Amnesty by Nadine Gordimer - Book Report/Review Example

Nadine Gordimer’s Amnesty describes how one man’s life and decisions change the whole situation of his family and the life of all the others who are dear to his life. In this story, a description of how human oppression directly affects the being of an individual and how it retaliates to affect the life of that man is clearly depicted. Through the description of the connection and relationship between two people [a man and a woman who were never named in the story], an understanding of how particular situations in the society changes each person becomes a clarified issue.

The CharactersGordimer primarily used the irony of emotions to present her thoughts with regard to the connection between the two people being focused upon in the reading. As much as the woman tries to find her man in a deserted island where he was held as a captive because of leading marches and movements against the oppressive approaches of the administration, she loses that particular likeness to see the man of her life when he finally arrives home from being away for so long. Voice and ToneThe voice of the story relates how a woman who has lost her fondness of one thing or one person due to time.

Although the author does strongly want to show that the woman loved her man so much, she used the different elements of emotion and time that suggests how much outside factors could directly result in the dismaying feelings of the persons involved within the situation. Besides that, the tone of the story suggests that the author of the reading wants to send a message to the readers that would most likely become most effective in letting them know how is it possible for elemental factors to affect the emotions of a person towards something or someone.

Irony, Symbolism, and ImageryUndoubtedly, the writer of the story simply wants to metaphorically use the situation like a presentation on how human relationships change through the years, how moving on sticks to the present situation and not on the memories or desires of the past. It is clearly depicted through the story how a man and a woman along with their child ironically feel separated from each other even farther when they finally see each other and are further given the chance to live together again.

Primarily, the idea portrayed by the writer herein shows how much time could actually change in a person’s being and how much it could do to the longing that one has for something or someone; hence, suggesting that real fondness or real longing roots from the heart and not simply from the mind which could easily be interchanged with other forms of emotion through time.