Title: Behind “Aila’s Left”: Realistic Concern in Nadine Gordimer’s My Son’s Story

Abstract: Through the double perspectives of the black father and son, Nadine Gordimer depicted the vivid image of Aila growing from a silent black woman to a determined revolutionary in My Son’s Story. The African heroism “Aila’s Left” reveals the intervention and influence of the social reality on private life in South Africa in Gordimer’s writing. Behind “Aila’s Left” is not only Gordimer’s artistic description of the social reality of South Africa during the apartheid period, but also her realistic concern for the future development of South Africa and her hope for the elimination of apartheid system.

Keywords: Nadine Gordimer, My Son’s Story, realistic concern

Author: Shangrui Pan, School of Humanities, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China; Yunchun Lan, Associate Professor, Hanzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.