Willem Prinsloo's Peach Brandy

701 Words3 Pages
In Willem Prinsloo’s Peach Brandy, Bosman uses irony, diction and symbolism in order to mock the rural Afrikaner society of the Groot Marico. He comments on the dangers of rivalry and infatuation through the irony and symbolism in Schalk and Fritz’s experience with Grieta. He uses the symbolism of the rose and irony to warn against deceit, arrogance and manipulation that comes with superficial refinement. By showing the simple, naïve lifestyle of the Afrikaners, Bosman is able to mock the people. He mocks their education by Schalk saying, “I had never learnt as far as multiplication.” Being uneducated, Fritz and Schalk are vulnerable and unable to make well thought-out decisions. The Afrikaner style is mocked in irony. Fritz and Schalk think that they look stylish with “socks pulled up over the bottoms of his trousers” and “brown boots”, but to anyone reading the story, their fashion sense would seem silly and ridiculous. The “mealies”, “onions” and “homemade brandy” symbolize their practical and tough lives, which are plain and honest, just like Schalk and Fritz. Fritz and Schalk compete for everything such as masculinity, education, fashion and most of all, Grieta. Schalk says, “I could never be jealous of a person like Fritz”, yet he is envious of everything about him. It is ironic how Schalk mocks how Fritz starts doing maths, yet Schalk does the same thing to impress Grieta. Their rivalry is ironic because they are similar: both being young, chatty and gullible; therefore, their rivalry is useless. It blinds them to Grieta’s true self: which is vain, selfish and proud. When receiving the rose, Schalk says “I beat him” and it was “my triumph”, although in the end, they both end up defeated. This is ironic. The white rose symbolizes the fact that they are both charmed by Grieta, but in the end they both lose and both get hurt. This shows how Bosman intended
Open Document