The Beneficiaries Essay

5976 Words24 Pages
The Beneficiaries “Victims, perpetrators, beneficiaries” – words used by Sarah Penny in her novel as Lally nears her crucial decision towards the end of “The Beneficiaries”; words used throughout “No Future Without Forgiveness” as Desmond Tutu retells the story of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC ); terms used by Antjie Krog in her detailed report on the same TRC, “Country of My Skull.” We know that Penny has read the Krog book, since she chose a reference made by Krog to Truth for her epigraph, so focusing our attention on one of the central themes; and since Krog refers to Tutu as the “compass” for the TRC – “the TRC without Tutu is unthinkable…it is Tutu who finds language for what is happening” – it is likely that Penny knows Tutu’s book as well. Indeed, in an interview, she said, “ The TRC was an outlet, a huge outlet, and where would we be without that?” Whatever I have to say here will be shaped by these three books; I will refer to some reviews of Sarah Penny’s novel, as well as some of her own words from interviews and discussions. But the Krog and Tutu books opened my eyes to so much of South Africa’s past, told me so much about the TRC, and consequently, I hope, helped me to see some of what Sarah Penny hoped to express in her prescribed novel. I think the number three plays a significant role in the novel. I refer to the three words at the start of my essay; to the three TRC letters (the third one will be written by Lally); to the three incidents from Lally’s schooldays; to three characters (Mark, Pim and Lally) who seem to represent significant differences about white South Africa; to the three ‘star’ pupils at Lally’s school; to the three time factors (past, present and future); and, I suppose, if I were to follow Tutu ‘religiously’, the influence of the Holy Trinity! Apart from this final ‘idea’, I will examine these ‘triumvirates’
Open Document