Fokalisasie en enkele Afrikaanse prosatekste : 'n vergelyking tussen ouer Afrikaanse en postmodernistiese tekste

Abstract

Focalization in Postmodernist texts has not yet been exclusively dealt with in a study like this. This study is therefore aimed at investigating focalization from the period characterised as Old Afrikaans Prose up to the postmodernist period. This study reveals the following: Focalization and narration, are two different concepts which can therefore not be regarded as two sides of the same coin. There are similarities between the selected texts, as they all represent fictive acts. However, the texts also differ largely. The problem as regards these two concepts lies in the fact that a narrative agent is capable of both speaking and seeing and even doing both things at the same time. What is of importance in Van Bruggen's Die sprinkaanbeampte van Sluis, is the focus on the here and the now where an action is described in such a way that meanings are hidden, thereby entrusting the reader with the task of unraveling. Kruger's 'n Basis oorkant die grens is characterised by three features: (i) an unconventional "I" telling the reader what he is experiencing from a position beyond (ii) a problem caused by the fact that in the war novel the past has been drawn into the present which is not the case with Die sprinkaanbeampte van Sluis where the narrator is concerned with the here and the now and not the past drawn into present. (iii) The third feature that characterises 'n Basis oorkant die grens is the possibility of a world beyond which again is not the case in Die sprinkaanbeampte van Sluis. Grove's In die kamer was 'n kas differs from Van Bruggen's Die sprinkaanbeampte van Sluis where the visible 'truth' is represented leaving the reader with the task of decoding the issue. Contrary to 'n Basis oorkant die grens where there is a possibility of a world beyond there is no possibility of a world beyond in Grove's In die kamer was 'n kas, in which reality tends to be seen as endless and all inclusive. Comparison of focalization of prose texts from different periods can be