Nadine Gordimer’s fiction is widely admired for laying bare how hierarchical structures of social power operate in everyday life. Through her character’s interactions, motivations, attitudes, and assumptions, Gordimer sketches a social landscape bounded by inequality and haunted by the active presence of injustice. In Gordimer’s South Africa, the segregation and oppression of the majority black…
Good Climate, Friendly Inhabitants – Setting
‘‘Good Climate, Friendly Inhabitants’’ first appeared in 1965 during a period of sweeping historical change in Africa. In the decades after World War II, the European powers that had dominated the continent gradually withdrew their colonial administrations as they faced increased opposition from armed liberation movements. In the year 1960 alone, seventeen African nations gained…
Good Climate, Friendly Inhabitants – Literary Devices
Narration ‘‘Good Climate, Friendly Inhabitants’’ is written in first-person as one individual’s account of her experiences. Because there is no objective or omniscient viewpoint, the narrator is the reader’s only source of information—the reader knows only what the narrator knows or chooses to tell. This narrative device enhances the sense of mystery surrounding the character…
Good Climate, Friendly Inhabitants – Themes
Loneliness and Isolation The narrator of ‘‘Good Climate, Friendly Inhabitants’’ is a middle-aged, working-class white woman who lacks a strong social network. She complains, with some justification, that her work in the petrol station does not afford her opportunities to develop friendships. She is prevented from befriending her co-workers as a result of being the…
Good Climate, Friendly Inhabitants – Characters
Mrs. Douglas Mrs. Douglas is the proprietress of the New Park Hotel in Johannesburg, around the corner from the narrator’s home. The narrator mentions the hotel to the drifter when he is looking for a place to stay in town, and she goes with him to ask Mrs. Douglas for a room. Later, the narrator…
Good Climate, Friendly Inhabitants – Summary
‘‘Good Climate, Friendly Inhabitants’’ is written in the first person in everyday, colloquial language. The narrator appears to be telling a story, either directly to the reader or perhaps to an unknown third party. In the story’s opening paragraphs, the narrator, whose name is never mentioned, introduces herself as a bookkeeper of a petrol (gas)…
The Garden of Stubborn Cats – Literary Analysis
Italo Calvino is a writer whose work has been variously characterized as postmodernism, neo-realism, fantasy, science fiction, metafiction, and magic realism. Though all these terms are correct, ‘‘The Garden of Stubborn Cats,’’ like the other stories contained in Marcovaldo , fits best into the category of magic realism. The designation of ‘‘The Garden of Stubborn…
The Garden of Stubborn Cats – Setting
Italy During and After World War II Calvino grew up during troubled times in Italy. After World War I, Italy fell under the control of Benito Mussolini. Though King Victor Emmanuel III was technically the head of the nation, he essentially granted Mussolini unlimited powers as prime minister with the hope that the country could…
The Garden of Stubborn Cats – Literary Devices
Magic Realism Although Calvino’s work does not fit neatly into existing categories of literature, ‘‘The Garden of Stubborn Cats’’ is perhaps best described by the magic realism . Magic realism is literature that depicts a realistic setting and characters but also contains some fantastical or inexplicable elements. These fantastical elements are treated by the characters…
The Garden of Stubborn Cats – Themes
The Negative Effects of Progress An important theme that runs through ‘‘The Garden of Stubborn Cats’’ is the negative consequences progress can have on a community. The city in the story is rapidly changing—new skyscrapers appear and buildings become taller and more uniform. As these changes unfold, cats are no longer able to live as…