The WasteLand by [Alan Paton]
Summary
The waste land in South African writer Alan Paton's short story "The Waste Land" symbolizes a
barbaric and degenerating society in general, and this specific town of the story in particular.
What's important is that the author shows the savagery of society through the actions of a group
of young men who pursue the main character.
In a well-ordered, decent, and law-abiding society, young men (and women) are the future and
strength of a nation. However, in “The Waste Land”, the young men symbolize a decaying
society of selfishness and greed. Violence is in their hearts and minds and ultimately in their
actions. This is common of the young men in the milieu of this story, as shown in this line from
the opening paragraph of the story:
That was the thing feared by all, to be waited for by young men.
Furthermore, the man in the story doesn’t see the town as a refuge or a place of peaceful
existence. He sees the bus pulling away from him as a refuge from the wild town. The bus is
something in transit, to be taken as a means of getting away from the dangers of the town. The
man likens the bus to an “island of safety” and the setting he is in as “a sea of perils." It is
apparent that he is experiencing great fear in a town that has abandoned honorable principles.
The biblical admonition that “…the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10) is
evident in this short story. The young men are after the man’s money. They are striving by all
means to find the man, and kill him if need be, to realize their goal of robbing him of whatever
wages he has on him. There is no discussion of who will be left behind of his loved ones once
they kill him. These young men don’t care. In fact, to show the rot of this society, it is revealed
that one of the young men attackers is this man’s own son.
Settings
The setting of the story is an area of iron, wire, and old car bodies in a heap in a nondescript lot
across the road from a convent. The man hopes to get away from his attackers in that waste
land. He believes that he can escape his pursuers in this scrap heap lot. It is worth noting that
the man doesn’t find his refuge or place of safety in the convent – the religious location where
he now stands. This could be taken as symbolizing that he is not finding rest in the traditional
religion of his day. He seeks to move away from this and risks venturing into the waste land.
Therefore, the waste land of the short story is the actual terrible condition of the town and the
state of mind of those young men (and others) who have abandoned their moral compass. The
man ponders that “mercy” is an unknown word in these parts. This can be extrapolated to
society in general, as we see today vicious and horrifying acts of violence where mercy is not
shown. Setting refers to the time and place in which events in a story unfold.
The setting can also refer to the mood, circumstances, weather, social status of the characters,
historical period, and immediate surroundings in which the characters find themselves.
In Alan Paton's short story, the plot unfolds during the evening at the end of a work week (most
probably a Friday) when the main character returns home from work carrying his wages. He has
just stepped off a bus and has to walk the rest of the way home. The atmosphere is thick with
the man's fear, for he realizes that he will be robbed by the young men he has noticed. It is
obvious that they plan to accost him, and he is frightened that he might be killed.
Most of the action occurs in an area known as the wasteland—a place filled with discarded
waste and derelict cars. The man realizes that it is the only place he can go to escape being
robbed and hurt. It is very dark, and the abandoned cars and other trash mean that he can hide
and evade his malicious pursuers.
In the darkness, the man strikes at a figure looming up at him, and he hears it cry out in pain.
He eventually escapes by hiding underneath a truck. He ironically learns that his son, Freddy, is
a member of the gang who planned to accost him when they speak about him, and one
mentions that "your father's got away." His son had evidently arranged, with the gang, to attack
him and take his hard-earned money. It is also tragically ironic that the man discovers that the
young man he had hit with his heavy stick has died, and that it is his son.
The story illustrates the kind of crime prevalent in the townships of South Africa, especially
during the Apartheid era. Black people were displaced and forced into areas where poverty and
crime were allowed to fester and grow. The authorities did very little to fight crime in such areas,
and this, amongst other atrocities, led to the type of situation depicted in the story.
Analysis
The Waste Land
Short story written by the South African author Alan Paton (who was against apartheid) in 1961.
Summary: A hard working man gets off the bus and instantly feels that he's in danger. A group
of young men want to rob him and they don't care how far they'll have to go. The main-character
is tries to escape and is being chased into the wasteland beside the road and he hits one of the
pursuer with a stick in self-defense. Unfortunately it turns out to be the main-character's son
(who was a part of the gang) and after hiding underneath a trolley the main-character realizes
this and discovers that the son Freddy is dead.
The story is told from a third person's view and takes place in a South African town at night. It
revolves around the emotions and thoughts of the main character, and how these results in his
desperate struggle for survival. Direct speech is used in the text and everything seems to
happen very fast.
The theme is the crime and desperation (which drives a young man to rob his own father) that
roams in South Africa.
Wider contexts:
We are introduced to a simmilar environment in the movie Tsotsi (criminality and gangs
consisting of persons who only care about themselves. Tsotsi's gang kills several people).
South Africa still suffers from the same kind of lawlessness and criminality.
Questions and Answers
1. Explain how the author creates an atmosphere of fear in the first two paragraphs of The
Waste Land.

The author doesn’t say directly who is standing in the shadow and what their motive is.
He describe the man’s fear in detail with the sentence: “Though he had known of his
danger only for a second, his mouth was already dry, his heart was pounding in his
breast, something within him was crying out in protest against the coming event.” The
reader can sympathise with the main character and feel his fear. Most people can also
identify with the fear of being mugged.
2. What does the setting of the story indicate about the socio-economic background of the
characters? Present evidence from the first four paragraphs in support of your answer.


We think the main character comes from a wealthy background, because he has a job
and money so that he can provide for his wife and children.
In the beginning for the text we also get introduced to a group of young men. The young
men want to steal money from the main character. Therefore we think that the young
men come from a poor lower class.
3. In the foreword to a book of short stories, LAG Strong says: 'A story reveals to us the sense
and meaning of a part of life. We see how a motive grew in someone's heart and led to a deed
and its results.' Explore the motives and the deeds of the main character and the young men in
this story and say how these lead to the tragic conclusion of the story.

The main character is afraid of getting mobbed and possibly killed by the gang of young
men. With the his wife and children in mind he fights for his life and unknowingly he ends
up killing his own son who was so desperate for money that he was willing to risk his
fathers life. The son is a part of the gang of young thieves who have planned the attack
on the main character to get his money.
4. Although the story is narrated by an omniscient, third person narrator, we are still
manipulated into taking sides when we read it. With whom do we side and why?

We are manipulated to take the side of the main character, because we follow him
through the story. We automatically see the young men as the bad guys because they
want to steal from him. But later in the text the main character kill his own son as a
mistake. But we still take his side of the story because we hear his feelings which makes
it possible for the reader to identify with the main character.
5. Give two good reasons as to why Alan Paton selected The Waste Land as a title for this
story.

The Waste land is selected as a title for this story because of, it so tells us about the
inequality between the characters, and give us a picture of where we are in the story,
because the story takes place in Waste Land. The waste land is a symbol of the African
town. Lawlessness roams in every corner of the town and the fear of assaults are normal
among the townspeople and the land has become a useless place. “The wilderness of
wire and iron…” could be a symbol for the criminality roaming in the area. The convent is
normally a safe place but in this story the convent is used by the gang to trap the main
character. Neither is the family a positive thing in this town.
6. Why do the young men hide the body of Freddy?

The young men are criminals and thieves who have no morals therefore they hide
Freddy instead of burying him because they don’t want to get caught or getting into any
problems with the police.
7. Although this story was written in 1961, it still has relevance for South Africa in 2014. Do you
know why?

South Africa still suffers from lawlessness and criminality. This event could easily have
happened today (the story could possibly be real).
The Wasteland" takes place in a South African town at night. More specifically, the setting is a
lot with old cars, wire, and iron. The story takes place during apartheid, the system of legal
racial segregation that was in place in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. The protagonist, an old
man pursued by robbers, must escape to this lot because the only other place in sight is a
convent, which has been barred to the public. In this lot, the old man at first runs into wire and
cars, and the lot is so dark that he cannot see his attackers. In this darkness, he hits one of the
men pursuing him with a stick. He then has the insight to hide beneath a truck, where he
realizes that the man he has killed is his son, who urged the other men to attack his own father.
When was "The Waste Land" by Alan Paton written and what was it about?
The Waste Land" is set in South Africa during the apartheid, which serves as the titular land of
ruin and gruesome violence. In the story, a man disembarks from a bus only to find himself
being chased by a gang of young thieves. The man flees, scared for his life and terrified at the
thought that his death could make his wife a widow and leave his children fatherless. While
trapped in a junkyard, the man strikes one of the gang members on the head with a stick; this
assailant ends up being the man's own son, Freddy, who dies from the blow and whose body is
abandoned by the gang. Realizing what he has done, the man cries out in anguish, "People,
arise! The world is dead."
In Paton's "The Wasteland," what are the protagonist's feelings after killing his own son?
In "The Wasteland," Paton describes the lawlessness and violence inherent in South African
society during the era of apartheid (1948-1994).
Is there any conflict in the story “The Wasteland” by Alan Paton?
The conflict in Alan Paton's short story “The Wasteland” is a very simple one: that between a
father and his son.