Scribd
Upload
10 views3 pages

? Traditional Plot Structure - Unto Dust

The document outlines the traditional plot structure of the story 'Unto Dust,' focusing on themes of death, racism, and loyalty. It highlights the conflict between the narrator and Stoffel Oosthuizen regarding the idea that death equalizes all people, culminating in the ironic discovery that the bones of a white man and a black man are indistinguishable. Key symbols, such as the yellow dog and mixed bones, reinforce the narrative's exploration of human equality and the futility of racial prejudice.

Uploaded by

Shan-Mare Barnard
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
10 views3 pages

? Traditional Plot Structure - Unto Dust

The document outlines the traditional plot structure of the story 'Unto Dust,' focusing on themes of death, racism, and loyalty. It highlights the conflict between the narrator and Stoffel Oosthuizen regarding the idea that death equalizes all people, culminating in the ironic discovery that the bones of a white man and a black man are indistinguishable. Key symbols, such as the yellow dog and mixed bones, reinforce the narrative's exploration of human equality and the futility of racial prejudice.

Uploaded by

Shan-Mare Barnard
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Traditional Plot Structure: “Unto Dust”

Element What Happens


Exposition The narrator reflects on how death is perceived differently for young and
old people. He recalls a peaceful death of Andries Wessels, and his own
malaria-induced musings on death.
Conflict The narrator debates the idea that "death is the great leveller" with his
friend Stoffel Oosthuizen, who is strongly against the idea that all people
become equal in death.
Rising Stoffel tells a story from the past where he witnessed the death of a white
Action man, Hans Welman, killed in a skirmish during a “Kafir war,” and how
he shot the black man who killed him.
Climax Months later, Stoffel and other burghers return to retrieve Hans Welman’s
remains, but they find the bones of both Hans and the black man mixed
and indistinguishable.
Falling The group tries to sort the bones but gives up, placing what they think are
Action Hans Welman’s remains in the coffin and burying the rest on the spot.
Denouement The story ends with Stoffel later passing the grave and seeing the black
man’s loyal yellow dog at the site again — hinting that perhaps the black
man was buried there instead.

Characters
Character Description
Herman Charles The narrator. Reflects on death and recounts a story told to him by
Bosman Stoffel after recovering from malaria.
Stoffel The main storyteller. He is prejudiced and racist but tells a story that
Oosthuizen ironically proves human equality in death.
Hans Welman A white burgher (Afrikaner farmer) killed during a war skirmish. His
bones are later indistinguishable from a black man’s.
Tall Black Man The attacker who killed Hans. Shot and mortally wounded by Stoffel.
His dog’s loyalty plays a key role in the story’s final message.
Yellow Dog The loyal dog of the black man. Appears at the grave twice,
suggesting his master’s bones were buried in the coffin.
Andries Wessels Mentioned early on. Died peacefully and hallucinated “angels” with
cloven hooves and forks (clearly demons).
Key Themes
1. Death as the Great Leveller

• Initially debated in the story — Stoffel strongly rejects the idea that death makes all
people equal.
• Ironically, bones of the white man and black man are indistinguishable.
• The truth revealed by nature contradicts the characters’ racist beliefs.

2. Racism and Irony

• The white characters show strong racial superiority throughout the story.
• The ironic twist is that in death, race disappears — only bones and dried flesh
remain.
• The burghers are disturbed not by death itself, but by the possibility of racial mixing
in the grave.

3. Loyalty and Memory

• The yellow dog is a symbol of unwavering loyalty and perhaps moral truth.
• Its reappearance at the grave creates an eerie, unresolved feeling — suggesting that
truth lives on, even when men deceive themselves.

Symbolism and Irony


Symbol Meaning
Cloven-hoofed Symbol of false holiness or misbelief — Andries Wessels thinks
angels demons are angels as he dies.
Yellow Dog Possibly symbolizes loyalty, natural truth, or even moral clarity
beyond racial prejudice.
Mixed Bones Represent the futility of racism and how nature equalizes all people
in death.

Irony in the Story


• Dramatic Irony: Readers understand the meaning behind the dog’s presence and the
indistinguishable bones, while the characters deny it.
• Situational Irony: The racist burghers bury what may very well be black remains in a
white man’s grave.
• Verbal Irony: The absence of anyone saying “In death they were not divided” is
noted bitterly — because that truth is what they fear most.
Study Questions Recap with Answers
Question Answer
What was wrong with Andries They had cloven hooves and carried forks —
Wessels’s angels? signs of demons, not angels.
What does “death is the great leveller” It means that everyone becomes equal in death,
mean? regardless of race, status, or background.
What is the irony in Hans Welman’s The white burghers couldn’t distinguish black
burial? from white bones — contradicting their racism.
Why would it not have mattered if the Because all bones would still be white, so racial
war had been against the English? mixing in burial would not be feared.
Why is Stoffel upset to see the yellow B. It meant there were black man’s bones buried
dog at the grave? in the white man’s grave.

You might also like