Identity in the Post-Apartheid Novel:

Abstract

This study examines how identity is shaped by the apartheid regime in South Africa, drawing on postcolonial and psychoanalytic theories. Using Zakes Mda’s Ways of Dying (1995) as a case study, it highlights the complex, evolving nature of identity during the nation’s transition from apartheid to a post-apartheid society. The dissertation emphasizes the struggle for selfdefinition amid the lingering psychological and sociopolitical effects of apartheid on both individual and collective consciousness. Mda portrays a society grappling with instability and caught between tradition and modernity, where communal rituals often clash with the realities of urban life. His use of nonlinear narrative techniques mirrors the fragmented experience of memory and trauma, reflecting how both personal and collective suffering disrupt linear notions of time and healing. The study argues that this dual trauma is negotiated through communal mourning, which becomes a vital process for both individual recovery and national reconciliation. These rituals not only honor the dead but also restore hope and cohesion in a fragmented society, fostering a renewed sense of unity and shared identity