses on the analysis of some of the major themes in the short story The Double Dying of an Ordinary Criminal, which provides one of the strongest examples of prison literature. The story under scrutiny is taken from the collection The Heinemann Book of South African Short Stories: from 1945 to the present, first published in 1994; however, it is intended to be read as a fragment of a novel from the collection Mouroir, written by Breytenbach while in prison. First, the article will explore Breytenbach’s political activism during South African Apartheid and his following exile and imprisonment. Then, it will present a short introduction to the South African prison literature genre. Then, Breytenbach’s short story The Double Dying of an Ordinary Criminal will be analysed, with special emphasis on the themes of the double and death, and Breytenbach’s indictment of prison conditions and the death sentence during Apartheid (1948-1991). Finally, the philosophical musings on death and mirrors in the second chapter of the story will be further explored, describing the role of writing and thinking about death. https://ojs.unito.it/index.php/ricognizioni/article/view/11253Breyten BreytenbachSouth African LiteratureShort StoryPrison ConditionsDeath Sentence
spellingShingle Rosa Calì
"He will die in another way before he is dead". The violence of the prison system in "The Double Dying of an Ordinary Criminal" by Breyten Breytenbach
RiCognizioni
Breyten Breytenbach
South African Literature
Short Story
Prison Conditions
Death Sentence
title "He will die in another way before he is dead". The violence of the prison system in "The Double Dying of an Ordinary Criminal" by Breyten Breytenbach
title_full "He will die in another way before he is dead". The violence of the prison system in "The Double Dying of an Ordinary Criminal" by Breyten Breytenbach
title_fullStr "He will die in another way before he is dead". The violence of the prison system in "The Double Dying of an Ordinary Criminal" by Breyten Breytenbach
title_full_unstemmed "He will die in another way before he is dead". The violence of the prison system in "The Double Dying of an Ordinary Criminal" by Breyten Breytenbach
title_short "He will die in another way before he is dead". The violence of the prison system in "The Double Dying of an Ordinary Criminal" by Breyten Breytenbach
title_sort he will die in another way before he is dead the violence of the prison system in the double dying of an ordinary criminal by breyten breytenbach
topic Breyten Breytenbach
South African Literature
Short Story
Prison Conditions
Death Sentence
url https://ojs.unito.it/index.php/ricognizioni/article/view/11253
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