Once Upon a Time
Introduction + Context
Plot Summary
Detailed Summary & Analysis
Themes
All Themes Wealth Inequality and Fear Apartheid, Racism, and Property Separation and the Illusion of Security Storytelling
Quotes
Characters
All Characters The Narrator The Man / The Husband The Woman / The Wife The Little Boy / The Son The Housemaid The Husband’s Mother
Symbols
All Symbols The Razor Wire
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Once Upon a Time

by

Nadine Gordimer

Once Upon a Time Symbols

The Razor Wire

The razor wire is symbolic of apartheid, which destroyed South African society by keeping different races apart. Apartheid is an Afrikaans word that literally means “aparthood” or “separateness,” so the razor wire—which is meant to…

read analysis of The Razor Wire

The Razor Wire Symbol Icon
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