Analyse af Neil Ramsorruns 'Dukwane's Deliverance'

Being different is not always a bad thing. It can also mean that you have the courage to do something others wouldn’t dare to do, or to have a dream that extends beyond your social environment. Achieving this dream can be very complicated, and you might meet different obstacles on your way that you need to overcome. This situation is presented in Neil Ramsorrun’s short story “Dukwane’s Deliverance” where the protagonist, Dukwane, loses his ability to walk while having a dream of becoming a politician.

The story has a third-person narrator with a limited omniscient point of view. The omniscient point of view is limited as the reader only sees the events and other characters from Dukwane’s point of view. This makes for a more interesting reading experience because everything is possible when the narrator is not “all knowing”. Even though the story is told from Dukwane’s point of view he is still being questioned by his friend Jermaine, who tries to influence his decision (p. 2, ll. 58-62 & p. 4, ll. 124-125).

Dukwane, the protagonist, is a very courageous black teenage boy who wants to do the right thing. He lives in Camden with his family. He is not afraid to step up when something is wrong which gives us the impression of him being very brave and fearless (p. 4, ll. 183-184). He chooses not to get revenge on the people injuring him which gives him a lot of integrity. Dukwane has a dream of one day becoming a politician and even though his father is sceptical towards this, he still believes it is possible: “If Barack can do it, so can I.”. His family does not seem to be particularly wealthy which may be the reason why he works at a fast-food restaurant six shifts a week (p.2, ll. 41-42). Ambition and determination are thereby two very notably important and characteristic features about him. He is different from the people in his social environment. He is an intelligent young boy who is going to attend Cambridge University (p. 1, ll. 15-17). Although he is looking forward to leaving for university he is still very conscious about the fact, that King’s College has a lot of white upper class students (p. 3, ll. 120-122). However, he is still willing to work as hard as he can to achieve his goal (p. 2, ll. 63-64). While being hospitalized he has a dream about his idol, president Barack Obama, visiting him and giving him some thoughtful and inspiring words (p. 5, ll. 164-171). Obama’s speech puts Dukwane back on the right track and he decides not to give up on his dream.