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Révin Theron
Dr Megan Jones
English 178
25 October 2021
The Reactive: A literary analysis of its portrayal of masculinity
The Reactive by Masande Ntshanga redefines traditional roles of masculinity in ways
never done before. Throughout the centuries, masculinity has been a rather fragile and toxic
construct - due to its unchanging nature. As we get a glimpse of the world through Lindinathi
(or Nathi for short), we learn that hegemonic views of masculinity are challenged. Over the
course of the book, readers can witness Nathi build an alternative, successful masculinity
through the combination of his isiXhosa culture and other aspects of his identity. In this
essay, we will be delving in to how exactly The Reactive, while affirming isiXhosa traditions,
also challenges hegemonic ideas about what masculine behaviour is.
As for the plot itself, it depicts Cape Town in the year 2003 when Thabo Mbeki was
still in power in South Africa. Lindanathi Mda is our protagonist. He grew up in the Transkei
and later moved to Cape Town with the intention of attending university (Ntshanga 4). Nathi
lives in Observatory with his friends Cissie and Ruan, where he consumes and deals drugs
(Ntshanga 4-18). As Nathi still struggles with the death of his brother Luthando, or LT for
short, the guilt that arises from believing he was the cause behind it, contributes to his selfinfection with HIV (Ntshanga 4-53). Now that he is dealing with his 'reactive' status as well,
he struggles to find meaning in his life. For Nathi, maintaining a job, abstaining from drug
use, and avoiding unsafe sexual encounters are some of the most challenging tasks. It is
unlikely that readers will not feel bad for Nathi at the beginning of the novel. Nathi, however,
meets with a happier ending when he moves to Du Noon. As a result, he finally completes his
initiation into manhood back in the Transkei, forms a new relationship and now accesses his
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ARVS medication (Ntshanga 60). All the above information helps put the abstract from the
essay question into context.
The scene in the abstract takes place when Nathi ison his way to Du Noon (Ntshanga
53). He starts off thinking about his friends and later his train of thought lands years back to
when him and LT first saw people having sex (Ntshanga 53). These memories of his brother
lead him to finally confront the reasons for his guilt and this is where the reader finds out
exactly what role Nathi played in LT’s death. It is revealed that the community in which they
grew up in was speculating about LT’s sexuality and although LT didn’t believe that an
initiation proved any form of masculinity, he still went through with his plan to sneak in
(Ntshanga 53). Nathi was asked to help him, however he never showed up for his brother and
his lack of strength in this moment could have made him feel less of a man. His reason for
self-infection also lies in the passage. Nathi felt as though he didn’t react for LT, thus he gave
his“own body something it couldn’t flee from” (Ntshanga 53).
Further in this scene, the reader finds out that Nathi distanced himself and did not
return for his circumcision because he did not know whether he would live or be “…one of
the guys who’d come out the other side…” (Ntshanga 53). Another reason for his distancing
traces back to his community’s speculation and reaction to LT’s sexuality. He is afraid to be
looked at the same way that LT was by his community (Ntshanga 53). This fear links to
traditional rules of hegemonic masculinity, as being viewed or seen as queer was thought to
tarnish a man’s reputation. Men could not be seen as weak or scared in fear of being thought
of as less of a man.
In the reading, Ratele discusses ‘hegemonic’ masculinities. Men who adhere to
hegemonic masculinity are typically subordinative to women over themselves, exhibit risky
behavior on their behalf, and exhibit heteronormativity. (Ratele 2). Heteronormativity often
falls in line with homophobia as it is not the most accepting of the queer community. Ratele
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does note that men can find ways of expressing their masculinity in a non-hegemonic way
and other forms resulting from this can be classified as ‘successful’ masculinities (2). Back to
hegemonic masculinities, Ratele examines how some hegemonic masculinities are coupled
with a system of unequal power relations, which he refers to as "...ruling masculinities."(3).
Due to this some groups of men die more commonly than others (Ratele 4). In South Africa,
the group with a more frequent chance of death would be black men (Ratele 5-7).
In the novel, Nathi exhibits some of the hegemonic behaviour described in Ratele's
article. Despite exhibiting serious risky behaviour, Nathi is not sexist. He exhibits risky
behaviour by using drugs frequently, having sex with prostitutes without protection, and
putting his life in danger (Ntshanga 4-49). His risky behaviour is fuelled by guilt over his
brother's death. Nathi feels guilty because he didn't defend Luthando when his Transkei
community began to spread false rumours about the sexuality of his brother, but the novel
doesn't specify whether he was heteronormative or not (Ntshanga 53). However, the constant
mentioning that his full name, Lindanathi, his parents had gotten “…from a girl” (Ntshanga
9,53,60) challenges gender and normative ways. As well as the fact that his brother, a large
part of the novel, was not heteronormative.
The ghost of LT's memory haunts Nathi and follows the narrative. On many
occasions, he seems alive. In Nathi's memory, LT was a proud man, however, LT's
masculinity did not align with his community’s expectations (Ntshanga 10-39). He states, that
his brother wasn’t tough but “he fancied himself a township ou” (Ntshanga 10). Due to
hegemonic masculinities' belief that men should be strong, LT's lack of toughness set him
apart and created rumours. While these rumours were not false, he nevertheless received
different treatment by his community. Even though, according to Sakhumzi Mfecane, within
the indoda orders, male hierarchy is determined by circumcision status rather than sexual
orientation. Indoda does not require heterosexuality to qualify (210). However, the following
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text suggests that queerness is not regarded as an acceptable behaviour within their
community:
“LT was one of three recent casualties in our village, and our elders had grown
concerned over this peak in numbers.” (Ntshanga, 39)
Growing up in predominantly white schools, LT and Nathi felt the need to prove their
blackness. As a result, LT felt even more excluded when rumours began spreading about his
sexuality. He had been “…set apart” (Ntshanga, 53). Particularly from Nathi, to whom he
was very close (Ntshanga 53). Even though LT did not "believe in what they said - what he
had to do to become a man"(Ntshanga, 53), circumstances compelled him to pursue it
regardless to win over the community and his family. Nathi admits he "was afraid of being
close" to LT, which, along with his guilt for not showing up and his toxic need to take it like
a man, were major factors in the decision to self-infect (Ntshanga, 53).
As the novel progresses to its end, Nathi’s goes from using words like “limboness” to
using “we” and “our” interchangeably. More change is seen in the car. The drive to Du Noon
allows him to confront his guilt and his behaviour which is a huge step forward in his growth.
It is also revealed that Nathi has completed his initiation and paid a visit to his brother’s
grave (Ntshanga 60). This is supported when Nathi mentions that it had been a week since his
initiation and visit to his brother’s grave (Ntshanga, 60).
The successful completion of his initiation after all this time encourages that The
Reactive does not oppose traditional initiations but instead encourages a more modern
approach. It does this by cultivating Nathi's emotional relationships. Initially, Nathi's
relationships are in the gutter, but they deepen and become meaningful as the novel
progresses. We see this in the scene of the car where he is reminiscing about his friends and
when he is visiting the grave of his brother (Ntshanga 53,60. Through the visit, he also
reaches a conclusion with LT and can now move forward with his life. Finally, Nathi gives
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himself over to vulnerability by going home to experience his initiation with his family, and
again when he has a sexual encounter with Esona (Ntshanga 60). Making a meaningful
relationship with a romantic partner was essential for Nathi's development. As Esona herself
affirms his masculinity through an intimate moment between the two and calls him a "…new
man"(Ntshanga, 60). It is through these vulnerable and intimate moments that the novel “reimagines” masculinity. The only way for Nathi to experience true intimacy was to let himself
be vulnerable, which, in turn, helped him grow as a man. Nathi went from being ‘reactive’ to
learning how to react.
In summary, through the reading by Ratele, we come to learn that there a many
different types of masculinities. While Luthando displayed an alternate masculinity
throughout his scenes, Nathi started off on a more hegemonic page. Through the novel we get
to see him grow out of it. Nathi learnt to embrace his isiXhosa culture while ensuring that he
did not immerse himself in it. He was able to be vulnerable and share intimacy with his loved
ones at the end. Thus, the novel affirms that men can cultivate a powerful and alternative
masculinity through and while blending aspects of their culture with facets of their
personalities.
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Works Cited
Mfecane, Sakhumzi. ‘“Ndiyindoda” [I Am a Man]: Theorising Xhosa Masculinity’.
Anthropology Southern Africa, vol. 39, no. 3, Aug. 2016, pp. 204–14.
Ntshanga, Masande. The Reactive. Two Dollar Radio, 2016.
Ratele, Kopano. ‘Masculinity and Male Mortality in South Africa’. African Safety
Promotion: A Journal of Injury and Violence Prevention, vol. 6, Nov. 2008.