The role of silence in the modern Tswana short story

Abstract

In this article I discuss silence as it manifests itself in the modern Tswana short story. I argue that silence is used in the modern Tswana short story as a device of suspense; as an indication of a character's silent acceptance of circumstances and/or faith that things will change for the better; and, that silence can reveal itself as confrontation. This shows that it is not only the narrator who can remain silent about certain events, but also the characters.