Die representasie van omstrede kwessies in kontemporêre Afrikaanse jeugverhale

Abstract

There are certain issues - such as violence, sexuality, politics and religion - which are problematic but have to be dealt with in society. In this dissertation types of controversial issues present in recent Afrikaans youth literature, the portrayal of those issues, and the ways in which solutions are offered for these issues are investigated. The argument follows from the assumption that the literature which the adolescent reads, has a directive value. Quite often the reader will choose to read material about a certain situation with which the reader is also faced in real life. It may be easy for the reader to identify with a character in similar circumstances or facing the same dilemma. Through the actions of the character, the reader can then explore certain avenues or possibilities which have the potential to be helpful in the solution of the problem or issue. For this dissertation research was done about certain controversial issues and related aspects in literature in general, which are then applied to three youth novels: Skilpoppe (1998) by Barrie Hough, Daar's vis in die punch (2002) by Jackie Nagtegaal and Nie vir kinders nie (2005) by Francois Bloemhof. These three texts were chosen because all three of them have generated public discussion, specifically in the media, about the presence of controversial issues. The results indicate the portrayal of the controversial issues to be unbiased and from a non-judgemental authoring perspective. The presence of the text internal corrective, which refers to the portrayal of a certain issue thereby giving it an outcome (positive or negative) or an alternative, is noticeable and is discussed in this dissertation.