THE THEORY OF FLIGHT SUMMARY

On the third of September, not so long ago, something truly wondrous happened on the Beauford
Farm and Estate. At the moment of her death, Imogen Zula Nyoni – Genie – was seen to fly away
on a giant pair of silver wings ...’

Said to have hatched from a golden egg, Genie spends her childhood playing in a field of
sunflowers as her country reawakens after a fierce civil war.

But Genie’s story stretches back much further: it tells of her grandfather, who quenched his
wanderlust by walking into the Indian Ocean, and of her father, who spent countless hours
building model aeroplanes to catch up with him. It is the tale of her mother, a singer self-styled
after Dolly Parton with a dream of travelling to Nashville, and of her grandmother, who did
everything in her power to raise her children to have character.

With the lightest of touches, a cast of unforgettable characters, and moments of surreal beauty,
The Theory of Flight sketches decades of history in this unnamed Southern African nation. It does
not dwell on what has been lost in its war, but on the daily triumphs of its people, the necessity of
art, and the power of its visionaries to take flight.

The Theory of Flight incorporates magical realism to tell the story of a remarkable young woman
called Imogen Zula Nygni (Genie). Her story is told against the backdrop of the violent transition
from colonialism to independence of an unnamed Southern African nation. Genie has an unusual,
otherworldly, even transcendental presence and is a hopeful, optimist trusting, and loving person
who focuses on the beauty and promise of life, in spite of the challenges and hardships she faces.
Tragically, she dies shortly after her fortieth birthday, but has an awe inspiring and uplifting impact
on the lives of the people around her.
 PLOT ANALYSIS
An Idyllic childhood
• What does idyllic mean? - resembles an idyll; extremely joyful, calm, or lovely.
• The novel follows several individuals who are united by their ties to the Beauford Farm and
Estate, a privately held piece of property in the middle of nowhere, and Genie, a young woman
who grew up on the estate. The story begins with Genie hatching from a golden egg that
emerges after her mother, Elizabeth Nyoni, spends the night with Golide Gumede. (Part 1 of
Book 1)
• Genie is raised on the estate by Elizabeth when she hatches five years after the egg appears,
where she meets and befriends Marcus Masuku, a child residing with his grandparents. Genie
and Marcus spend much of their life together, playing in a sunflower field or in an old, broken-
down car; unfortunately, their time together is cut short when Marcus is reclaimed by his
parents and taken to live in the city. (Book One, Part 2)

Golide returns
• Genie's father, Golide Gumede, the famed resistance soldier, returns to his wife and daughter
in Beauford shortly before Marcus departs (Book One, Part 2).
• We hear that Golide has been obsessed with airplanes since he was a child. This enthusiasm
drives him to be sent to the Soviet Union by the resistance to study engineering, and ultimately
to his determination to shoot down an airliner near Victoria Falls so that he and his fellow
countrymen might learn how to build one of their own (Book One, Part 2).
• This action, however, has implications that he does not abandon once the war is finished and
he is free to return to his family.

The farm is attacked

• Indeed, shortly after Golide lands at Beauford, rumour spreads that he is attempting to build his
own plane.
• Soon after, Beauford is assaulted by 'sojas' (soldiers), and Golide's followers are killed, the
women are raped, and Genie's parents are abducted (Book One, Part 2).
• Genie is adopted by Marcus's family following this horrific tragedy.

Genie is adopted
• Genie is uprooted and relocated to the city, where she has lived for the past eight years (Book
One, Part 4). During this time, Genie is hit by a car and is saved by chance by a street dweller
named Vide de Villiers.
• Genie is subsequently shown to be HIV positive.
• Marcus is crushed, and he is hurt even more when, at the age of eighteen, Genie departs to
live on the street with Vida. We learn that she wants to "do something good with her life" (p.
240) and that, because Vida saved her life, she wanted to save his as well (Book One, Part 5).

Genie and Vida

• When Genie first joins Vida, he hopes she would go since he no longer wants to be near to
her; nevertheless, he quickly begins to care for her, and the two of them move into Vida's
inherited house.
• Vida becomes a well-known artist over the next few years, best known for two series of
sculptures: "Street Dwellers," portraits of people he met while living on the street, and "The
Theory of Flight: In Three Movements," which consists of three pieces titled "Golden," "Lady in
Waiting," and "The Firebird," which he dedicates to Genie
Genie disappears
• Genies' health deteriorates with time. Genie is diagnosed with cervical cancer at the end of the
story. She falls into a coma and is taken to the hospital (Book two, Part 1).
• This news reaches the Masukus, who have become estranged. Marcus, his sister, Krystle, and
his mother all return to the city - and to the house they formerly occupied with Genie, which still
houses their father, Dingani, and his mother, Eunice.
• While relations are initially tense, the family is soon presented with a deeper problem: Genie
has disappeared.

A coming together
• While the Masukus deal with the practicalities of reporting Genie missing to Valentine Tanaka,
the Chief Registrar of the Organisation – the country's ruling party – other people from Genie's
past start to reappear:
• Minenhle, Golide's sister, and her partner, Mordechai; Beatrice Beit- Beauford and her friend,
Kuki Carmicheal; and Bhekithemba Nyathi, a journalist haunted by the belief that his piece on
Golide is what brought about the attack on Beauford Farm and Estate; and Justina Nxumalo,
the woman who had escaped with Genie during the attack on Beauford.
• Each of these characters has such a special bond with Genie and is deeply concerned about
what happens to her.

Confronting reality
• After a body is rumoured to have been discovered at the Beauford Farm and Estate, this
collection of individuals descends on this piece of property, which has impacted their lives to
varying degrees, to confront the reality of what actually happened to Genie, both lately and
decades ago when she was a kid.
• The tangled web of relationships, events, and motivations becomes clear, and readers are left
to consider how the interactions between multiple, intertwined lives, and how countless
decisions - some seemingly momentous at the time, others seemingly insignificant - create a
tapestry of interconnections and events that weave a single life. (Book One, Parts 1 and 2)
• The reader is then urged to see the beauty and wonder that may be found in a life full of
possibilities created through our relationships to others as well as our ability to love.
 THEMES
Love
• Elizabeth and Golide’s love, she used to nestle her head in the crook of his arm listening to
tales.
• Unconditional love of Vida’s father, he did not care about his sexuality.
• Vida and Genie’s deep relationship. They stood with nothing standing between them no
secrets. They promised not to use the word love.
• Vida told Genie he loved her when she wanted to die and he fought for her to live.
• Vida and Rosamand Pierce, young love Loss
• Golide’s dream to see the world from his convertible car however Baines has albinism and had
to drive with the cover up. Loss of his travelling dream.
• Golide’s death by walking into the waters of the Indian ocean and allowing himself to be carried
away by the waves (fulfilled his wanderlust)
• Golide shot down the Vickers Viscount and Beatrice’s 2 sons died, only Beatrice survived.
• Sunflowers died as the seasons changed, Genie was heartbroken, taught them about death
and that there is always another beginning.
• Marcus was taken away by his parents, Genie saluted goodbye
• Jestina poisoned Mr and Mrs Hadebe.
• Everleigh Coetzee death at war by stepping on a landmine.
• Genie left the Masuku’s at 18.
• Marcus left to America, Genie used to burrow her feet in the soil of the sunflowers but Marcus
never did
• Joseph Pereira’s death and Vida took his hanging body down

Imagination/Magic (Magical Realism)

• Genie flying away on a giant pair of silver wings.
• Genie was a golden egg Elizabeth nurtured.
• Golide believed in flight
• Charred man’s heart calcified into a precious and beautiful something
• Genie describing to Marcus the ancient river and the mighty animal in perfect harmony. There
is a wonder to it all, the seemingly impossible, you become aware you are but a speck in the
world. There is freedom and beauty in this knowledge and it quiets you. It allows you to fly.
• Vida’s most famous work of art. The Theory of Flight: In Three Movements. A sculpture that
consisted of 3 pieces. Golden – like Genie as a golden egg. Lady in Waiting and Firebird –
like the book Genie always read from the library on the Beauford Farm and how she flew away
on a pair of silver wings. Vida had moved beyond realism in creating it.
• Genie and Beatrice had much in common a love of sunflowers, a childhood lived on the
Beauford farm, a hero for a father and a brave and defiant spirit.

Family/Belonging
• Marcus found belonging in Elizabeth carrying Genie
• Close bond of Elizabeth and genie when they bathed together and sang, laugh.
• Marcus found a deep sense of belonging sitting between Elizabeth and Golide holding their
hands.
• Marcus’s family came to take him away and the dangerous beauty he saw in them
• Bhekithemba when he went to see Prince Charles and watched Bob Marley perform
• Todd Carmichel finally made Kuki happy
Power
• Bennington the richest man in the colony
• Emil Coetzee (Head of the organization of domestic affairs) he found incriminating evidence of
interracial relationships unlawful conduct charge against the farm
• Thandi was so beautiful it gave her a kind of power never struggled.
• Sojas abused their power to assault girls
• The Man Himself abuses his power illegally resold cars, all newspapers were state run, sent a
cheque to Bhekithemba.
• Golide had the power of charisma like Bob Marley when speaking about his belief in flight to
move inspire and unite people
• Dingani adamant to Genie staying with them
• Indian business man on the street who asked Genie for directions who picked up prostitutes
• Man himself made a law that defacing any statues was punishable by life imprisonment
• Also decided Vida was too white to be truly postcolonial and took his statues down

Patriarchy
• Marcus wanted to drive because he saw that only men drive
• Sojas abused young girls.
• Emil Coetzee married Kuki because Sedgewik would fast track his domestic
affairs proposal because it is proud proper pioneer stock

Movement
• Golide’s love of travel, naming his son Tikiti
• Genie and Jestina leaving Beauford Farm on the Mackenzie bus and then the Masuku’s
• Penelope and Specs always with Genie when she moves
• Genie flew through the air like a sheer thing of beauty
• Vida going to Stockholm every year

Hope
• Golide’s life finally made sense after Elizabeth
• Jestina and Genie left the Beauford farm
• Genie being okay after the car accident

Extra Notes
• Genie was looking at death in the corner when she stopped taking ARV’s
• Suzanne and Genie both felt like outsiders
 TIMELINE OF EVENTS
1938 • Cosmos Nyathi is bequeathed the Mackenzie General good store and two
Mackenzie bottle stores after Mr Mackenzie returns to Scotland

1948 • Bennigton Beauford dies in a car accident and Beatrice BeitBeauford (age 11)
inherits his wealth
1951 • Beatrice begins attending Eveline High school
1955 • Beatrice leaves the country to begin studying at oxford university

• Kuki Sedgwick marries Emil Coetzee

1956 • Dingani Masuku is born
1958 • Thandi Hadebe is born
1959 • Everleigh Coetzee is born
1960 • Beatrice returns to Beauford farm and estate and turns it into a ‘multiracial
commune and artists’ colony’
1961 • Vida de Villiers us born
1965 • Beatrice Beit-Beauford gives birth to 2 coloured boys
• Dinganis father, Mbongeni Masuku is sent to prison to serve a life sentence
for treason
• Elizabeth Myoni arrives at Beauford farm and estate carrying a golden egg

1974 • Thandi Hadebe leaves Beauford farm and estate with aspirations of becoming
a model
• Vida De Villiers (age 13) is taught by his father how to use the tools he will
eventually work as a sculptor
31 Dec, 1974 • Thandi Hadebe meets Dingani Masuku at a new year’s eve party at which
Dingani’s band is playing
1977 • Thandi Hadebe returns to Beauford farm and estate and gives birth to Marcus
Malcom Martin Masuku before departing again
3 Sept, 1978 • Golide Gumede shoots down the Vickers Viscount after arriving at his theory
of flight
• Beatrice Beit- Beauford’s twin sons die in the crash, Beatrice survives

• Imogen Genie Zulu Nyonis born

• Vida de Villiers (age 16) encounters Golide Gumede in Tongaland and his life
is spared by the letter
24 Dec, 1978 • Minenhle Tikiti is picked up by the organisation and spends days being
tortured by Mordechai Gatiro (C10)
1980 • The country becomes independent
• Bhekithemba Byathi (age 18) is called a “real revolutionary” by Bob Marley

1981 • Kuki Coetzee marries her second husband, Todd Whitehead Carmichael

• Krystle Masuku is born

1983 • Mordechai Gatiro and Minenhle Tikiki leave Beauford farm and estate

1985 - 1986 • Marcus is collected from Beauford farm and estate by his parents

1987 • Dingani Masuku lies to the man himself about why Golide Gumede is
building an aeroplane
• Bhekithemba visits Beauford farm and estate for the first time, on
assignment from the man himself
22 Dec, 1987 • 17 people are murdered when “sojas” attach the Beauford farm and estate

• Genie is possibly raped and infected with HIV as a result

• Genie escapes Beauford farm and estate with Jestina Nxumalo
1988 • Genie is reported dead by Minenhle
• Bhekithemba Nyathi visits Beauford farm and estate for a second time and
checks the disused well
• Genie is adopted by the Masuku’s
1991 • Genie is hit by Kuki Carmichael’s Car
• Genie is possibly infected with HIV through a blood transfusion
1993 • Genie is arrested for suspected shoplifting by Valentine Tanaka (It is his first
case for the organisation)
3 Dec, 1996 • Genie leave the Masuku’s home and starts living on the streets with Vida

1996 - 2011 • Genie and Vida move into the house the Jack built
• Genie and Vida begin a romantic relationship
• Marcus moves to America
• Genie is hospitalised to treat her TB and pneumonia and she is put on
antiretroviral medication
• Vida becomes a well-known artist, his sculpture series, the
“street dwellers” is bought by Beatrice and donated to the city
• Vida creates his most famous series of sculptures : the theory of flight
(Golden, Lady in the waiting, The firebird)
• The street dwellers is dismantled and replaced with sculptures of the man
himself (various pieces are sold to museums, galleries etc.)

2006 • Marcus marries Esme

2011 • Genie falls ill and decides that it is time for her to die, but Vida insists on
taking her to the hospital for treatment and she ends up recovering within a
week
2015 • Thandi has the jacaranda trees cut down and leave Dingani to live in
Belgium
2018 • Vida leaves for Stockholm of his 57th birthday
• Genie prepares for her death, she meets with valentine to choose and
ending of her liking
• Vida returns from Stockholm to find genie lying in a pool of blood on their
mattress
• He takes her to hospital, where she remains in a coma and then Vida
returns to the streets
•
Krystle finds a California towhee hatchling outside her apartment block
• She takes it to a vet clinic, where she meets Xander Dangerfield

• Marcus and Krystle return from America to be with Genie

• Eight days after her hospitalisation, Genie disappears

•
The Masuku’s attempt to report Genie as missing to the organisation
• Valentine informs them that she was reported dead in 1987 by Minenhle

• Valentine informs that Masuku’s that a body, believed to be Genies has

been found at Beauford farm and estate
• Jestina returns from Australia – after valentine informs her that Genie’s body
has been found
3 Sept, 2018 • Valentine, Vida, Jesrina, the Masuku’s, Kuku, Beatrice,
Bhekithemba, Minenhl and Morechai travel to Beauford farm and estate

• Genie dies and is seen flying away on a pair of giant silver wings
2018 • Genies (empty) coffin is buried
• Marcus leads the funeral procession on a n overnight trip to the Victoria falls,
where they witness elephants crossing the Zambezi river
 CHARACTERS
IMOGEN ‘GENIE’ ZULU NYONI
• Determined, independent, brave, private and complex. Her motivations and desires are
recounted by other characters which might result in misleading info.
• Events that shape her: losing her home, being hit by a car, HIV + AIDS, lives on the streets but
through all this she remains kind, fearless, optimistic and generous. She is determined to live
life on her own terms and not others’ expectations.

VIDA DE VILLIERS
• Talented artist and Genie’s lover. He’s a loner and secretive and described as’ a homeless
man known as ‘Jesus’. As a teen, he’s bullied, ostracized for his sexual orientation. He is
formed by the deaths of his first love and parents.
• His time in the army fighting the liberation war didn’t help him heal-he turns to the streets.
Then meets Genie and falls in love-their relationship is based on complete honesty and
revelation of who they are.
• His love with Genie helps him come to terms with his grief.

MARCUS MASUKU
• Genie’s best friend and adoptive brother who falls in love with her while at Beauford farm-never
seems to recover from their separation.
• As a child: cautious and hesitant. As an adult: likes to cast himself as the hero
• Outwardly successful lives in USA
• His unrequited love makes him brittle, and angry-he appears to be adrift.

KRYSTLE MASUKU
• Genie’s adoptive sister-compassionate, struggling to finish her PhD
• Sees herself as the black sheep of the family. Carries self-blame for the accident . Believes it’s
because of her that Genie develops HIV. This guolt keeps her alienated from her family.
• She is critical of herself for not living the life she imagined for herself.

GOLIDE GUMEDE
• Golide was initially named Livingstone Stanley Tikiti. Tall, self-confidant and charismatic
despite being born an albino (consider the African views of Albinism).
• He is a natural leader and is recognized as being the freedom fighter who shot down flight 825.
He says it was because he wanted to teach people about flight.
• He watches the elephants and comes to the epiphany that people need direct inspiration if they
are to succeed in flight.
• He returns to Beauford farm and becomes a leader-his followers are known for the ‘race of
angels’ and he builds a pair of silver wings.
• After the farm attack-he and Elizabeth are never seen again( Genie insists she saw them fly
away)(magical realism & significance?)
• Despite his success as a leader, he remains a humble and affectionate man.

BHEKITHEMBI NYATI
• Cynical and jaded journalist-writes propaganda and sensationalism for a local newspaper.
• Disappointed in himself for his compromising choices and for allowing himself to be
manipulated by ‘The organization’ and ‘The Man Himself’.
• Initially a supporter of colonialism- he becomes a supporter of the liberation, hoping for a
brighter future for the country and for himself.
• Feels constant guilt for what he wrote about Golide-secretly believe it was his article that
caused the attack on the farm and Golide’s followers.
VALENTINE TANAKA
• Proud of his bureaucratic job and his success at it.
• His deformities (cripple and hunchback) result in frequent underestimation and disregard. Often
treated poorly by people.
• He’s astute and perceptive-a good judge of character. Feels that doing a job properly is more
important than the morality of the instruction. As a result, he is successful and is perceived by
‘The Man Himself’ as being loyal and dependable.
• He is also kind though to those he feels deserve it- Genie being one.

EXTRA -
• IMOGEN 'GENIE' ZULA NYONI: around whose life & death the events of this story take place

• BAINES TIKITI (BORN BAFANA NDLELAPHI): Genie's grandfather

• PRUDENCE NGOMA: Genie's grandmother

• GOLIDE GUMEDE (BORN LIVINGSTONE STANLEY TIKITI): Genie's father

• ELIZABETH NYONI: Genie's mother

• MINENHLE TIKITI: Golide's sister and Genie's aunt

• BENNINGTON BEAUFORD: settler farmer and owner of the Beauford Farm and Estate

• BEATRICE BEIT-BEAUFORD: heiress of the Beauford Farm and Estate

• KUKI SEDGWICK (LATER COETZEE, AND LATER STILL CARMICHAEL): Beatrice's best friend

• EMIL COETZEE: Kuki's husband and head of The Organisation of Domestic Affairs

• MORDECHAI GATIRO (ALSO KNOWN AS C10): an operative of The Organisation of

Domestic Affairs, later Minenhle's partner

• THANDI HADEBE (LATER MASUKU): a resident of the Beauford Farm and Estate; Marcus

and Krystle's mother; Genie's adoptive mother

• MARCUS MASUKU: Thandi and Dingani's son; Genie's friend

• JESTINA NXUMALO: a resident of the Beauford Farm and Estate

• DINGANI MASUKU: Thandi's husband; Marcus and Krystle's father; Genie's adoptive father

• KRYSTLE 'CHRIS' MASUKU: Thandi and Dingani's daughter; Genie's adoptive sister

• EUNICE MASUKU: Dingani's mother

• BHEKITHEMBA NYATHI: journalist working for The Chronicle

• COSMOS NYATHI: Bhekithemba's grandfather

• THE MAN HIMSELF: current head of The Organisation

• VALENTINE TANAKA: Chief Registrar of The Organisation

• VIDA DE VILLIERS (ALSO KNOWN AS JESUS): street dweller and later Genie's partner

• DAVID: educated street dweller

• GOLIATH: street kid and gang leader of The Survivors

• THE SURVIVORS: gang of street kids

• MATILDA: housekeeper of The House That Jack Built

• STEFANOS: gardener at The House That Jack Built

• DR PRISCA MAMBO: Genie's doctor

• ESME MASUKU: Marcus' wife

• XANDER DANGERFIELD: vet at an animal rescue shelter

• THE WAR VETERANs: current occupiers of the Beauford Farm and Estate

• MR MENDELSOHN: undertaker
CHARACTERS:

Baines Tikiti Prudence Ngoma

(born Bafana Ndelelaphi) Raises her children to
Loves to travel have character

Mordechai Minenhle Tikiti Golide Gumede Elizabeth Nyoni

Gatiro (C10) Brutally tortured by (born Livingstone Country and
Works as a spy for C10 for information Stanley Tikiti) Western singer.
Emil Coetzee before on her brother. Albino freedom Dreams of going to
falling in love with fighter and Nashville
Minenhle charismatic leader

Imogen ‘Genie’ Zula Nyoni

Vida de Villiers ‘Jesus’
3 September 1978 - 3 September 2018
Loses his parents in a car accident. Spared by
Protagonist of the story. Hatches from a golden
Golide. Saved by Genie and is later saved by her.
egg. Flies away on silver wings.
Lived on the street and later becomes a world-
famous sculptor.

Dingani Masuku Thandi Hadebe

A doctor. Adopts Genie after (later Masuku)
information he provides to the Leaves Beauford with the
state which leads to her being intention of become a model.
orphaned. Leaves her son and later
returns to fetch him.

Krystle Masuku Marcus Malcolm Martin Masuku

Adopted sister of Genie. Adopted brother and childhood friend of Genie.

IMPORTANT QUOTES –
“Deep sense of belonging” – How Marcus felt with Beauford farm and estate
“Real Revolutionary” – Bhekithemba
“No one is inherently evil. But we are all capable of evil.” – Jestina
“From now I will choose my own endings” – Genie
“Mischief, Malice, Mayhem” – The man himself
“Wolves in sheep’s clothing” – Kuki referring to black people
“A smile that did not reach her eyes” – Marcus talking about Genie when she was adopted
“Your mom” – Genie talking about Thandi
“Lack of Bravery” – What Kuki feels Everleigh would feel about her.
“Fly through the air like a thing of beauty” – Genie
“He wanted no other meaning for his life but to save her” – Vida
“You took to the streets to free yourself of expectation and obligations” – Vida
“Genie had simply been whoever the Masukus wanted her to be” – Krystle
“They had no choice but to accept each other as they were” – Genie and Vida
“Promise her that he will never speak to her of love” – Vida
“Genie had prepared herself to leave him. And she had done her best to prepare him as well.”
“Genie has chosen this end for herself” – Genie unconscious in a pool of blood
“Because we cannot print what matters, we never print the truth – Bekhithemba
“A lion without his pride” – Dingani
“Home. A sanctuary” – How Marcus imagines a life with Genie
“You cannot believe everything you hear. Especially about mothers” – Krystle
“Fragile to the point of being brittle” – The Masukus
“Their tacit pact to feel one way and act otherwise” – Masukus
“Once stand by your man wife who at some point had just stopped standing by her man” – Thandi
“Jealously, Possessively, Imperfectly” – How the Masukus love
“Genie is not here” – Marcus when visiting Genie in the hospital
“You cannot break me, You see. I know for certain that my parents were capable of flight.” – Genie
“Simplicity, comfort, and domestic routine” – Genie’s life if she lived with Minenhle
“The role the state chooses to play in our lives is too intimate” – Minehle
“Trust me, I am on your side” – Valentine to the Masukus
“Genie let Marcus go” – When Marcus let go off her hand and wiped off his mouth
“because he is planning to overthrow the government” – Dingani about Golide Gumede
“Genie also chose her own ending” – Jestina
EXTRA THEMES –
(MORE IN DEPTH)

Inter-connectedness:
As is made clear in the prologue, 'the story of what happened to Genie on the Beauford Farm and Estate
on the third of September is also the story of many other characters' (p 9). The novel presents these
interwoven stories, sometimes switching between characters (and time and place) from one chapter to the
next, in order to reveal the connections between them. The novel examines how interwoven,
interconnected and interdependent our lives are.

Belonging:
Belonging can be tied to family, or to people not related by blood but by other connections, for instance,
the connection Marcus feels with Genie and her parents. Belonging - and the opposite feeling of alienation
– are addressed in terms of sexuality and race (Vida's experiences) and being HIV-positive (Genie). The
novel also addresses the interpretation of belonging as one's connections to the land (as demonstrated by
Bhekithemba) and the way such interpretations are politicised (as explained by Krystle's PhD thesis).

Family and family history:

Family is important for different reasons in the novel: not only is it associated with belonging but also with
inheritance in the form of choices, genetics, and bequests. The importance of family is evident right from
the start: Book One: Part 1 (Genealogy) begins with Genie's family history. It reveals the choices that
Baines Tikiti, Prudence Ngoma, Golide Gumede and Elizabeth Nyoni make which all play an important role
in 'Genie's beginning' (p 15). Indeed, before Genie could be born, Golide and Elizabeth had to spend the
night together, but before (Golide) could be born, his parents had to meet. And before his parents could
meet, the circumstances had to be such that when they did meet ‘they could actually do something about
it'(p15).

Preceding generations influence later ones, for instance, Genie’s story begins with her grandfather and
father. Golide’s fascination with flight (inherited from his father) and what it can represent to him and his
people, drives him to shoot down the plane and it is the repercussions from that event that echo
throughout the subsequent years and influence the lives of Genie and others living at Beauford Farm and
Estate, connecting them in ways they could not have expected

History and the transition from colonialism to independence:

National, family and personal history are all shown to be important in this novel. Since the novel is set in
the transition from colonialism to independence, the characters' personal experiences are influenced by
the national laws and policies of each period, as well as the wars and conflict that characterise the shift to
independence and the subsequent struggle for power. The inhabitants and owners of the Beauford Farm
and Estate also reflect the historical changes occurring on a national level over the years.

The history of the individual characters is also interwoven with the broader history of the unnamed
country in which the story is set. One illustration of this is how the changing political and social realities are
reflected by the inhabitants of Beauford Farm and Estate. At first, the estate is owned by colonialists, and
the local villagers are pressed into service as labourers. After liberation, the estate becomes home to these
local families who attempt to build a new life. It is during this period that Golide attempts to build his
airplane. As the country devolves into a police state, however, the estate is attacked and, later, occupied
by veterans of the liberation struggle. At the end of The Theory of Flight, the estate is gifted by Beatrice
Beit- Beauford, the legal owner, to The Survivors, a gang of street children who are victims of the ongoing
social and political unrest.
 The HIV pandemic:
The effects of HIV on the country and its citizens are revealed through Genie’s illness, Vida's observation
about the influx of homeless children, Bhekithemba's observation that '[w]e live in a time of HIV and AIDS
(p.205), the impact on the residents at Beauford after the 'sojas’ have been and the changes that Mister
Mendelsohn sees in his business. On the one hand, Genie's death serves as a single instance of the broader
trend afflicting the country: hers is just another death caused by AIDS. On the other hand, Genie's was a
life that mattered. She was 'never just a statistic’. She was always more than just a tragic life (p.322). The
novel encourages us to confront the fact that, even though the death rate may be high, each life that is lost
matters to someone, and that we should not lose sight of the tragedy when confronted with the statistics.

Creativity/Imagination/Art:
Art is presented as a metaphor for our power to make choices and create our own reality, the significance
of the decisions we make, and the importance of a life well- lived. In The Theory of Flight this potential that
art has to allow us to fly is examined through the lives and works of three characters: Golide Gumede,
Elizabeth Nyoni and Vida de Villiers.

Golide Gumede builds a giant pair of silver wings that inspires awe in the race of angels that watches him
and envy, jealousy and fear in The Man Himself. Elizabeth Nyoni is a musician who believes her talents
need to find their way to Nashville, Tennessee. Vida de Villiers is a sculptor who becomes world-famous.
Through their work they are able to transport and inspire people.

There is one thing that can never be controlled and that is the imagination. Art, therefore, creates a space
that is difficult to regulate and manage. Art becomes an alternative space where alternative stories and
histories can be told. Art, therefore, is potentially the place for the non-believers – those who look to other
narratives beyond those crafted by the state. The Man Himself, who could be considered a representative
of the state and power, treats them as dangerous threats as the state wants to have a monopoly on
narratives of the past; it also wants to have control over understanding of the present.

Flight:
The theme of flight (and wings) runs throughout the novel, as a metaphor for freedom, daring to dream,
overcoming limitations, and achieving the seemingly impossible.

Golide’s father is initially fascinated with airplanes because they represent the freedom to travel
anywhere. During the war effort, Golide believes that his goal is to bring the mechanics and science of
flight to his people. It is for this reason that he decides to shoot down the plane so that they can take it
apart and copy it. Yet, on his return to Beauford, Golide learns that he is only meant to show ‘people [...]
that they were capable of flight’ and realises that ‘if people saw him build a giant pair of silver wings, then
they too would believe that they could fly’. When Beauford is attacked and Golide and Elizabeth disappear,
Genie asserts that her parents ‘flew away’ and, at the end of the novel, Genie herself is seen to fly away on
a pair of silver wings.

Yet how events such as Golide’s construction of a pair of giant silver wings and Genie’s ascent at the
moment of her death are to be interpreted – and thus the message they are intended to convey – is not
stated explicitly; the author’s touch is subtle, and readers are invited to enter into the world of the novel
and construct meaning for themselves.
 The beauty and promise of life:
Beauty and fragility of life are the qualities that make it precious and exquisite.
The author uses sunflowers as a metaphor for the impermanence and transience of the beauty of life. One
of the strengths of The Theory of Flight is that, while it offers insight into many of the problems recently
faced by several countries in southern Africa, it refuses to become mired in these problems by focusing on
the beauty and promise of life, and the importance of a life well-lived. Several times in the novel the
narrator and other characters refer to those who ‘have eyes not for beauty to see’. The reader is thus
challenged to rise above the scepticism and cynicism that reality may seem to encourage, and to look upon
the ‘beauty’ that waits to be seen instead.

Love:
The theme of love appears throughout the novel in many forms, such as the love at first sight as
experienced by Golide, the gradual awakening of love experienced by Marcus for Genie, the love that
cannot be acknowledged aloud between Vida and Genie, the possessive love Krystle has for Genie, and the
love between parent and child. As the narrator presents these interweaving stories, these types of love
shape the characters' decisions and motivations in various ways.

Freedom:
Freedom is addressed in different forms in the novel. There is the freedom of the country in general and
freedom on a more personal level, such as freedom from an abusive marriage, the freedom that living on
the streets brings, a similar freedom from responsibility brought about by not talking about love, and the
freedom that results from knowing another person's truths and being known in return.

The power of experience and choice:

The author invites us to engage with the various ways ‘of living, remembering, seeing, knowing and dying’
as experienced throughout the novel, and to appreciate how one may overcome the limitations imposed
upon them by events and, like Genie, ‘do something good with [one’s] life’. In short, The Theory of Flight
shows us that meaning does not always lie in grand gestures, but can sometimes be found in a quiet
understanding, which the novel suggests results in a freedom that allows one to rise above circumstances.
SYMBOLS
Elephants swimming:
By swimming across the Zambezi River, the elephants are doing something seemingly impossible. They
illustrate what happens when you possess a true belief in yourself and what you are capable of. This is
connected to what Golide Gumede, Genie and the omniscient narrator say about watching swimming
elephants at various points in the novel: “You become aware of your place in the world . . . You understand
that in the grander scheme of things you are but a speck... a tiny speck . . . and that that is enough . . .
There is freedom... beauty even, in that kind of knowledge . . . It is the kind of knowledge that finally quiets
you. It is the kind of knowledge that allows you to fly.”

Sunflowers:
Genie sees similarities between herself and the flowers: ‘[s]he strongly suspected that she had once upon a
time been a sunflower, for she too was thin and tall, reaching for the sky; she too had a brown face that
was turned up towards the sun; she too loved the gentle sway.” The narrator also describes Genie taking
‘her rightful place among them’ (p 52) when she buries her toes in the soil. In addition, the sunflower field
is the place in which she passes away – the place where she chooses her own ending. The sunflowers may
symbolise several things to Genie, such as belonging, peace and safety. That seems to be the case when
she imagines her father and her walking through the field, and ‘the sunflowers' faces are no longer facing
the sun but have turned, each and every one, towards her father and her as they make their way home’.
The life cycle of the sunflowers represents the cycle of birth, life and death. They are a metaphor for the
impermanence and transience of the beauty of life.

The Golden Egg:

The egg from which Genie is hatched is described as ‘shiny’ and ‘golden’, and small enough to fit into ‘the
palm of [Elizabeth’s] right hand’ (p 15). When Golide launches his anti-aircraft missile, he sees a vision of
‘Elizabeth going to the Beauford Farm and Estate carrying a golden egg. She later tells Jestina that Genie
‘was a golden egg for the five years I carried her. She was a golden egg until the third of September 1978,
when she hatched’ (p 40). Eggs are often a symbol of life and rebirth, and this interpretation seems to
apply in this novel as well. It does not seem a coincidence that Genie dies on her birthday, especially since,
as Genie falls into a coma, she thinks that ‘the future has arrived’ (p 196).

Aeroplanes And The Silver Wings:

For Golide the aeroplane seems to represent more than a desire to fulfil Elizabeth’s dream of flying to
America. When he proposes the idea of shooting down an aeroplane, it is so that he could ‘teach people
about how aeroplanes work before the war was over’ (p 25). He wanted them to believe that they ‘were
still capable of flight’ (p 24); however, just before he launches the anti-aircraft missile, he watches
elephants swim across the Zambezi River. At this moment, he realises that ‘he had come up with his theory
of flight’ (p. 73). As he explains to Bhekithemba, he ‘wanted people to know that they were capable of
flight.’ This becomes symbolic of freedom, daring to dream, overcoming limitations, and achieving the
seemingly impossible.

Precious And Beautiful Somethings:

The ‘precious and beautiful somethings’ are the hearts of Golide’s supporters, Genie and quite possibly
Elizabeth and Golide. The hopes and beliefs that these people seemed to have in life have ‘calcified’ (p. 9)
into a physical symbol of such after their deaths. It also seems significant that it is the hearts that are
transmuted into the ‘precious and beautiful somethings’, as the heart is often seen as the metaphorical
source of emotions such as hope and belief.

The House That Jack Built:

The House That Jack Built is a physical symbol of the colonial era in which it was built. The furnishings and
personal possessions left in the house perhaps symbolise the structure of the society at that time.
World Atlas
Genie and Marcus ‘borrow [a] world atlas from Marcus’s grandfather’s which they then use in their
imaginary journeys in Brown Car. Genie sends the same world atlas to Marcus before she dies, which
Marcus keeps in a suitcase and appears to keep hidden from his wife. For Marcus, this atlas seems to serve
as a reminder of Genie, as ‘the page he has turned to time and time again’ is that with what appears to be
Genie’s ‘small reddish-brown handprint’ on it (p 213). The atlas could symbolise their childhood friendship
or serve as a reminder of their dreams to visit far-away places.

Genie’s Suitcase
When Genie arrives at the Masukus' home, she is carrying a suitcase containing her childhood clothes and
Penelope and Specs. Years later, when she leaves the Masukus she takes the same possessions with her.
When Genie prepares for her death, she packs her suitcase with these possessions, as well as the pair of
blue slippers she found at The House That Jack Built. Finally, at Genie’s funeral, the suitcase with the same
contents has been placed in the coffin in place of Genie’s body. The importance of the suitcase and its
contents seems to lie in the fact that, with the exception of the slippers, these were probably given to her
by her parents. The suitcase, with its contents from her childhood, can also be seen as a symbol of the
transitions in Genie’s life – thus, when Genie knows that she is dying, she packs her suitcase for one last
metaphorical journey. Vida seems to realise this when he finds the suitcase, which has been packed with
the same items, after he takes Genie to hospital (p 199). Because there is no body to bury, the suitcase is
initially placed in the coffin in her stead, as perhaps it now symbolises Genie for Vida. Before the coffin can
be buried, however, Vida retrieves the suitcase, because while ‘[t]here is courage in letting Genie go [...]
[t]here is courage, too, in not letting Genie go entirely’.

The Colourful Bird:

The colourful bird is first mentioned when Genie hears about the ‘discovery of the precious and beautiful
something’ and she thinks that she ‘needs to send a colourful bird to Minenhle and Mordechai’ (p 97). A
‘colourful bird’ next appears on Vida’s chest when he awakens after having taken to the streets again. He
takes ‘comfort in the knowledge that such a colourful bird exists and that it would feel safe enough with
him to land on his chest’ (p 203). A ‘colourful bird’ is also rescued by Mordechai and Minenhle when it
breaks its wing, and Marcus believes that there was a bird like that on the Beauford Farm and Estate. It is
possible that this bird represents hope, as well as something
that is beautiful and fragile but also free, like Genie.

Beauford Farm and Estate:

The Beauford Farm and estate could function as a symbol of the broader changes occurring in the country
as a whole. This piece of land – and its ownership and residents – can be seen in terms of the role land
plays in understanding belonging.