Class Act by Namhla

Tshisana

Namhla Tshisana was born in Mdantsane (East

London) in 1984. She worked for the Sowetan for five
years before joining the Masters programme in
Creative Writing.
1. Summary

The narrator is a 12-year old girl who has just started high school. She is
subjected to teasing because of her appearance. The pressure she feels
makes her hate school. She is too young to defend herself. She, under the
circumstances, tries to adapt in order to survive and get by.
Mr. Sauls, her English teacher, cannot control his own class and that gives
Renato, who has failed Standard 6 three times, an opportunity to bully new
learners. She does not report the ‘bullying’ to her mother and her aunt, but
she fights the demons all by herself.

The adults contribute to her suffering by ignoring her requests to have her tunic

shortened. The narrator finally tells her sister about the taunts or bullying. The
tunic is shortened, but she is then teased for the thick hem and white cotton
thread. She is further ridiculed because of the colour of her underwear as well
as her black knees. The renewed bullying makes her feel she is better off with
a longer dress.

2. Title
The phrase ‘class act’ refers to an excellent performance, or someone
whose performance is extra-ordinary or excellent. The phrase also refers
to someone who is generally well-mannered. Looking at the narrator’s life
and experiences, she does not lose her temper or even talk back when
ridiculed, but instead acts calmly throughout the story.

The title is, in a way, linked to the movie, Sister Act, because of the long
tunic the narrator wears at school. The narrator is ridiculed and called
Sister Mary Clarence, one of the nuns in the movie.
 3. Themes
3.1 Bullying
The narrator is continuously teased by her schoolmates. Her bullying is not
physical, but it kills her spirit which makes her hate school. A class repeater,
Renato, starts the bullying by making her stand in front of the class. She is
then called names. Teasing spirals out of control and everyone laughs at
her.

3.2 Identity/Acceptance/Appearance
The narrator faces a difficult time because of her appearance. She does
not feel accepted by other learners at school. She accepts the identity
given to her and does not challenge it. She is only 12 years old and too
young to challenge some of her older classmates.

3.3 Conflict
There are two identifiable forms of conflict in this story.

The first one is internal. The narrator has to go to school when school is
not favourable to her. She must spend time in the place she hates. She
has to find her way around that unfavourable situation and environment.
The narrator has conflicted feelings.

The second conflict, which is external, is about incompatibility that makes

it difficult for characters to co-exist. The narrator is being teased by other
learners. There are two learners who make life difficult for her. A girl who
looks down upon her and a boy who constantly teases her about her
appearance.

3.4 Helplessness
The narrator is bullied at school and is too young to fight back. She is
bullied by a boy who has failed Standard Six three times. The narrator
cannot report her problems to her mother who is always busy. The narrator
cannot change her appearance/tunic because she relies on her mother and
aunt to fix its length for her. She feels helpless.

4. How is the story told?

4.1 Setting
The story is set in a homeland called Ciskei (which is now part of the
Eastern Cape). It takes place in the early 1990s. The story shifts between
school and the narrator's home.

4.2 Structure and Plot Development

Exposition
The narrator is introduced as a young girl (12 years) who has just started
high school. She has two main challenges at school, i.e. she hates Afrikaans
and she is teased by other learners for her looks.
The narrator is at home with her mother and her aunt, who are getting her uniform
ready for her new school.
Rising Action
Mr Sauls, who is one of the teachers, cannot control his class and learners
do as they like in his presence. Renato forces the new learners in the
institution (‘freshers’) to stand in front of the class so he can inspect their
uniform. The narrator’s uniform is long and goes below her knees. Renato
then calls her Sister Mary Clarence.

Climax
The climax is reached when the narrator tells her sister, Ayanda, about the
teasing. Ayanda offers to adjust the blue tunic and decides to use the only
available white cotton thread. When the narrator wears the tunic, she also
realises that it is shorter than she had requested and it will make other learners
see her thighs and her knock knees.
She is then teased by the other learners because of the white thread and her
black knees. Some even commented about her yellow panties.

Resolution
She resolves that she is better off as Sister Mary Clarence. If she wears a long
tunic, people will not see her panties, her knock knees and her black knees.
4.3 Characterisation
The narrator ● She is a misfit (She cannot fit in a high school because of
her appearance)
● She is reserved (She does not have a voice at home,
and they decide what is good for her)
● She is courageous (She does not give up on her
schooling career, despite all her challenges)

Ayanda ● She is friendly to her sister (She gives her sister a hearing)
● She is understanding (She understands her sister’s
problems and assists in trying to solve them)
● She is caring (She fixes the tunic but unwittingly adds
to the narrator’s problems)

Mr Sauls ● He is inexperienced (He cannot control his class. He

lets people do as they like in class)

Aunt Connie ● She is pushy (She accuses the narrator of being

angry when she is not. She seems to push her
around the house)
● She is untrustworthy (She makes empty promises to
the narrator and other members of the family) The
narrator’s
● She is uncaring (She does not prioritise her mother
daughter’s needs)

Khanyisa ● She is a pompous girl who looks down upon the

narrator.

Renato ● He is a bully who does not care about other

learners’ feelings (He says anything to spite the
narrator. He always taunts her by calling her names)

4.4 Narrator’s point of view

The story is narrated in the first person with the narrator as the main character.
It is told from the narrator’s point of view by a young girl who has just started
high school.

4.5 Style
The story uses an informal register which is appropriate to the narrator’s age.
This is evident in the use of contractions like didn’t, you’re, can’t, etc. The use
of dialogue is indicative of the flowing conversation among the characters.
Several Xhosa phrases are used as an example of ‘code switching’.
4.6 Diction and figurative language
The author effectively uses vernacular phrases in some of the statements to show
context in which words were used.
● Aunt Connie uses township slang (Ukwateleni) to ask the narrator why she
is angry. That confuses the narrator a bit because the isiXhosa version
(Uqumbeleni) is not very close in sound to the Afrikaans word, ‘kwaad’
which means ‘angry’ in English. ● Other phrases in IsiXhosa:
‘Girl, umgobo ongaka?’ (Page 85)
‘Irhali emhlophe ke yona iyaphi?’ (Page 85)
‘Amadolo amnyama ke wona asisathethi ngawo.’ (Page 85)

Following are some of the literary devices used:

HYPERBOLE (EXAGGERATION)
‘I keep thinking it is going to hit the floor’ (Page 82).
The narrator exaggerates the size of Aunt Connie’s tummy which has grown
bigger.

IRONY
‘You’re starting a coloured school next week but you can’t speak
Afrikaans?’ (Page 82).
It is ironic that the narrator does not speak Afrikaans when the population of
the

school speaks Afrikaans .

SIMILE
‘The class’s laughter sounded like thunder in my ears… ’ ( Page 84).
The loudness of the learners’ laughter in the narrator’s ears, is compared to the
sound made by thunder.
ALLUSION
‘Sister Mary has undergone a makeover!’
Calling the narrator ‘Sister Mary Clarence’ means she looks like a nun. This
makes reference to the movies titled ‘Sister Act’ and ‘Sister Act 2’, where one of
the nuns is called Mary Clarence.

4.7 Tone and Mood

Tone:

● Depressed: The narrator begins the story with a strong depressing statement
(‘I hate high school’).
● Gloomy: She uses a powerful word ‘hate’ in describing her feelings about
school. She emphasises that fact by using, ‘Really, I do.’

Mood:
● sad, emotional