nothing but the truth summary essay

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M. Grant Kellermeyer
Feb 4, 2020

Rhoda Broughton's Nothing But the Truth: A Detailed Summary and a Literary Analysis

In the cold February of 1868, Sheridan Le Fanu's Welsh niece, Rhoda Broughton, published her first ghost story: "The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth" -- a chilling episode based on rumors circulating around London firesides about a house in Mayfair (more on that later). Presaging the subtle domestic terrors of Henry James , and the inexplicable violence of William Hope Hodgson , this collection of letters between two affluent women is a century before its time in the chilling realism that causes it to throb with relatability: who hasn’t secretly boasted of their relationship with a close friend, been hurt when well-intended advice is rejected, or felt annoyed by a sick child?

It isn’t until the jarring, emotional conclusion that events swerve into the unnatural – when Jane Austen morphs into Mary Shelley. They could be emails between your mom and her elderly aunt, or phone conversations between your girlfriend and her sister. That’s what makes the last pages so disquieting. Broughton often sought to locate the dread lurking in the domestic – the secret anxieties, repressions, and rage stuffed into the dark spaces in the minds and hearts of British society women. Externally, all was well-kept, proper, and acceptable, but under the floorboards of even the most wholesome home, corpses may lie rotting.

The story is recorded in letters between two middle-society women – Elizabeth and Cecelia – whose correspondence is lush with the sort of comfortable inside jokes, playful ribbing, and gushing praises that you might expect between two best friends. Elizabeth begins by crowing about the extreme depth of their friendship as evidenced by her tedious search for a suitable West End flat for Cecelia and her new husband. After speaking with over fifty agents, looking at dozens of houses (most of which, she claims, are either only suitable for a duke or a chimney sweep – nothing in between), and combing over each detail, she has finally found a flat that she considers worthy: 32 — Street, Mayfair.

It has everything Cecelia was looking for, down to three windows in the drawing room and a curtain for the door. Indeed, she goes into great detail of the brightness, cheeriness, and lush comfort of what appears to be a very expensive, fashionable flat. Expecting it to be impossibly expensive, she is surprised to find that it will rent for only £300 per annum ($33,000 in 2020). She anticipates Cecelia’s skepticism: the apartment doesn’t have bad plumbing or strange odors, and the previous owner wasn’t a member of the demimonde (indeed, he was a sober, elderly military man with a devoted wife). Crowing with pride, Elizabeth begs Cecelia to look into it. (In a postscript, she apologizes for not being able to tour it with her: her son, Artie, has whooping cough and they will be at a sea resort indefinitely).

Cecelia writes back (after bemoaning Artie’s illness and theorizing that children get sick at the worst times on purpose) to thank her friend and agree: 32 — Street is perfect for her. Although the low rent seems to concern her, she writes it off as a mystery and spends the rest of her letter cheerily rhapsodizing about fashion, trends in facial hair, and the differences between men and women.

Two weeks later, the pithy, Jane Austen-esque tone of their correspondence has been entirely and unexpectedly transformed: “Oh my dearest Bessy, how I wish we were out of this dreadful, dreadful house!” Cecelia’s letter carries the news that the servants have apparently been uncomfortable there all along, sensing something in the rooms with them. The maid nervously informed her that when the cook had some groceries ordered, the delivery man told her that the last family hadn’t lasted there two weeks, and that the house had a “villainously bad name” in the neighborhood: indeed, during the last four years no family had stayed there longer than a month. This horrifies Cecelia, who is deeply superstitious, but her husband scoffs at the idea of being chased off of such excellent real estate based on a grocer’s gossip.

Temporarily soothed, Cecelia turns her thoughts towards the visit of a friend named Adela, and helps the servants prepare her room. As she is bringing a vase of her favorite flowers upstairs, one of the maids is making the bed, and Cecelia enters the room focused on not spilling the water in the vase.

“Suddenly a sort of shiver passed over me; and feeling frightened—I did not know why—I looked up quickly. The girl was standing by the bed, leaning forward a little with her hands clenched in each other, rigid, every nerve tense; her eyes, wide open, starting out of her head, and a look of unutterable stony horror in them; her cheeks and mouth not pale, but livid as those of one that died awhile ago in mortal pain. As I looked at her, her lips moved a little, and an awful hoarse voice, not like hers in the least, said, 'Oh! my God, I have seen it!' and then she fell down suddenly, like a log, with a heavy noise.”

The maid remains unconscious for two hours, but when she is revived, Cecelia is horrified to find her a raving lunatic. The doctor is called, but her recovery is still in doubt by the time she falls asleep from exhaustion at his house. Cecelia is unsure of how to process this horrifying event, but knows for sure that she will never let Adela enter that terrible room.

Elizabeth writes back, evidently concerned, but tries to ease her friend’s mind by suggesting that epilepsy may be to blame, and keeps the subject on the maid’s physical condition, avoiding any suggestion of the supernatural. She closes with some chatty grumbling about Artie’s whooping cough and a plea for Cecelia to keep her updated on “the poor patient’s condition.”

Cecelia writes back two weeks later with horrible news: they have been forced to leave the house at 32 — Street, Mayfair following a fatal tragedy. The housemaid had been removed to an insane asylum – still unrecovered – only shuddering, moaning, and hiding her face when questioned about what she saw. She is describing this bizarre situation to Adela when Ralph Gordon, a strong, handsome cavalry officer arrives unexpectedly. Gordon and Adela seem to be developing a relationship and certainly share a mutual attraction, and, cocksure cavalier that he is, Gordon leaps at the idea of spending the night in the haunted room as a dare.

Cecelia immediately senses something terrible will happen if he goes through with this, and Adela begs him to be sensible, but this only goads him further, and he delights in the idea of waiting up for the ghost with a poker. That night he arrives with one of his fellow officers, and the two prepare a signal: if Gordon rings the room’s bell once it means that he has merely been excited by something and requires no response, but two rings mean that he has seen something definite, and means “come.” He runs up the stairs and is seen no more.

They wait for a white-knuckled hour, but – exactly at eleven o’clock – they hear the bell ring out. Adela and Cecelia charge for the stairs, but the other soldier blocks their way, reminding them of Gordon’s instructions. They wait for a further ten minutes, but the bell then begins to ring violently, persistently. They all rush up the stairs and break into the room – Cecelia and Adela crashing in at the same time.

Gordon is standing in the middle of the room, rigid and petrified, his face scorched with fear – the same as the maid’s. Stretching his arms out, he topples to the floor and – in a husky, strangled voice cries out, “Oh my God! I have seen it!” He was dead.

Broughton ends the tale with five words: "This is a true story..."

"Nothing But the Truth" is far different from what we might expect in a Victorian ghost story if we are only used to the purple prose of Bulwer-Lytton or the ghoulish antics of Varney the Vampire. Broughton’s epistolary sketch is far more interested in psychology than melodramatics. What and why are far less important than how – namely, how the characters respond to the presence of a socially-destabilizing infestation. This story could just as easily have been written about cholera or a house fire, because its victims – ranging from a lower-class female servant to an aristocratic male hussar – are struck down without warning or opportunity for self-defense.

Cecilia’s worldview of protection and privilege is devastated by the May Fair phantom’s rampage – blind to class distinctions, and stripped of mercy. The strong, dependable men of affluence and distinction (whom she and Bessy sexually idolize) are no more capable of staving off death than the illiterate girls who empty their shit pots. The leering Specter of Death, Broughton warns, takes us unawares, regardless of our resistance, evasion, or denial. It is the terror of its devastating menace rather than the horror of its ubiquitous form. As befits the niece of J. S. Le Fanu, Broughton’s grasp of terror is enormous and overwhelming.

Broughton ends her tale by suggesting that it is based in fact, and while this is not expressly accurate, there is a kernel of truth to it. Aficionados of English ghost lore might already recognize her model: the infamous townhouse at 50 Berkeley Square -- "the most haunted house in London." Situated in Mayfair, this four story 18th century brick house overlooks one of London's most opulent neighborhoods, but harbors over two centuries of unsettling ghost stories which center around a nameless, often shapeless "Thing" haunting the attic. The most common legend states that the Thing took up residence there soon after a young woman escaped an abusive relative by jumping to her death from an upper window (others say that a girl was butchered there by a mad servant, or that a mentally challenged man was locked up in the attic and fed through a hole), but all versions agree that "the house contains at least one room of which the atmosphere is supernaturally fatal to body and mind."

The Thing is described as weirdly Lovecraftian for a mid-Victorian ghost story: 'an amorphous blob of mist to a “collection of shadows,” to the humanoid form of a shadowy man, to a slimy ooze with claws and even tentacles, that made “sloppy noises” as it travelled. Whatever it was also apparently had the ability to drive whoever saw it absolutely mad if they gazed upon it long enough, such as was the case of a maid who had allegedly gone into the residence to clean and had later been found stark raving insane.'

Two of the most famous incidents connected with 50 Berkeley are included -- or alluded to -- in Broughton's story: a maid is sent to the lunatic asylum without having the mental power to explain what she saw, and a dashing gentleman dies after accepting a dare to spend the night in the haunted room. According to some sources, the man in question was a hard-living baronet named Sir Robert Warboys, who accepted the dare after a night of drinking in 1840. He had the caretaker of the house admit him to the cursed chamber and they managed to rig up a bell pull in the disused room, for him to call attention if he happened to catch a prankster playing the ghost.

Hardly an hour after the caretaker left Warboys in the dark, he heard the bell suddenly and violently ring out, and as he rushed up the stairs, a pistol shot cracked behind the door. The servant found Warboys cringing in terror on the floor, pointing to a spot on the wall where a bullet hole marked the spot he had seen the Thing. But Warboys died in strangled silence before he could explain more...

Whether any of this is true or not, 50 Berkeley Square had such a hideous reputation in the mid-19th century that Broughton wasn't the only one to adapt its story: Bulwer-Lytton himself used it as the inspiration for his most famous ghost story, "The Haunters and the Haunted," Elliott O'Donnell further developed its lore in a 1924 article (the source of the rumor that two sailors had spent the night there: one impaled himself on the gate jumping through a window after being attacked by a slimey, shadowy, tentacled visitant), and still even H. P. Lovecraft appropriated some of the house's lore for "The Shunned House" and "The Lurking Fear," among others.

You can read the original story HERE!

#victorianghoststories #twominuteanalysis #rhodabroughton

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Novel — Examining “Nothing but the Truth”

Examining "Nothing But The Truth"

Categories: Novel Truth

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Words: 667 |

Published: Sep 12, 2023

Words: 667 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

The story of "nothing but the truth", the characters and their perspectives, themes and implications, relevance in contemporary society, philip malloy:, miss margaret narwin:, dr. joseph palleni:, journalists and media:, freedom of speech:, consequences of actions:, media influence:, patriotism and symbolism:, media and controversy:, patriotism and symbols:.

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NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH GRADE 12 NOTES - LITERATURE STUDY GUIDE

Vocabulary for Nothing But the Truth

You need to know all the words in the lists below. Learn them well! The word lists include:

Vocabulary you need to understand plays in general;
Vocabulary used in the play; and
Vocabulary you need to understand the background of the play.

Vocabulary to understand plays in general

Acts: Parts of a play
antagonist: The character the main character (protagonist) struggles with or competes with
anti-climax: A disappointing end
director: The person who supervises the actors, tells them what to do and makes sure that all the parts of the play, like the acting and the lighting, come to together properly
drama: A play for theatre, radio or television
cast: A group of actors performing in a play or film
central, main character: The person the play is mostly about
characters: The people the play is about
characterisation: The description of a character or the way the actors portray the character they are playing
climax: The crisis point, the most exciting part, a turning point in the story
conflict: Disagreement
costume: What a character wears
dialogue: The characters’ speech
dramatic effect: Something that happens on stage and grabs the audience’s attention
dramatic purpose: A scene has dramatic purpose when it adds to the audience’s or reader’s knowledge about the play and the characters
dramatic irony: When the audience or reader knows more about the situation and what is going on than the characters on stage
dramatic structure: The way the play is put together
euphemism: A polite word or expression used instead of a more direct one to avoid shocking or upsetting someone
exposition: The beginning of the story
falling action: The problem or conflict begins to be resolved
figurative language: The use of words in an imaginative or unusual way, to express an idea indirectly or to create a special effect
irony: When a statement or situation has an underlying meaning that is different from the literal meaning
literally: Exactly
main characters: The most important people in the play
main plot: The most important story the play tells us
metaphor: A figure of speech that uses one thing to describe another in a figurative way
minor characters: The less important people in the play
mood: Atmosphere or emotion; it shows the feeling or the frame of mind of the characters
playwright: A person who writes a play
plot: The main events that take place in the play
preceded by their names: The name comes before the speech
problem drama: A play in which social issues are compared
props: Short for ‘properties’, the property of the character who uses them on stage
protagonist: The main character in a drama
resolution: The play’s ending or conclusion
rising action: The conflict, complication or problem arises
sarcasm: The use of irony to mock or show contempt
Scenes: A division of an act in a play during which the action takes place in a single place without a break in time
set: Arrangement of scenery and props to represent the place where a play (or a film) is taking place
setting: Where and when the drama takes place
soliloquy: When the character speaks his/her thoughts aloud so the audience hears these thoughts, but the other characters don’t
sub-plot: An event or story that is told alongside the main story
symbol: Something that stands for or represents something else
stage directions: Instruction written into the script of a play showing the way the actors should move or what they should do or their emotions when they say something
themes: The main ideas in the play
tone: The attitude of the playwright to a specific character, place, or development

Vocabulary used in the play

Abandoned: Left completely
abiding by: Keeping to
absorbs: Takes in; properly understands
accountability, accountable: Sense of responsibility, responsible
accurate: Correct
adventurous: Ready to do exciting things
affair: A romantic and/or sexual relationship between two people that is usually short
allied: Joined; related analysis: Study; examination
anxious: Nervous apologises: Says sorry
application: A formal request to someone in authority
applying: The act of making a formal request
appointment: Time to meet
arise: Get up
articles: Part of the study for becoming a lawyer
audience: People who watch something
avoid: Try to get away from
awards: Prizes given to honour people for doing something special
awkward: Uncomfortable
betrayal: Unfaithfulness; disloyalty
body language: The way people hold and move their bodies and faces that expresses how they are feeling
challenges: Invites someone to do something difficult
challenged: Disagreed with challenging:
Demanding charming: Pleasing
clerk: Office worker
commits to: Promises
committed: Did
communicate: To express thoughts, feelings or information
complication: Difficulty
confirming: Saying that something is true
connecting: Relating to
consider: Think carefully about
considerate: Thoughtful about the needs of others
contribution: What one gives or does to help with something
conversation: A talk between two or more people in which they give each other information
coward: Someone who is scared of doing something
cremate: Burn a body to ashes
crisis: A time of great difficulty or danger
criticism: Passing judgement, usually negative
crowned: Put a crown on his head, like a king
curious: Inquisitive, wanting to know things
deal with: Get it done properly
declares: Announces
dedication: Devotion to something; the words at the beginning of a book, play or film that mention a person who is important to the author or director
dependence: Great need
deserves: Is worthy of
designer: Someone who creates clothes or stage or film sets
despite: Even though there is something else to consider
diagram: A drawing showing the way something works or the way something should look
disapproving: Believing something is wrong
disclosure: Something that is admitted or no longer hidden
donation: Contribution of money or gifts
dramatic: Of a drama
due to: Because of
dull: Not interesting
duty-free: Free of the tax that people who live in a country have to pay. Visitors do not have to pay it so some shops at airports are duty-free shops
elements: Parts
empowerment: To be enabled, to be given more power
encourages: Gives confidence, courage, inspires, excites
ensured: Made sure
enthusiastic: Showing enjoyment, interest or approval
established: Set up
ethical: Moral; having principles
evidence: Proof
expand horizons: See and do more
experiences: Events that people go through in life and learn from
external: Outside, outer
extreme: Great
facilities: Services like libraries, universities, buses, schools, trains, toilets, etc.
fake: Not real, pretending
fictional: Imaginary, ‘made up’, as in a story, book, play or movie
focusing: Concentrating
followed in his shoes: Did as he did
for donkey’s years: For a long time
frustration: Dissatisfaction
full houses: The theatre was full
gatherings: People coming together
glamorous: Attractive, elegant
glamour: An attractive or exciting quality
granted, granting: Given, giving
grateful: Thankful, appreciative
gross: Major, awful
harsh: Hard, cruel
heal: Get better
hearings: Places where people give evidence or tell their stories in front of a committee, in a court of law or at the TRC
hearse: A large van, usually black, which transports a coffin
hurtful: Painful
imagines: Pictures in his or her mind
indicate: Point to
integrity: Honesty, uprightness
intense: Strong
internal: Inside, inner
internal conflict: The conflict inside oneself
interview: Questions asked when somebody is applying for a job
invites: Asks someone to join in
interpreter: Someone who translates from one language to another
ironic: Biting, mocking
irony: A statement or situation that has an underlying meaning different from its literal or surface meaning
issues: Matters
loyal: Faithful, devoted
materialistic: Concerned about money and the things it can buy
moaning: Complaining
moving: Touching their hearts
murky: Unclear, dark, unsolved
obituary: Notice of the death of a person
opposing: Opposite, contrasting
oppressive: Cruel, disempowering
overreacting: Responding more emotionally than is necessary
outspoken: Says what he/she feels
parallel: Next to, alongside
perpetrator: Somebody who does something, usually something bad
perpetrated: Carried out or committed something bad
pointless: Without reason or purpose
portfolio: A flat case for carrying loose papers or drawings
post-apartheid: After apartheid
pressurise: Encourage with force, persuade
promotion: Advancement, getting a better job
properly accountable: As responsible as one should be
published: Printed in book form
quality: The standard of something as measured against other things of a similar kind; the characteristics of a person
reciting: Performing poetry or other literature before an audience
reconciliation: Rebuilding good relationships or making up with somebody with whom you have had a bad relationship
reconciling: Becoming friendly again
relevance: Importance
remains: Whatever is left of someone after he or she has died, even after a long time
relevant: Important to
relevance: Meaning, importance
resentment: Bitterness
resists: Withstands, opposes, won’t give in to
resolution: Solution
resolved: Solved
retirement: When a person stops working, usually because of age – in the public service in South Africa the retirement age is 65
revealed: No longer hidden
reveals: Shows
selection: Piece chosen
series: A run of one performance after another
serious: Thoughtful, not funny
shattered: Shocked and hurt, broken.
society: Community
still: Not moving
standing ovation: Standing up to clap after a performance
stimulated: Moved, inspired
striking: Noticeable
stuck: Can’t move on
suggests: Puts forward
supported: Backed up
swap: Exchange
tension: Pushing and pulling, pressure, stress
terrible: Very bad
tough: Hard, strict
undertaker: A person who prepares bodies for funerals
urn: A vase for holding the ashes of the cremated dead
versus: Against
victim: Someone who suffers either because of the actions of somebody else or because he or she punishes himself or herself
violate: Disturb; abuse
wrenched: Pulled hard

Vocabulary to understand the background of the play

activism: Campaigning to bring about political or social change
activist: A person who campaigns to bring about political or social change
amnesty: An official pardon for people who have been convicted of committing a political offence
apartheid: The policy of the National Party government of South Africa to separate people and discriminate on the basis of race
banned: Did not allow. During the apartheid years a banned person was not allowed to do many things, including be with more than two other people at the same time
bensorship: Control of what people can read, see and hear
detained: Held in prison without trial
detention: When a person is held in prison without trial he/she is in detention
exile: Being forbidden to return to one’s country of birth
passbook (also called reference book or dompas): The identity document all black people in South Africa during apartheid had to carry all the time
protest: Express opposition to something
perrorist: A person who uses terrorism to achieve a political aim
Struggle, The: the fight for liberation in South Africa
Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC): a body something like a court set up to hear the stories of people who had suffered under apartheid
UDF (United Democratic Front): a non-racial anti-apartheid organisation

Nothing But the Truth

Nothing But the Truth is a contemporary play that deals with modern issues. The play tells one man’s personal story as he questions and reflects on his life and his family during and after apartheid.

Contemporary - Belonging to the present times.
Playwright - A person who writes plays.

1. The playwright

Nothing But the Truth was written by Bonisile John Kani. Kani is an actor, director and playwright. He wrote the play in 2001 and also acted in it when it was first performed at the National Festival of the Arts in Grahamstown in 2002. Kani was born in 1943 and grew up in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth, where the play is set. His career in theatre started while he was still at school in New Brighton, where he performed in plays with Winston Ntshona. He later joined the Serpent Players drama group, formed by the famous playwright Athol Fugard. The group performed plays in the townships that dealt with people’s experiences of living under apartheid. Kani, Fugard and Ntshona wrote several plays together, including Sizwe Bansi is Dead (1972), which was about the harsh pass laws of the apartheid regime. They also wrote The Island (1973), which was about two political prisoners on Robben Island. These plays are known as ‘protest theatre’, as they protested against apartheid.

2. Background

Nothing But the Truth was written some years after the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994. The play explores the question, ‘What do we do with the freedom we have won?’. It reflects the experience in South Africa of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) hearings.

The TRC was set up to help deal with the major human rights violations that took place during apartheid. It gave people who were victims of these violations a chance to tell the story of what happened to them. It also gave the people who committed the crimes or abuses the chance to tell the truth about what they did and to ask for forgiveness.
The TRC hearings were public meetings that were held in different parts of the country.
People who had committed major human rights violations could apply for amnesty for what they had done if they told the whole truth about what had happened at the hearing. ‘Amnesty’ means they were legally pardoned for their crime.

The play tells the story of a man, Sipho Makhaya, who has had a hard and painful life. At the time of the TRC hearings in South Africa Sipho is struggling with his own personal truth and reconciliation process:

Within himself;
With his family;
With his past; and
With his present situation in the ‘new’ democratic South Africa.

Sipho’s memories of the problems between himself and his activist brother, Themba, are brought to life again when Themba dies in exile in London. Mandisa is Themba’s daughter and Sipho’s niece. She brings Themba’s remains back to South Africa to be buried with his family. It is the first time that Sipho and his daughter, Thando, have met Mandisa. The play is about how these three characters remember their past, face family secrets, and manage their present relationships with one another. This play is also about our South African past, present and future. It invites us to think not only about how hard it was to live under apartheid, but also how to make South Africa a better place in the future. The play suggests that freedom brings responsibilities and that reconciliation is one of those responsibilities. The play reflects the challenges and changes that faced South Africa during the early days of the new democracy. By the end of the play, the characters are able to come to terms with the past and they find a sense of truth, justice, forgiveness and empowerment within themselves and with each other. All these elements are part of a process of reconciliation, and of coming to terms with the past.

In a court of law, before a witness gives evidence he or she must promise to tell ‘the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God’. People giving evidence in the TRC hearings also had to make this promise. The fact that the play’s title is Nothing But the Truth suggests that it will reveal some deep, and hidden, truths. In Act 2, a very important hidden truth about the characters is revealed: Sipho confesses that his wife and his brother, Themba, had an affair. This explains the source of his real anger towards his dead brother. This revealed truth is also important to the identity of the two young women in the play: Thando may be Themba’s daughter, not Sipho’s daughter, which would make Thando and Mandisa sisters, not cousins. The play shows that it can be difficult and challenging to tell the truth and to understand and accept it. However, the process can be healing and it can help us to move on from a painful past. This applies to the characters in the play as well as to South Africa as a whole during and after the TRC process. In the play, Kani suggests that by accepting “nothing but the truth” we can achieve reconciliation.

4. How the story is told

4.1 Setting The setting of Nothing But the Truth is a four-roomed house – 46 Madala Street, New Brighton, Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa. The year is 2000. The play opens on the evening before the last day of the TRC hearing about the deaths of the group of political activists known as the Cradock Four. The Cradock Four were four activists who were killed in 1985 on their way home from a meeting in Port Elizabeth. The hearing, in reality, took place in Port Elizabeth in 1998 and 1999. In the play, the characters talk about historical events that took place in South Africa and some of the real political activists who struggled against apartheid.

4.2 Characters This section presents all the characters in Nothing But the Truth:

The three characters whose parts are played on stage by actors: Sipho, Thando and Mandisa; and
The characters we do not see on stage, but whose lives and actions are important to the story.

In a drama, the main character is the protagonist. In Nothing But the Truth the protagonist is Sipho.
The character the protagonist struggles against, or competes with, is called the antagonist. Themba, Sipho’s younger brother, is the antagonist, even though his character never appears on stage. Mandisa also takes on her father’s role as the antagonist in the play.
The conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist creates tension in the play, which helps to keep the audience interested in the story.

Characters that appear on stage

Sipho Makhaya Sipho is assistant Chief Librarian at the Port Elizabeth Public Library, where he has worked for almost 33 years. He is 63 years old, only two years away from retirement. Important aspects to his character to be aware of are:

His personal truth and reconciliation process: At the start of the play Sipho is angry and resentful about things that happened to him in the past. He blames his younger brother, Themba, for many of these. During the play we see Sipho change as he accepts what happened and realises that his brother was not to blame for everything. He forgives his brother and is able to move on with his life. In his soliloquy at the end of the play, Sipho says he loves Themba and he begins to laugh as he imagines himself as the Chief Librarian of the new library he plans to create.
His respect for tradition and sense of duty towards his family: Examples of Sipho’s respect for African traditions include his shock at Themba’s cremation, when he had planned a traditional funeral. He has also raised Thando up according to traditional African values, expecting her to show respect for traditional marriage customs and mourning periods. As the eldest male in the house, he expects to be consulted before any important decisions are made.
His work as a librarian: Sipho takes great pride in his work, and is terribly disappointed and angry when he doesn’t get the job of Chief Librarian. However, by the end of the play he has reconciled himself to this loss and plans to build the first African public library in New Brighton, of which he will be the Chief Librarian.

Thando Makhaya She is Sipho’s daughter. Thando is a teacher and also works as an interpreter, or translator, at the amnesty hearings of the TRC. She is planning a traditional marriage to her boyfriend, Mpho. Thando is a strong, independent woman who is also very caring. She has a social conscience and wants to contribute to society’s well-being. This is shown by her work for the TRC, which she says she does not do for the money. She is caring and helpful towards her family. She also respects traditional African culture. For example, she says that Mpho’s uncles want to discuss lobola with Sipho. She generally accepts her father’s authority, although she is not afraid to challenge him when she thinks he is being too old-fashioned or unreasonable. For example, when Sipho is angry because Themba has been cremated, she says: “Daddy! Some black people here are also going for cremation these days”. (Act 1, Scene 2). Also, in Act 2 she makes her own decision to go to Johannesburg and says that she will go whether or not her father gives his permission.

Mandisa McKay Mandisa is Sipho’s niece and the daugher of Themba, Sipho’s younger brother. She was born in Camden Town in England. She studied fashion design at college. This is her first visit to South Africa. In contrast to Thando who grew up with traditional African customs, Mandisa was raised with modern ‘western’ values. She is materialistic and likes shopping, as can be seen by the many bags she arrives with. She is also independent and is not afraid to say exactly what she thinks. For example, she calls what Sipho says about Themba, “drunken drivel” (Act 2, Scene 1). Unlike her cousin Thando, Mandisa does not believe in the TRC process. She thinks the TRC forgives people too easily.

Important characters that do not appear on stage

A. characters related to the makhaya family.

Themba Makhaya Themba was Sipho’s younger brother. He was a political activist, working to end apartheid. He went into exile and never returned to South Africa, although his ashes were brought back by his daughter, Mandisa. However, we know that he missed South Africa because Mandisa tells us that he often talked about “home”. There are two sides to Themba’s character: the public image, and the hidden, private side. Publicly, Themba was admired as a struggle hero and influential speaker by his community. He was known to be handsome and ‘a ladies’ man’. Privately, Themba was a selfish person who always put his own needs first. For three years, Themba had a sexual relationship with Sindiswa, Sipho’s wife. He was too cowardly to face his brother for this terrible betrayal. However, he loved his family, and Sipho especially. We know this because Mandisa says that he talked about Sipho a lot towards the end of his life.

Luvuyo Makhaya Luvuyo was Sipho’s son. Like his uncle Themba, Luvuyo was a political activist. He was a poet and was shot by police when he was reading his poetry at a funeral. People in the local community still talk about him.

Sindiswa Makhapela Sindiswa is Sipho’s wife and Thando’s mother. She left Sipho and her baby, Thando, after Sipho found out about her sexual relationship with Themba.

Thelma McKay Thelma is Mandisa’s mother. She is a human rights activist and has worked for Amnesty International for a long time. It was her decision to cremate Themba. Although both Thelma and her parents were born in London, she and Mandisa still visit Thelma’s family in Barbados, in the West Indies.

Mpho He is Thando’s boyfriend and they are planning to get married. He is a History teacher.

Derek Loxworth He was Mandisa’s boyfriend in England. Mandisa says he is a “true gentleman”, from a rich family.

B. Characters that help with the funeral arrangements

Mr Khahla: He is the undertaker who helps with Themba’s funeral. He was also at Sipho’s father’s funeral in 1987. Reverend Haya: He advises Sipho about Themba’s funeral arrangements. He was also at Sipho’s father’s funeral in 1987.

C. Characters that worked with Sipho

Mrs Meyers: She gave Sipho a job at the library when he left the law firm. When her husband died Mrs Meyers left South Africa to live in England, but before she left she promoted Sipho to Assistant Chief Librarian. Mrs Potgieter: She is the former Chief Librarian of the Port Elizabeth public library. She recommended Sipho for the job of Chief Librarian. Mr Spilkin: He is the lawyer, from Spilkin & Spilkin Attorneys, for whom Sipho worked as a clerk. Mr Spilkin did not keep the promise he made to Sipho – that Sipho could study to be a lawyer.

4.3 Structure and plot development

This section shows how the plot of Nothing But the Truth develops in a way that keeps the audience interested.

The structural elements of a plot

The main plot

The main event in the plot of Nothing But the Truth is Themba’s funeral. This event brings the main characters together. The conversation and debate among the characters bring back the memories that are the focus of the play. Sipho has organised a traditional funeral for his brother. Sipho’s relationship with Themba is one of the important complications in the plot. However, there is a further complication – Themba’s body has been cremated (burnt), so there is no body for burial, only a container full of ashes.

Sub-plots are events, or stories, that are told alongside the main plot. The sub-plots in this play include:

Sipho’s application for the job of Chief Librarian;
South Africa’s TRC process following the end of apartheid;
Mandisa inviting Thando to go with her to Johannesburg, and Thando’s decision to go; and
Other events that Sipho remembers from his past. For example, his first and subsequent jobs, his father’s funeral and Luvuyo’s death.

The main ideas in a play are called themes. The main themes in Nothing But the Truth are outlined below.

Truth and reconciliation Reconciliation is a process of finding peace where there was once conflict. It involves understanding the truth and feeling that the problem has been solved fairly. As a healing process, reconciliation involves the people who have caused harm understanding the suffering that they have caused others and apologising for it. On the other hand, it involves forgiveness being granted to these people by the people who suffered because of their actions.This helps the victims let go of negative feelings like resentment and anger, and to move on with their lives. In the play, the theme of truth and reconciliation is shown through the characters’ different views of the purpose of the TRC, as well as in the personal truth and reconciliation process that Sipho goes through.

Sibling rivalry ‘Sibling rivalry’ refers to the jealousy and struggle for power between brothers and sisters. Sipho gives examples of the rivalry between himself and his brother, such as when his father made Sipho give Themba his wire bus. The most hurtful part of the sibling rivalry was the fact that their father always favoured Themba. Sipho says, “My father openly favoured Themba and it hurt.” (Act 2, Scene 1)

Being the victim or taking responsibility Sometimes when bad things happen to people they begin to feel like victims, as though they cannot control what happens to them. In the play, Sipho sounds like a victim when he talks about what was taken from him in the past, and he blames his brother for many of his losses. However, by the end of the play he realises that he cannot blame Themba for everything. He realises that he has to take some responsibility for what happened and for what he can do in the future.

Traditional and modern culture Culture relates to beliefs, attitudes and values that influence our behaviour, community and society. We live in a world with many different cultures that change and influence each other. Tradition refers to cultural practices, or customs, that are passed on from one generation to another. In the play, aspects of traditional African culture are contrasted with Mandisa’s attitude and behaviour, which has been influenced by the fact that she grew up in a modern, materialistic society. For example, Mandisa cannot believe that Thando will allow Sipho to forbid her to go to Johannesburg if she wants to: “Girl! ‘He won’t allow you’!”. Thando answers: “Things are different here. This is not London. There are rules in this house.” (Act 1, Scene 2)

Exile The play reflects some of the tensions between people who stayed in South Africa during the struggle and those who went into exile, like Themba, Sipho’s brother.

Political elites and the ordinary person This theme is about how politicians in a democracy do not always serve the ordinary people who vote them into power. Sipho describes how politicians took over his father’s funeral. When he does not get promoted, simply because of his age, Sipho is critical of the South African government. He feels the politicians have forgotten to recognise and empower the ordinary people who fought for freedom, and who voted for them. Near the end of Act 2, Scene 1, Sipho says that he will write a letter to the President, to remind him that: “… I voted for him. I put them in power. I paid for this freedom. I paid with my son’s life. My brother died in exile. They must never forget the little people like me. … We have dreams too.”

4.5 Symbols

A symbol is something that stands for or represents something else. Here are examples of some of the symbols in Nothing But the Truth:

The passbook and baptismal certificate represent apartheid.
The bus and the blazer are symbols of the sibling rivalry between Themba and Sipho.
The urn represents Themba, who has finally returned to South Africa. As Sipho had been expecting Themba’s body for burial, it also represents the conflict between traditional and modern culture.
The dress, designed by Nandipha Madikiza, symbolises the link between South Africa and the rest of the world. Mandisa’s excitement about the dress and her desire to meet Nandipha shows that Mandisa, who knows about international fashion, thinks that something that looks so African will be appreciated internationally.
The first African public library in New Brighton is a symbol of black empowerment, and that education is important for everyone. It is also symbolic of Sipho’s new life, where he takes responsibility and is no longer a victim.

Kani’s writing style helps us to imagine what is happening on stage and the events the characters are talking about. It makes the events come alive for readers and audiences.

5.1 Diction and figurative language

Diction refers to the writer’s choice of words and how they are used. In Nothing But the Truth, Kani uses ordinary, everyday language. This gives the play a realistic feeling. Figurative language is the use of words in an imaginative or unusual way to express an idea or to create a special effect. Some examples of figurative language used are:

Metaphor: Thando uses a metaphor in her conversation with Mandisa: MANDISA: Have you got time? It’s a long story. THANDO: We are going nowhere. I am all ears. (Act 1, Scene 2)

This metaphor means that Thando is ready to listen – she is not literally made of ears!

Irony: In this quotation below Thando is being funny, but in a bitter way. She says to Sipho: A baptismal certificate, of course, that’s all you old people have. The only proof for black people that they truly existed [laughs]. (Act 1, Scene 1)

Thando is being ironic: obviously black people existed, so the certificate cannot be the only proof. This is also an example of dark humour, which is talking about something that is serious in a humouress way. It can make you laugh, even if it makes you feel uncomfortable.

Dramatic irony: Stage directions can be used to create a situation in which the timing of the actors’ entrances and exits on stage, contributes to dramatic irony. There is dramatic irony when the audience or reader knows more about the situation and what is going on than the characters on stage. Dramatic irony adds to the tension, or excitement in the play.

For example, twice during the play the audience sees Sipho come on stage and listen to Mandisa and Thando talking. However, the two women do not know that Sipho is there – only the audience is aware that he is listening.

5.2 Dialogue

The characters’ speech is called dialogue. The characters’ names are written in bold capital letters before their speech. Kani uses realistic dialogue to make the characters easy to relate to and understand.

5.3 Soliloquy

A soliloquy is a speech that an actor makes that only the audience hears, even if there are other characters on the stage. It is often used to show the inner thoughts and feelings of a character. There are three soliloquies in Nothing But the Truth:

In the first two soliloquies, Sipho is alone on stage and talks to and about his brother, Themba. Sipho’s emotions here are resentful, angry and self-pitying.
In the third soliloquy at the end of the play, Sipho talks of his dream of building the first African public library in New Brighton. His emotions have changed to forgiveness and optimism.

5.4 Dramatic elements

In Nothing But the Truth the stage looks like the inside of an ordinary four- roomed house in New Brighton. During the play the characters enter and leave the house and move between the kitchen, living room and bedrooms. The audience can see into the living room and kitchen, but not into the bedrooms. Stage directions are instructions for the director of the play and the actors. For example, they suggest how the actors should move, where they should stand, what they need to wear, or carry, the lighting and other specific things to be shown on stage. The stage directions are written in italics. They are also in square brackets if they come immediately after the name of a character. For example:

MANDISA [looking at both of them]: It’s amazing. You do look like my father. SIPHO [stunned]: He was my brother. Blackout. (Act 1, Scene 2)

‘Blackout’ is a stage direction for lighting. It means turn off all the lights, so the stage is dark.

The word ‘props’ is short for ‘properties’ (meaning the property of the character/actor who uses these items on stage). Props are anything moveable on the stage, for example, Mandisa’s luggage, or the tea tray. The props the actors use on stage often tell us more about the characters. For example, while Sipho is on the phone in Act 1, Scene 1:

[THANDO rushes in, carrying her briefcase, handbag and books.]

These props suggest that Thando is serious, works hard and reads.

By contrast, when Mandisa arrives from the airport she carries a fashion designer’s portfolio (a flat case for carrying drawings) and a bag from an airport duty free shop (where things are sold without adding tax), which, we find out later, contains a bottle of whisky.

What characters wear, their costume, also tells us something about their character. For example, the play begins with Sipho putting on his Sunday suit. This shows the importance and seriousness of the situation – meeting Mandisa, who has come from England with Themba’s remains. It also shows that Sipho is conservative in the way he dresses. This contrasts with Mandisa’s glamorous clothes.

5.5 Tone and mood

Tone is the feeling, or atmosphere created by the author. In Nothing But the Truth the lighting and scenery does not change during the scenes. However, changes in tone are shown through the dialogue and the sound of the actors’ voices. The author uses stage directions, such as [pause] or [laughs], to show changes in tone. The tone changes dramatically throughout the play. At points where the characters are arguing, the tone becomes angry; when the characters have sorted out their differences, the tone becomes calm and hopeful. There are also light-hearted moments, when the tone is humouress.
Mood is the feeling that a person gets reading or watching the play. The setting, props and actors’ voices and movements all contribute to creating the mood. How did reading Nothing But the Truth make you feel? Happy, sad, angry or indifferent?

Act 1, Scene 1

Act 1, Scene 2
Thursday evening, at Sipho and Thando’s house
Sipho and Thando are getting ready for Mandisa’s arrival
Sipho has questions to answer about the past

1. What happens and who is involved?

4. Diction and figurative language

Metaphor The metaphor in the extract below shows how important the wire bus was to Sipho. It must have really saddened him when his parents ordered him to let Themba have the bus and Themba took it from him so forcefully. Read the extract and then the note that follows. [Sipho tells Thando how Themba took his wire bus when they were young boys.]

SIPHO: […] He wrenched it out of my hands. My finger bled a little, because of the force with which he grabbed it from me. The wire cut my finger. He drove it away. I watched him go with a piece of my heart and love for my wire bus. Themba had a lot of toy cars my father bought for him from town. He did not need that wire bus. He took it because it was mine.
(Act 1, Scene 1)

“A piece of my heart” is a metaphor for the emotional attachment that Sipho had for his bus. It does not literally mean that a piece of Sipho’s heart was taken.

5. Tone and mood

In this first scene there is a sense of mystery. The tone is one of suspense because of the information that is being withheld:

Sipho has questions he wanted Themba to answer.
Why did Themba not come back from exile?
Why does Sipho not talk to Thando about Luvuyo, Thando’s mother and Themba?

The audience, and Thando, wonder what is going on. The truth will be revealed slowly. The mood is the way the play makes the reader or audience feel. Did this scene make you feel happy, sad, angry or indifferent?

Activity 1 Read the extract below and then answer the questions that follow. [Thando and Sipho talk before they leave for the airport with Mr Khahla.]

THANDO: Have you tried to find her?
SIPHO: She left me. I don’t think she wanted to be found.
THANDO: And me?
SIPHO: No. She loved you very much.
THANDO: How can you say that! How could you know that?
SIPHO: I know. She loved you.
THANDO: How could you know that?
SIPHO: Because I do!
THANDO: There are three things you know because you do.
Three things you do not want to talk about – my mother, my brother, Luvuyo,
and my Uncle Themba.
SIPHO: Let the dead rest.
THANDO: You have just said my mother is not dead.
SIPHO: I know.
THANDO: Because you do.
SIPHO: Are we going to use your car to follow the undertaker?
I don’t fancy riding in the hearse.
THANDO: Of course. You are alive aren’t you?
How could I let you ride in a hearse?
SIPHO: Not yet. It’s not my time yet. This old ticker [pointing tohis heart]
tells me it’s not going to be long though.
THANDO: You! You will outlive us all.
SIPHO: That’s what my father said. It’s like a punishment,
to witness the pain of losing all those you love, to be alone.
THANDO: Dad, you will never be alone. I’ll always be with you.
SIPHO: What about Mpho! When you get married?

Note: The word relationship has two meanings:

How two people are related like mother and son
The way a person feels about another person

In your answer to question one, you can either say how Sipho and Thando are related or you can say how they feel about each other

State the relationship between the two speakers in this extract. (1)
Refer to line 1 (“Have you tried to find her?”). About whom are Thando and Sipho speaking? (1)
Refer to line 2 (“She left me ... to be found.”). If you were the stage director of this play, what would you: a) Tell Sipho to do while saying these words? (1) b) Want his face to express? (1)
What do Thando’s words in lines 1 to 11 tell us about her feelings? State TWO points. (2)
Refer to lines 16 and 17 (“Are we going ... in the hearse?”). Why do Thando and Sipho arrange for a hearse to go to the airport? (1)
Complete the following sentence by filling in the missing word. Write down only the question number and the word. Sipho never talks about ... because he is afraid of losing Thando to him. (1)
Is the following statement TRUE or FALSE? Write ‘true’ or ‘false’ and give a reason for your answer. Mandisa’s father was killed by the police. (2) [10]

Act 1, Scene 2

Thursday evening in the kitchen and living room of Sipho and Thando’s home
Mandisa arrives with Themba’s remains

1. What happens and who is involved

In terms of the plot structure, this scene forms part of the rising action. The fact that Themba’s body has been cremated complicates Sipho’s plans for Themba’s funeral. The questions posed in Act 1, Scene 1 are not answered fully, but we hear a bit more about what happened to Themba and Luvuyo.

Sipho comes on stage carrying an urn. He puts it on the table, sits down in his chair and stares at the urn.
Thando comes into the room carrying suitcases and bags. Mandisa follows her, carrying a fashion designer’s portfolio and a bag from a duty-free shop.
Thando says that Mandisa can stay with them until after the funeral on Saturday.
Sipho argues with Mandisa because she has come with Themba’s ashes, in an urn. He did not know that he had been cremated. He had expected Mandisa to bring Themba’s body and has made a lot of effort to plan a proper traditional funeral for his brother.
Mandisa explains that it had been her mother’s wishes to cremate him, and that Sipho had not replied to her letter informing him.
Sipho is worried about the funeral arrangements. He rushes out to talk to Mr Khahla, Reverend Haya and his uncle.
Mandisa agrees to stay with Thando and Sipho. She phones the hotel to cancel her reservation.
Thando and Mandisa tell each other about themselves and their lives. They are very different.
Mandisa asks Thando to go with her to see Nandipha, a fashion designer in Johannesburg.
Thando invites Mandisa to come with her to the TRC hearings.
The most famous student uprisings in South Africa began in Soweto on 16 June 1976. Youth Day, on 16th June each year, is in honour of those young people.
Thando asks Mandisa why her father, Themba, did not return to South Africa when Nelson Mandela was released from prison. Mandisa says: “His job. It was not the right time. Things had to settle down first. They had a life in England, they could not just uproot themselves. Besides they would consider it when my father’s health had improved. It never did.”
Near the end of the scene Sipho returns. He says that there will still be a traditional funeral for Themba.
Thando explains to Mandisa how Sipho refused to let the TRC investigate who killed his son Luvuyo.
Thando invites Mandisa to come with her to the conclusion of the Cradock case.

Traditional and modern culture

Mandisa thinks it is enough to mourn her dead father for two weeks. Thando explains that in her African tradition one should mourn for a month.
Cremation is accepted by Mandisa who grew up in London, but not by Sipho as cremation is not part of African culture.
Themba had wanted to be buried “closer to his ancestors”.
Mandisa doesn’t understand when Sipho speaks isiXhosa and he has to translate for her.
Mandisa’s parents expected her to marry her “kind”: either a black man from the West Indies, or a black South African man.
Mandisa explains what it was like to be born in England, but to always hear from her father about her unknown “home”, South Africa.
Mandisa tells the story of how Themba first studied in Nigeria before moving to England. She says, “Our house was like a halfway house for all South Africans”.

Dramatic irony This extract below shows a moment of dramatic irony towards the end of this scene. [Thando and Mandisa are in the living room. Mandisa has just finished telling Thando about her boyfriends.]

THANDO: And now?
SIPHO enters from the kitchen.
MANDISA: Well now, I am fresh on the market. My work has kept me busy preparing for the London Fashion Week. I really want to make a good impression. If things go well, I might get an offer from one of the big fashion houses.
THANDO: Mmn. Wow!
MANDISA: That is why I would like to see as many designers here as possible, before I go back to London. So it’s very important that I meet this Ms Nandipha in Jo’burg. So please will you come with me? SIPHO: To where?
THANDO: Tata, you are back. What happened?

Earlier in the scene, Thando has said that Sipho will not allow her to go to Johannesburg with Mandisa so soon after the funeral. The dramatic irony here is that the audience knows that Sipho will not like what he hears Mandisa say. It will be another thing that he disagrees with Mandisa about. It increases the tension in the play.

A dramatic ending to the scene The scene ends in a dramatic way, as shown in the extract below. Then stage instruction “Blackout” means that the lights are suddenly switched off. This emphasises a sense of drama and the audience looks forward to the next scene, in which they hope they will learn the truth. [In response to Thando’s question, Sipho explains that there will be a funeral on the Saturday.]

SIPHO: My uncles have agreed that the ox must be slaughtered on Saturday to clear his passage to the ancestors.
MANDISA: Thank God.
SIPHO: You can say that again. I have already told the undertaker. He has agreed.
MANDISA: So Mom and I are off the hook then?
SIPHO: For the moment. There are a lot of things we still have to talk about young girl. You still have not answered my question … where do you want to take Thando to?
THANDO: Mandisa wants to see some fashion designers. She wants me to go with her to Johannesburg after the funeral, if it’s OK with you.
SIPHO: We will talk about that later.
MANDISA [looking at both of them]: It’s amazing. You do look like my father.
SIPHO [stunned]: He was my brother.
Blackout.

Why is Sipho so shocked? Themba is related to Sipho and Thando, so it makes sense they look like him. Is there something that we don’t yet know?
Sipho’s reaction gives us a warning of a secret that will be revealed in Act 2: that it may be Themba, not Sipho, who is Thando’s father.
Sipho describes his brother’s dead body as being “burnt”. In fact, this is what happens when someone’s body is cremated. However, Mandisa and Thando prefer to use the word “cremated” because it does not seem as horrible as saying that Themba’s body was “burnt”. Cremated is a more polite way of saying it, and is therefore a euphemism.

Local languages and slang

Mandisa tries a little to speak isiXhosa, and Sipho does so on several occasions. This helps to make the play more realistically South African. The use of colloquial expressions (slang) such as “skokiaan joints” also make it more realistically South African.

Much of the scene has an uneasy tone. This is created by the fact that the family still needs to bury Themba, and there are strong differences of opinion between Mandisa and Sipho. The scene ends with a dramatic tone. The lights suddenly go out, which emphasises a sense of drama and the audience looks forward to the next scene, in which they hope they will learn the truth. The mood is the way the play makes the reader or audience feel. Did this scene make you feel happy, sad, angry or indifferent?

Activity 2 Read the extract below and then answer the questions that follow. [Thando and Mandisa discuss their families.]

THANDO: You are not staying a little longer ... I mean to mourn?
MANDISA: My father died two weeks ago. I’ve done all the mourning
... I’ve got work to do now.
THANDO: My father would expect us to show some respect for at least a month as children. Elderly people mourn much longer. He won’t allow me to go with you to Jo’burg.
MANDISA: Girl! ‘He won’t allow you’!
THANDO: Things are different here. This is not London. There are rules in this house. For as long as I am staying with him under his roof there are rules and they’re his rules [laughing]. Would you like some tea?
She goes to the kitchen.
MANDISA [following her]: Yes, love some.
THANDO: You were telling me about yourself.
MANDISA: My mother works for Amnesty International and has done for donkey’s years. She met my father in Lagos, Nigeria, where she was working at the Amnesty office. Love at first sight – as my father used to say. They both came to London and got married – I was born ...
THANDO: Any brothers and sisters?
MANDISA: Nope. I am the only child.
THANDO: I had a brother, Luvuyo, not from my mom though, but he died ... he was killed.
MANDISA: During the riots. Yes my daddy told me.
THANDO: Not riots. Student uprisings. My father was devastated. Every morning for months his pillow would be soaked with tears. Always hid his tears from me. Didn’t want me to feel that he loved him more than me. I know he did. African men love their sons more than their daughters.

What TWO characteristics of Thando’s are shown in lines 4 – 5 (“My father would ... month as children”)? (2)
In line 7 Mandisa says, “Girl! ‘He won’t allow you’!” a) If you were the stage director, what would you want Mandisa’s face to express? (1) b) Explain why she should have this expression. (2) c) What do Mandisa’s words in this line show you about the way she was raised? (1)
What does Mandisa mean when she says “donkey’s years” in line 16? (1)
Thando believes that a long mourning period for the loss of a loved one is good. Mandisa disagrees with her. Discuss your view on this matter. (2)
Is the following statement TRUE or FALSE? Give a reason for your answer. Sipho is pleased when Mandisa arrives with Themba’s ashes for burial. (2)
Match the names in COLUMN A to the descriptions in COLUMN B. (4) [15]


(a) Themba	A Fashion designer
b) Sipho	B Translator
c) Thando	C Activist
d) Nandipha Madikiza	D Librarian
	E Writer

Act 2, Scene 1

Act 2 only has one long and complex scene. To make it easier to learn about, the act is divided into two parts in this study guide:

Part 1: Tando and Mandisa talk about the TRC and Sipho talks about his early work experience. Thando and Mandisa disagree about tradition; Sipho is provoked (see pages 30 to 36 in this study guide).
Part 2: Sipho talks about what Themba took from him; Sipho forgives Themba and reconciles with his past; Sipho plans for his future (see pages 37 to 46 in this study guide).
Thando and Mandisa talks about the TRC
Sipho talks about his early working life
Thando and Mandisa disagree about tradition
Sipho is provoked

1. What happens and who is involved In terms of the plot structure, this first part of scene is the rising action. There are several conflicts between the characters, and Sipho has not yet confessed the whole truth.

Thando and Mandisa come back from the TRC hearing.
Thando looks for Sipho, but he is not at home, which is unusual. She remarks that Mandisa was quiet on the way home from the hearing.
Mandisa opens her bottle of whisky and pours herself a drink.
Thando and Mandisa talk about the TRC process. They have different opinions about it.
Sipho enters the kitchen just after Mandisa has poured herself another drink. He puts the lid on the whisky bottle and stands at the living room door listening to Thando and Mandisa. The women do not know that he is there until he speaks.
Sipho is home late because he has been drinking at Sky’s shebeen. He is disappointed. He did not get the job of Chief Librarian because he is too old.
The phone rings. It is Reverend Haya. Sipho leaves the stage to go and talk with him about Themba’s obituary.
Thando is worried about Sipho. This is the first time she has seen him drunk since Luvuyo died. Also, he has never spoken about Themba before. Mandisa suggests that it is the drink that is making him talk.
Mandisa suggests they go out for dinner with Mpho, but Thando says they have a funeral the next day and must stay home to show respect.
Thando goes into the kitchen to prepare some food.
Mandisa has decided to stay for a few extra days after the funeral. She asks Thando to go with her to Johannesburg for a week.
Thando goes into her bedroom to put on the dress she bought from the fashion designer, Nandipha, to show Mandisa. The phone rings and Mandisa answers. It is Mrs Potgieter calling to ask how Sipho is and say she is sorry that he did not get the job.
Thando comes back into the living room wearing a beautiful dress. She does not think that Sipho will agree to her going to Johannesburg, although she wants to go. Mandisa persuades her to come with her, and she agrees.
Sipho comes in through the kitchen door. The women do not see him. He hears Mandisa ask Thando to go with her to London. Again, Thando is not sure that her father would agree. They argue about Thando needing to ask her father’s permission to go to Johannesburg or London. Sipho does not give Thando a good reason for not allowing her to go. It seems that he is afraid that he will lose her.
Mandisa says that her father said that “Uncle Sipho always put other people’s happiness first. His family’s happiness came first, even before his own. Well it’s obvious then that Uncle Sipho has changed.”
Mandisa provokes Sipho even more. She tells him to give up the library and live – and let Thando live too. Thando shouts from the bedroom to tell her to shut up, but Mandisa goes on. Thando trying to prevent conflict between her father and Mandisa shows the caring side of her character.
Mandisa says that her father was right, Sipho was jealous because Themba was a hero of the struggle.
Sipho asks Mandisa why Themba did not return to South Africa, like the other exiled leaders. At this point in the play, the action is getting near to the climax.

2. Themes Sibling rivalry

Sipho remembers how “sad and angry” he felt when his father somehow found the money to send Themba to Fort Hare University, and how Sipho too had given Themba money while he was a student. Sipho says, “My father openly favoured Themba and it hurt.”
Mandisa tries to provoke Sipho by claiming that the source of the sibling rivalry was Sipho’s jealousy because of Themba’s status as a struggle hero.
The Cradock Four: Four anti-apartheid activists (Matthew Goniwe, Fort Calata, Sparrow Mkonto and Sicelo Mhlauli) were killed between Cradock and Port Elizabeth by security policemen in 1985. The security policemen applied for amnesty for their deaths.
The Pebco Three: On 8 May 1985, Port Elizabeth Black Civic Organisation (PEBCO) members Sipho Hashe, Champion Galela, and Qaqawuli Godolozi disappeared. Former apartheid security police confessed during the TRC hearings in 1997 to murdering them.
The assassination of Ruth First: While she was living in exile in Mozambique in 1982, Ruth First was killed by a parcel bomb that had been sent to her by South African government agents. Two men later applied for amnesty for her murder.
The assassination of Jeanette Schoon and her daughter: Jeannette Schoon was living in exile in northern Angola. The letter bomb that killed her and her six-year-old daughter, Katryn, was delivered to her by Craig Williamson, a spy for the security police. Williamson was granted amnesty by the TRC.
The assassination of Chris Hani: Chris Hani was the leader of the South African Communist Party and chief of staff of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). He was shot and killed by Janusz Walus, a Polish immigrant, in Johannesburg in 1993. Walus and Clive Derby-Lewis, a senior South African Conservative Party MP, were convicted of his murder.
Sipho continues to question why Themba chose to remain in exile after democracy was won.
Sipho does not get the job as Chief Librarian. Instead, he bitterly remarks that the unknown person who did get the job “is from exile or something”. Sipho sarcastically adds that, these days, being a former exile is a qualification. This reflects some of the tension between returning exiles and those who stayed in South Africa during apartheid that existed when the country was newly liberated.
Thando’s respect for tradition contrasts with Mandisa’s lack of understanding of African customs. Thando says they have a funeral the next day and must stay in and show respect for the customs that are traditional when a family member dies.
Mandisa cannot believe that Thando, a grown woman, can be told by her father what she should or should not do. She does not share Thando’s absolute respect for Sipho’s traditional role as the senior male head of the household.

3. Style Dramatic irony

Sipho comes in through the kitchen door. The women do not see him and continue talking. He hears Mandisa ask Thando to go with her to London. The fact that they talk honestly about their plans without knowing that Sipho is secretly listening creates dramatic irony. This increases the tension and sense of conflict between Mandisa and Sipho.

4. Diction and figurative language Sarcasm

When Sipho says, “Like father, like daughter!” to Mandisa, he is making a bitter joke using sarcasm. The usual expression is, “Like father, like son”, which means that the son takes after his father. Sipho is accusing Mandisa of being like her father by taking everything Sipho loves away from him.
The second act begins with a thoughtful and bitter tone as Thando and Mandisa discuss what they heard at the TRC amnesty hearings. They disagree about whether the crimes committed by the apartheid security police and the suffering of black South Africans generally can be so easily forgiven.
As the conflict between Mandisa and a drunk Sipho increases, the tone becomes more and more uneasy and bitter.
The mood is the way the play makes the reader or audience feel. Did this scene make you feel happy, sad, angry or indifferent?
Explain why Mandisa is so quiet on the way home from the hearings. State TWO points. (2)
Mandisa believes that people who committed murder are forgiven too easily at the TRC. Do you agree? Explain your answer. (2)
Explain how Thando and Mandisa differ in their views on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. (2)
Complete the following sentences by filling in the missing words. Write down only the question numbers and the word(s). Mrs Potgieter is sorry that (a) … did not get the job of (b) … Sipho’s current job is (c) … Chief Librarian. (3)
Is the following sentence TRUE or FALSE? Give a reason for your answer. Thando does not respect traditional customs related to mourning. (2)
Sipho is a very traditional man. Do you think tradition is still relevant in South Africa today? Discuss your view. (2) [13]

Part 2: Act 2, Scene 1

Sipho talks about what Themba took from him
Sipho forgives Themba and reconciles with his past
Sipho plans for his future

1. What happens and who is involved In terms of the plot structure, Sipho revealing the truth about Themba to Mandisa and Thando is the climax of the play. This second part of the scene also contains the falling action, as the plot reaches a resolution.

His father’s funeral, and how it was turned into a political rally;
Themba being good at talking, but not having to suffer the consequences of the political action he encouraged others to take;
Themba flirting and sleeping with many different women; and
Luvuyo going to recite poems at a little girl’s funeral even though Sipho had asked him not to go, because he knew there would be trouble.
When Thando asks why Themba left South Africa, and why her mother left her, Sipho at first answers that he had a fight with Themba, and that Thando’s mother left because she had stopped loving him.
Mandisa asks, “What did my father do to you? What happened between the two of you?” Sipho replies, “He never told you?”. Mandisa finally loses patience and says she is going out to dinner. Thando and Mandisa start to leave the room. Finally, Sipho shouts at them to stop, and reveals the truth.
Sipho reveals that Themba had an affair with his wife. Mandisa sobs. She cannot believe it.
Thando asks how long Themba had been having an affair with her mother. Sipho does not want to answer her, but Thando keeps asking. Sipho, bursts into tears and tells her, “For three years.”
Thando realises that this means that she may be Themba’s child. Thando leaves, sobbing.
Sipho tells Mandisa that he is not certain that Thando is Themba’s child, she might be his own daughter. He found a letter from Themba to Sindiswa asking her to keep the baby because it might be Sipho’s.
Thando leaves the stage sobbing, and Mandisa soon follows her. Sipho is alone on the stage, imagining that he is talking to Themba. He tells his dead brother that the taking must stop. He ends his soliloquy by saying that Thando is his baby: “She is the one thing you cannot take away from me. Not even now. Thando is mine.”
Thando and Mandisa come back on stage and Thando hears his last few words. She confirms that she is his daughter and nothing will change that.
Sipho says: “The taking must stop. I want my son back.” He talks of getting justice for Luvuyo’s death.
Sipho still wants the job of Chief Librarian. When Thando asks what he is going to do about that, as the job has been given to somebody else, Sipho says he says he will blow up the library.
Thando and Mandisa are concerned that he might really do that and be arrested. Sipho is not worried: he says that he will prove that he did it for political reasons and get amnesty.
Thando is worried about Sipho’s threats – she doesn’t want him to get into trouble.
Mandisa apologises to Sipho on her dead father, Themba’s, behalf. She tells Sipho how much Themba admired him.
Sipho is able to forgive Themba. He says his anger was mostly from jealousy, and from his anger at the death of his son Luvuyo.
Sipho says he could never really burn down the library; it was just his anger speaking. He says he will go to the library, but not to work as Assistant Chief Librarian. He will collect his belongings and his early retirement package. He will write to the President to remind him that it is time that the government helped “the little people” who helped put the president into power.
To save Thando from cooking, Sipho tells her and Mandisa to go out to get takeaways. As they prepare to leave he gives them both permission to go to Johannesburg after the funeral.
Mandisa gives Sipho a recent photograph of Themba. Sipho gives Mandisa a photograph of himself with Themba when they were young.
Thando and Mandisa leave the house.
Sipho picks up the urn and says his final soliloquy. Again, he imagines that he is speaking to Themba. “Themba, my brother, I love you. About my wife … it happened.” He goes on to say that he will write to the President to ask for money to build the first African public library in New Brighton. He will be its Chief Librarian.

Sipho’s job application
Thando asks about whether Sipho got the job and Sipho explains that they gave it to a young person from Johannesburg. They think Sipho is too old for the job of Chief Librarian because he is due to retire in two years. As Thando says, Sipho deserves the job. He has helped to make the Port Elizabeth library “the most used library in the Eastern Cape”.
Sipho is very disappointed that he did not get the job. He says: “All I wanted was to be the Chief Librarian. Is that too much to ask?”
In the apartheid days, Sipho could not be Chief Librarian because he is black. Now he feels he is being denied the job because of his age, despite having run the library for six years.
Sipho is also bitter because he thinks the person who did get the job was favoured because he is a former exile, not because he is better qualified.

Sipho wanted to be a lawyer but his father had no money for him to go to university. So Sipho got a job as a clerk (office worker) at a law firm called Spilkin & Spilkin Attorneys. Mr Spilkin promised that Sipho could study to be a lawyer after three years, when the current article clerks had graduated. But after three years Mr Spilkin took on two new white boys as article clerks.
Mrs Meyers gave Sipho a job at the Port Elizabeth Public Library when he left the law firm. She was impressed by his English language skills. She encouraged him to study for his Diploma in Librarian Management (which he passed with distinction). She put Sipho in charge of the small section of books written by African writers, outside the main section of the library.
When her husband died Mrs Meyers left South Africa to live in England. But before she left she promoted Sipho to Assistant Chief Librarian. This is significant because during apartheid it was unusual for a white person to recognise and award a black persons abilities.

2. Themes Truth and reconciliation

Because Sipho never saw Themba or Sindiswa again he never had a chance to talk to them about their affair. They never apologised, so Sipho was not able to understand why they had betrayed him. In this way he was like many people who came to the TRC. Until they could understand what had happened or why other people had hurt them, it was difficult for them to come to terms with what happened.
Sipho wants justice for his son Luvuyo’s death. He wants to see the policeman who shot Luvuyo punished. Only then should the policeman be allowed to apply for amnesty. He will not forgive the policeman.
Sipho tells Mandisa that her father was a hero of the Struggle, and would have been killed by the police if he had stayed in the country. He no longer blames him for leaving and going into exile.
Sipho and Mandisa reconcile.
After this, Sipho is kinder to Mandisa. He tells her that Themba was a political activist whom everyone loved and that is why Sipho was jealous of him. Although Sipho kept the family together Themba got all the attention.
Sipho says he no longer blames Themba for Luvyo’s death. He had really always known that it was not Themba’s fault; blaming Themba just gave Sipho another reason to be angry with him.
The climax of the play is when Sipho reveals that Themba had an affair with his wife, Sindiswa.
Sipho talks about all that Themba took from him but realises he never took Thando. Thando has always been with him; she has always been his daughter.
Sipho talks about blowing up the library out of revenge for not getting the job of Chief Librarian. He feels he is the victim of an unfair world. However, later in the play he admits he could never do such a thing. Instead, he will create his own justice by starting a new library, where he will make himself Chief Librarian.
At the end of the play Sipho no longer appears as a victim of circumstance but as someone who takes responsibility for his life. He is reconciled with his past and ready to face the future and take on new challenges.

Political elites and the ordinary person

Sipho bitterly describes how the senior comrades of the Struggle turned his father’s funeral into a political rally. Nobody cared about his personal loss and grief, or the dignity Sipho felt his father deserved.
Sipho feels that the suffering of all the thousands of ordinary South Africans who helped fight against apartheid is not recognised by the new political elite.
Sipho says that it’s time the new political elite helped the “little people” like him to also improve their lives.

3. Style Soliloquys

This section starts with Sipho alone on the stage. In his soliloquy, Sipho imagines that he is talking to Themba: “So, you win again Themba.” Sipho says that he was also part of the Struggle, but he has yet to be empowered, to see the reward. Now, he wants to be paid back – he wants his bus, his blazer, his wife, his daughter. After he says he has lost Thando he realises that that it is not true – Thando has always been, and will always be, his daughter.
The play ends with a soliloquy, the second in Act 2. Sipho talks of his dream of building the first African public library in New Brighton. His emotions have changed from bitter and angry to forgiveness and optimism.

4. Diction and figurative language Irony and humour Mandisa answers the phone when Mrs Potgeiter calls to speak to Sipho. Coming from England, Mandisa is not familiar with Afrikaans names, and says it incorrectly as “Mrs Potgiator” when she tells Thando who was on the phone. This is a source of humour, but is also ironic. Earlier in the act, Sipho had remembered how his first boss, Mr Spilkin, would call him “Sifo”, not “Sipho”. Sipho felt insulted by this because “Sifo” is the word for a disease, and his name means “gift”. Mr Spilkin’s ignorance and failure to pronounce Sipho’s name correctly suggests racism. Mandisa’s incorrect pronunciation of Mrs Potgeiter’s names is therefore humouress and ironic because it echoes Sipho’s experience with Mr Spilkin.

5. Tone and mood During the climax of the play the tone is highly dramatic and tense. This is during the part of the act when Mandisa challenges Sipho, and then Sipho dramatically reveals the truth. Following this, the tone becomes calm and hopeful. This is towards the end of the play, when the characters are reconciled and making their plans for the future. The mood is the way the play makes the reader or audience feel. Did this scene make you feel happy, sad, angry or indifferent? Activity 4 Read the extract below and then answer the questions that follow [Sipho reveals the truth about Themba.]

THANDO: All these years we have lived together you’ve kept this in your heart, alone. You’ve never share with me, your own daughter. Why?
SIPHO: How could I tell you. It was best to say nothing.
THANDO: So Uncle Themba took my mother from you?
SIPHO: He took everything.
THANDO: No, not everything. I am here with you. I am not going with Mandisa.
SIPHO: [pushing her away] No Thando. You must leave with Mandisa.
THANDO: I am staying here with you.

In line 5, Thando says: “So Uncle Themba took my mother from you?” What does this line suggest about how Mandisa and Thando may be related? (1)
Is the following statement TRUE or FALSE? Give a reason to support your answer. Sipho loses all the people he loves. (2)
Refer to line 6 (“He took everything.”) Is Sipho justified in saying “He took everything”? Discuss your view. (4)
Sipho speaks to Mandisa about her father. a) Using your own words, name TWO things Sipho tells Mandisa about her father. (2) b) Why does Mandisa doubt the information she gets from Sipho? (2)
When Sipho talks to Mandisa about what he said about Themba, he says: “Yes, I was jealous.” Using your own words, give TWO reasons why Sipho is jealous of Themba. (2)
Consider the play as a whole. Thando and Mandisa help Sipho to face his pain and anger. Do you agree? Explain your answer. (2) [15]

Activity 5 Read the extract below and then answer the questions that follow [Sipho is very angry.]

THANDO: What are you going to do?
SIPHO: I am going to blow it up!
MANDISA: Great!
SIPHO: No! I am going to burn it down!
MANDISA: Even better! NO! You are drunk! You don’t really mean that, do you?
SIPHO: Yes, yes I do! I am dead serious. I am going to burn it down. I am going to watch all those books burn and light up the sky.
THANDO: You will be arrested.
MANDISA: They will say you are mad.
SIPHO: That’s even better. I will prove to them that my crime too was politically motivated. They will have to grant me amnesty. They have no choice. I qualify, don’t I Thando? You know these things.
THANDO: This is silly. You are going to do no such thing! Stop laughing, Mandisa!
SIPHO: How are you going to stop me?
THANDO: I’ll tell the police to stop you.
SIPHO: You will inform the police about me? You will sell me out?
THANDO: It’s not selling out. We will stop you.
SIPHO: Why?
THANDO: Because what you want to do is wrong.
SIPHO: What they did to me was wrong too. Why do you want to stop me?
THANDO: Because I love you. I don’t want to lose you!
MANDISA: She’s right. I love you too, Uncle Sipho. You are the only father I have now.
Pause.
[Act 2, Scene 1]

Refer to lines 1–4 (“What are you ... burn it down!”). Give TWO reasons why Sipho is so angry at this point in the play. (2)
To what does “it” refer in lines 2 and 4? (1)
Refer to line 5 (“You are drunk!”). How do you know that Thando is not used to seeing her father drunk? (2)
Refer to line 8 (“ ... light up the sky”). What does Sipho mean by the expression “light up the sky”? (2)
Refer to line 9 (“You will be arrested”). Why does Thando say that Sipho will be arrested? (1)
Refer to line 12 (“They will have to grant me amnesty.”). Why does Sipho think that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) will grant him amnesty? State TWO points. (2)
Refer to lines 13 and 14 (“You know these things.”). Why does Sipho expect Thando to “know these things”? (1)
In this extract, Sipho is faced with a particular matter that disappoints him. How does he plan to deal with this disappointment? State TWO points. (2)
Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence: Mandisa says that Sipho is the only father she now has because ... A he is her grandfather. B he is an old man. C she is his cousin. D her father has died. (1)
Give TWO reasons why the title of the play, Nothing But the Truth, is suitable. (2) [16]

Nothing But The Truth Essay

In Avi’s book, Nothing But the Truth, Brutus says,”No Cassius; for the eye sees not itself/But by reflection, by some other things.” I think that what this quote means is that a person cannot see how they act unless someone else either acts in the same way or describes it to them.

A teacher cannot understand how his or her students see them, but the students can. It is impossible to know what is going on in somebody else’s mind. This book talks a lot about perspective and how important it is to think about things from other people’s points of view.

This book is also about a teacher who gets fired for telling the truth. He was trying to do the right thing, but he got caught up in a lie. The whole book is about him trying to figure out what happened and why he got fired. It’s a really good book, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about perspective and thinking from other people’s points of view.

This quote is resonating with me because the main character, Philip Malloy, cannot see himself clearly. In that way, I am like Philip Malloy. I have no perception of whether my actions have positive or negatives effects and always assume that I am right. If something goes wrong, it’s always somebody else’s fault in my eyes. For example, in the story Philip blames his Language Arts teacher for not teaching well and being uptight instead of looking at ways he could improve too.

This is very similar to how I often act. If something does not go my way, instead of looking at myself, I tend to blame the people or environment around me. Just like Philip, who gets suspended from school because he hums during class, I often do not think about how my actions will effect those around me. In the end, both Philip and I need to learn to take responsibility for our own actions and words instead of placing the blame on others.

Nothing But the Truth is a novel by Avi that follows the story of Philip Malloy, a high school student who gets suspended for humming during class. The novel addresses the issue of truth and its importance in our lives. It also explores the idea of perception and how our own biases can distort the way we see the world.

The novel is set in the town of Harrison, Maine, and follows Philip Malloy as he attends high school and interacts with his classmates and teachers. Throughout the novel, Philip struggles to tell the truth and often finds himself in trouble because of it. He also has difficulty seeing things from other people’s perspective and often gets into arguments with his classmates and teachers.

One of the themes of the novel is the importance of truth. The novel shows how lying can lead to problems and how telling the truth can help to resolve them. It also explores how our perception of events can be distorted by our own biases and how this can lead to misunderstanding and conflict.

He claims that she is the only reason that he does not have a passing grade in class and cannot be on the track team, but I think Philip may not be considering how he could also part of the problem. If onlyPhilip tried harder , Miss Narwin’s Language Art’s class, maybe he would able to pass.

I was a little hesitant to agree with Philip’s mom at first. It seemed unfair to put all the blame on Miss Narwin. However, after giving it some more thought, I realized that she may be right. Philip has been having a lot of trouble in school lately and it seems like he is not doing anything to try to improve his grades.

I think that if Philip would just sit down and talk to Miss Narwin, he might be able to get her to help him improve his grades. Maybe she could give him some extra credit assignments or something. I know that it would be a lot of work, but it would be worth it if it meant that Philip could finally get his passing grade in Language Arts.

It’s important for Philip to realize that he is not the only one who is struggling in Miss Narwin’s class. There are other students who are having a hard time too. Maybe if he talked to some of them, he would feel better about his situation.

At the end of the day, it’s up to Philip to decide whether or not he wants to try to improve his grades in Miss Narwin’s class. I think that if he puts in the effort, he will be able to succeed.

Miss Narwin has been teaching for many years and follows traditional methods. She believes that her method is no longer relevant and wants to attend a workshop on modern approaches. When she request this opportunity from her school, she is turned down and becomes disgruntled. I think MissNarwin’s sudden interest in taking theworkshop stems from wanting to keep up with Philip.

After all, he is her best student and she might be worried that he isn’t learning anything from her. Personally, I think that Miss Narwin is a great teacher. She’s always challenging us to think about the books we read in new and different ways. For example, when we were reading The Scarlet Letter, she had us imagine what life would be like if we lived in Puritan times. It was a really interesting exercise and it made me appreciate the book a lot more.

But I also think that Philip is right – Miss Narwin could benefit from attending a workshop on new teaching methods. Maybe she could learn some new techniques that would help her connect with her students even more. Either way, I’m sure that Miss Narwin will continue to be an excellent teacher, no matter what.

Miss Narcin sees Philip as a intelligent student that just needs some help to find his way of excelling. What Philip believes is Miss Narwin being mean is actually her trying to get him improve for the better. I do not always see things from her perspective, but I understand and value her intentions.

Miss Narwin is my teacher and she always wants us to succeed. She knows that we have the potential to do great things and she does everything she can to help us reach our goals. Sometimes I don’t see things clearly, but I always appreciate her efforts. Thank you, Miss Narwin, for everything you’ve done for me.

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Nothing but the Truth - Chapter 1 – 4 Summary & Analysis

Nothing but the Truth by Avi and Edward Irving Wortis

(approx. 4 pages at 400 words per page)

Pre-Chapter 1: An example of a Harrison School District memorandum is presented. The memo is written by Dr. Joseph Palleni, the assistant principal of Harrison High School. The letterhead of the memo has the motto “Where our children are educated, not just taught,” with the name of the school superintendent, Dr. Albert Seymour, and school board chairman, Mrs. Gloria Harland, just under the motto. The memo describes the standard format for doing morning announcements over the school intercom. The announcements, which are to start promptly at 8:05 a.m. every morning, begin with the day of the week, date, and dictate whether students will be following Schedule A or B that day. The person doing the announcements should then give no more than three historical references about that date and then ask students to rise for the playing of the national anthem. The memo states students are to...

(read more from the Chapter 1 – 4 Summary)

(approx. 4 pages at 400 words per page)

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Exploring Free Speech and Persuasion with Nothing But the Truth

Resources & Preparation
Instructional Plan
Related Resources

After reading the novel Nothing But the Truth , students discuss the protagonist Phillip and his right to free speech as well as their own rights. Students examine various Websites to research First Amendment rights, especially as they relate to the situation in the novel. After their research, students compose a position statement regarding their opinion of whether Philip's rights were violated then work with small groups to strengthen their statements and supporting evidence. Groups present position statement and supporting evidence to the whole class and debate Philip's civil rights as a culminating activity.

Featured Resources

Persuasion Map : Use this online tool to map out and print your persuasive argument. Included are spaces to map out your thesis, three reasons, and supporting details.

From Theory to Practice

In "Writing to Think Critically: The Seed of Social Action", Randy Bomer states that "one of the goals many writing teachers share is that of enabling students, usually rendered voiceless in the world at large, to speak for social change in their writing" (2). Bomer declares that "we want students to view their writing as more than exercises for learning to write, as more than obedience to teacher instruction, but rather as a unique form of social action" (2). Students begin to see writing as more than a teacher-directed exercise when they can see how their writing relates to their lives and the world around them. It is useful to use an interdisciplinary approach that blends two or more disciplines together, as social justice cannot be achieved through writing alone. Rather, a writer must understand the social, historic, and scientific background of an issue. One such issue that is addressed in this lesson, is students' freedom of verbal expression-what speech is protected by the First Amendment? How is the nature of a particular expression determined? Who has the final authority in issues of free speech? Further Reading

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Materials and Technology

Copies of Avi’s Nothing But the Truth

Position Statements handout
Expression Rights of Students (handout on Supreme Court cases regarding free speech in schools)
Nothing But the Truth Presentation Rubric

Preparation

Students should have read the novel Nothing But the Truth .
Decide when students will write their response to the first writing prompt. In this lesson, students write the response after reading the book; however, the prompt can be used as an anticipatory activity, before reading the novel.
Make copies or an overhead of the Position Statements handout and the Nothing But the Truth Presentation Rubric .
Familiarize yourself with the Expression Rights of Students cases regarding free speech in public schools.
Check the First Amendment Websites to ensure that all are appropriate for us in your class. If desired, make an overhead or copies of the links so that students can continue their research outside of class.
Decide how much time to allot for each group’s presentation. If groups keep their presentations in the 5-7 minute time limit, all the presentations can be given in one day.
Decide when to give presentations, ideally a week after their work with the Persuasion Map . Ideally, build at least one additional work day into the schedule to provide enough time for students to plan and practice their work. Work time in class is especially important to ensure that students can assemble easily without having to arrange for special meetings outside of school hours. You may also make arrangements for students to work in your classroom or the library is they before school starts, during lunch, and after school.
Test the Persuasion Map on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tools and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page.

Student Objectives

Students will

analyze the theme of a novel using both personal opinion and factual information.
engage with the novel by making personal connections to its themes.
use the Internet for research.
use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information in support of an opinion.
compose a position statement.
synthesize their position statements with those of two to four other students.
present, explain, and defend their position statements.

Session One

In their journals or loose leaf, have students respond to the following prompt as they enter the room, “Using your own experience and the events in Nothing But the Truth , list the rights you feel you should, but do not have, as a young adult.”
Divide students into small groups and give each group a piece of chart paper and some markers. Alternatively, students can gather their responses on overhead transparencies.
Ask groups to discuss their responses to the prompt, compiling a list of their rights or rights they think they should have on the chart paper. Give students about five minutes for this work.
Bring the class together and ask representatives from each group can share their lists, either posting their list on the wall or sharing it with an overhead projector.
Using the lists generated as a class, ask students to write for a few minutes about which of the rights they listed are violated in Philip’s situation.
After allowing students to gather their ideas, ask students to discuss Philip’s situation and their opinion of his rights (about 20 minutes or so).

Philip: “It’s a free country.” Dr. Palleni: “Nothing is free.” (74-5) Dr. Palleni: “If a student creates a disturbance in a classroom, that’s breaking a rule. An important rule. Students cannot break—cannot make a disturbance in a classroom.” (83) Mrs. Narwin: “He’s a student. I’m a teacher. Hands aren’t meant to be even.” (177)

Session Two

Explain that during this session you will look for reference material and research material relating to the issues of free speech raised in Nothing But the Truth .
Begin the session with basic information about free speech, pointing first to the Bill of Rights and then to the information from the handout on Supreme Court cases regarding free speech in schools .
Point students to the First Amendment Websites . If you want to allow students to continue research outside of class, provide them a copy of the Web page or ask them to copy the addresses into their notebooks.
Ask students to use the First Amendment Websites to find as much information as they can about rights for young adults, focusing on free speech rights related to schools. Depending on your students’ Internet capabilities, you may want to narrow the search further.
Ask students should keep track of the important points found in their research, such as Supreme Court cases, examples from schools throughout the country, public opinion, and so forth.
If desired, explain that students can cut and paste relevant information from Web pages to a Word document, explaining why the information is important using a different font color, making sure that they cite their sources.
Have a 10 to 20 minute discussion of the information that students find. A suggestion would be for each student to read one section of his/her notes with both the Internet information and his/her evaluation of its importance.

Session Three

Have students respond in writing to the following prompt, “Explain whether or not you feel Phillip’s free speech rights were violated.”
After allowing students to gather their ideas in writing, ask them to discuss their answers as a class or in small groups. Encourage students to engage specifically in issues that expose different opinions. Ask students to point to evidence from the novel or from their research that supports their beliefs.
After students have had time to share their views, introduce position statements, using the Position Statements handout.
Answer any questions that students have about how to write position statements. If students need additional examples, work through the process of composing position statements on another topic, such as funding for after-school activities or the use of standardized testing.
Once you're satisfied that students understand the task, ask students to create a position statement that related to Phillip’s free speech rights (or another topic) in the novel. Students’ goal during this session is to gather ideas informally. Explain that they will work on creating a more polished statement with support during the next session.
As students work in their groups, circulate and monitor student progress, encouraging them to brainstorm reasons for their position. Let them know a few minutes before the work period will conclude so that they have time to wrap up their thoughts.
If desired, students can continue their work as homework. By the beginning of the next class session, students should gathered the reasons supporting their position—using their research, passages from the novel, and their personal opinion.

Session Four

Introduce the Persuasion Map Student Interactive to your students, demonstrating how to use the tool. To provide a full example, work through the interactive using one of the example topics from the previous session (e.g., a position on school uniforms).
Answer any questions about using the Persuasion Map , then ask students to enter their information in order to construct a position statement and a map of the related support. Ask students to complete their maps as they finish.
As students finish and printout their work, arrange them in groups based on their position, placing all the students with the same position together. Ask groups to combine their statements and support to create the strongest argument possible. Groups will refine their statement and support as more students finish and join the group.
Once all students have finished with the Persuasion Map and joined a group, explain that groups will present their position statements and support orally during the next class session.
Go over the Presentation Rubric , indicating the amount of time each student needs to speak.
Allow students the remainder of the class session to work on their presentations.

Additional Work Time (optional)

If possible, allow students additional time to work on their group presentations in class. At the beginning of work sessions, remind students of the assignment and the requirements of the Presentation Rubric .
As students work in their groups, circulate and monitor student progress.
If students need additional support for their positions, encourage them to return to the resources used in Session Two.
Let them know a few minutes before the work period will conclude so that they have time to wrap up their thoughts.

Session Five: Discussing Phillip's Rights

Before the presentations begin, ask students to keep notes on the presentations, consisting of the group’s position, their reasons, and the student’s opinion of the argument. Ask students to use their notes to record any questions they have for the group at then end of the presentation.
Rotate through the groups, allowing each group the allotted time to present.
When all the groups have presented, ask students to debate whether Phillip’s rights were violated.
If possible, arrange the desks in a circle for debate, asking students to sit by people with the same viewpoint.
To manage the class discussion, students can pass a sponge ball to someone on the opposite side, with a hand raised, for a response. The responding speaker should acknowledge the main point of the previous speaker, offer an opinion on the point (not the person), and add something original.
Explain what surprised you the most from your research abut students’ rights.
Explain how your research affected your opinion of Phillip’s situation.
How have you been affected by rights you do or do not have as a student?
In what ways are your experiences similar to Philip’s?
How has Philip’s situation and your research shaped your view of fighting for your rights?
Use the students’ printout from the Persuasion Map as a graphic organizer for a persuasive essay on the novel.
Tie the rights discussed in this lesson to another novel, such as Summer of My German Soldier, Farewell to Manzanar, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Bat 6 , or Speak .

Student Assessment / Reflections

As students discuss free speech and the situation in Nothing But the Truth , listen for comments that indicate students are identifying specific evidence from the story that connects to the information they have researched. The connections that they make between the details in the novel and the details they choose as their supporting reasons for their position will reveal their understanding and engagement with the novel.
Monitor student interaction and progress during group work to assess social skills and assist any students having problems with the project.
Use the Presentation Rubric to assess group presentations.
Respond to the content and quality of students’ thoughts in their final reflections on the project. Look for indications that the student provides supporting evidence for the reflections, thus applying the lessons learned from the work with the Persuasion Map and position statements.
Calendar Activities
Lesson Plans
Student Interactives

Students will identify how Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream of nonviolent conflict-resolution is reinterpreted in modern texts. Homework is differentiated to prompt discussion on how nonviolence is portrayed through characterization and conflict. Students will be formally assessed on a thesis essay that addresses the Six Kingian Principles of Nonviolence.

The Persuasion Map is an interactive graphic organizer that enables students to map out their arguments for a persuasive essay or debate.

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Nothing But The Truth

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Philip’s life revolves around running. He watches television shows about running, practices running in his free time, receives praise for his running, and hopes to join the track team. While Philip is talented, running is also important to him because of the aspirations of his father, a former runner who was forced to give up his dreams of competitive running after he dropped out of college to support his family. For both Malloys, the act of running represents achievement and aspirations.

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Nothing But The Truth Summary and Study Guide
Nothing but the Truth is a Newbery-Award-winning documentary novel published by Avi in 1991.Set in the small New Hampshire town of Harrison, the novel is the story of how ninth-grader Philip Malloy's efforts to get out of a class with Ms. Narwin, his English teacher, is transformed into a viral story that casts Philip as a patriotic hero and his teacher as a villain.
Nothing but the Truth Summary & Study Guide
Nothing but the Truth Summary & Study Guide includes comprehensive information and analysis to help you understand the book. This study guide contains the following sections: This detailed literature summary also contains Topics for Discussion on Nothing but the Truth by Avi and Edward Irving Wortis. At the beginning of the book, Philip Malloy ...
Nothing but the Truth: A Documentary Novel Summary
Introduction. "Nothing but the Truth" is a thought-provoking novel by Avi, focusing on the tumultuous journey of a ninth-grader named Philip Malloy. Set in the context of a typical American high ...
Rhoda Broughton's Nothing But the Truth: A Detailed Summary and a
In the cold February of 1868, Sheridan Le Fanu's Welsh niece, Rhoda Broughton, published her first ghost story: "The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth" -- a chilling episode based on rumors circulating around London firesides about a house in Mayfair (more on that later). Presaging the subtle domestic terrors of Henry James, and the inexplicable violence of William Hope Hodgson ...
Nothing but the Truth Analysis
Through Ted Griffen, Jennifer Stewart, the education reporter from the Manchester Record, the newspaper of the state capital, learns about Philip's case and contacts him for an interview. Mr ...
Nothing but the Truth: A Documentary Novel
Questions whether Nothing but the Truth effectively addresses its ambitious themes. Publishers Weekly 238, no. 40 (September 6, 1991): 105. Strongly recommends Nothing but the Truth for young readers.
Nothing But The Truth Essay Topics
Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Nothing But The Truth" by Avi. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Nothing But The Truth Character Analysis
Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Nothing But The Truth" by Avi. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Nothing but the Truth Summary
Immediately download the Nothing but the Truth summary, chapter-by-chapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more - everything you need for studying or teaching Nothing but the Truth.
Examining "Nothing but the Truth": [Essay Example], 667 words
Conclusion. "Nothing but the Truth" by Avi is a thought-provoking novel that explores the complexities of truth, free speech, and the consequences of one's actions. Through its multifaceted characters and themes, the novel encourages readers to reflect on the boundaries of free speech and the power of the media in shaping public discourse.
Nothing but the Truth Summary and Cliff Notes
Nothing But the Truth is a young adult novel comprised of diary entries, memos, letters, and pieces of dialogue that tells the story of Philip Malloy, a high-schooler who tells his parents that his teacher, Miss Narwin, forbade him from singing the National Anthem after he gets suspended for acting up in class. Although this is a lie, or at least an exaggeration of the truth, Philip is soon ...
Nothing but the Truth Critical Essays
Nothing but the Truth Critical Essays N othing but the Truth is a novel by Edward Irving Wortis, better known as Avi , about Philip Malloy, who is suspended for humming the National Anthem.
Nothing But The Truth Themes
Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Nothing But The Truth" by Avi. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Nothing But the Truth Grade 12 Notes
In Nothing But the Truth the protagonist is Sipho. The character the protagonist struggles against, or competes with, is called the antagonist. Themba, Sipho's younger brother, is the antagonist, even though his character never appears on stage. Mandisa also takes on her father's role as the antagonist in the play.
Nothing but the Truth Themes
The book examines how a minor incident can grow exponentially, or snowball, especially if it hits upon a hot-button issue like patriotism. Philip Malloy's suspension happened because he broke a school-wide rule three times and then refused to apologize to his teacher. Yet people who heard about the national story did not care about school ...
Nothing but the Truth: A Documentary Novel
Ideas for Reports and Papers. PDF Cite Share. Last Updated August 28, 2024. 1. Locate a news story where the facts seem to be misrepresented. Explain why you are skeptical about the story and ...
Nothing But The Truth Essay
This book talks a lot about perspective and how important it is to think about things from other people's points of view. This book is also about a teacher who gets fired for telling the truth. He was trying to do the right thing, but he got caught up in a lie. The whole book is about him trying to figure out what happened and why he got fired.
Nothing But The Truth Teacher Introduction
Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Nothing But The Truth" by Avi. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Nothing but the Truth
The person doing the announcements should then give no more than three historical references about that date and then ask students to rise for the playing of the national anthem. The memo states students are to... (read more from the Chapter 1 - 4 Summary) This section contains 1,396 words. (approx. 4 pages at 400 words per page)
Nothing but the Truth: A Documentary Novel
Perhaps Nothing but the Truth is best understood as a tragedy, containing elements reminiscent of Shakespeare's play Hamlet. Miss Narwin is an idealist, much like Hamlet. Her downfall is primarily ...
Exploring Free Speech and Persuasion with Nothing But the Truth
Overview. After reading the novel Nothing But the Truth, students discuss the protagonist Phillip and his right to free speech as well as their own rights. Students examine various Websites to research First Amendment rights, especially as they relate to the situation in the novel. After their research, students compose a position statement ...
What is the theme of Nothing But the Truth?
Share Cite. The theme of Nothing But the Truth is self-evident in its title. The novel is focused on the role that the truth can play in upholding—or destroying—our personal values, the lives ...
Nothing But The Truth Symbols & Motifs
Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Nothing But The Truth" by Avi. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.