Richard Rive
Richard Rive's, "Buckingham Palace," District Six focuses on a small community, unable to establish themselves outside of gangs, thievery, alcohol abuse and prostitution. District Six sits at the foot of Table Mountain and provides a stark contrast.
For an essay, a brief overview of the environment in which the characters exist (District Six) is useful by way of introduction. Some generalizations of the characters in this novel are necessary as many of their lives overlap and characters develop because of each other.
The affectionately- named "Buckingham Palace" is the row of "mouldy"cottages, notorious for bringing out the worst, and often the best, in the characters. Their criminal pursuits are moderated by humor. Religion and community spirit keep them alive and allow the reader to be accepting. I am not sure which characters you are most interested in but here are a few.
Mary (and her Girls), at number 201, keeps The Casbah, a "House of Pleasure." Next door (no.203) is Zoot and The Boys. The Jungles live at 205 , the narrator at 207 and Last-Knight the Barber at 209. Life is hard and prospects are poor but "what a wicked and enjoyable place the world was." The characters find peace in their routine which hardly varies from week to week. Mary, Zoot and Pretty-Boy are legends.
Mary, a Pastor's daughter and accomplished baton-twirler, is humorously portrayed as quite a husband stealer. Other women's husbands suffer "ill-health" after being in her company and eventually Mary is able to use her "skills," after her own husband, Knight-Before -Last, runs away. "The Girls" initially take refuge with Mary, from their fathers or husbands but they too acquire skills and before long the brightly- painted house officially opens "for business." Mary still pays her dues to the Church and, despite the glances of others, takes communion once a month.
Zoot is very capable of manipulating situations. Early in his childhood his "absolute dislike and disregard for authority"
For an essay, a brief overview of the environment in which the characters exist (District Six) is useful by way of introduction. Some generalizations of the characters in this novel are necessary as many of their lives overlap and characters develop because of each other.
The affectionately- named "Buckingham Palace" is the row of "mouldy"cottages, notorious for bringing out the worst, and often the best, in the characters. Their criminal pursuits are moderated by humor. Religion and community spirit keep them alive and allow the reader to be accepting. I am not sure which characters you are most interested in but here are a few.
Mary (and her Girls), at number 201, keeps The Casbah, a "House of Pleasure." Next door (no.203) is Zoot and The Boys. The Jungles live at 205 , the narrator at 207 and Last-Knight the Barber at 209. Life is hard and prospects are poor but "what a wicked and enjoyable place the world was." The characters find peace in their routine which hardly varies from week to week. Mary, Zoot and Pretty-Boy are legends.
Mary, a Pastor's daughter and accomplished baton-twirler, is humorously portrayed as quite a husband stealer. Other women's husbands suffer "ill-health" after being in her company and eventually Mary is able to use her "skills," after her own husband, Knight-Before -Last, runs away. "The Girls" initially take refuge with Mary, from their fathers or husbands but they too acquire skills and before long the brightly- painted house officially opens "for business." Mary still pays her dues to the Church and, despite the glances of others, takes communion once a month.
Zoot is very capable of manipulating situations. Early in his childhood his "absolute dislike and disregard for authority"