Abstract:
This research work undertakes the study of an African modernist novel entitled Coconut (2007) written by Kopano Matlwa. Based on the New Historicist theory, this work analyses the social and historical backgrounds of the novel. Moreover, through the paradigm of New Historicism, we demonstrated how the novel mirrored the author’s background which is the post-Apartheid period. Furthermore, we studied how the two protagonists of the novel shaped their own identities and persona using an important tenet of the New Historicist theory which is self-fashioning. Besides, we endeavored to explore the nuanced layers of racist discourse depicted in the novel from different angles. Finally, we demonstrated how the novel paralleled real historical events by using the anecdotal storytelling technique.
