الباحث
Volume 18, Numéro 1, Pages 96-110
2026-03-31
Dystopia And Existentialism In African Dystopian Novels: A Critical Reading Of Nadine Gordimer’s July’s People (1981)
Authors : Haddouche Hassina . Benmezal Farid .
Abstract
The African dystopian narrative genre is an important field and a fertile ground for exploring the manifestations of Existentialism. This article seeks to demonstrate the Sartrean philosophy of Existentialism within Nadine Gordimer’s dystopian novel July’s People (1981) which provides profound insights into existential themes. This study also aims to show the significant place of the philosophy of Existentialism in African dystopian literature. It focuses mainly on Sartre’s notion of “existence” and “essence” within a dystopian vision. Gordimer’s dystopian vision powerfully illustrates how the white creators of the existential crisis for Black South Africans ultimately became trapped in a crisis of their own making, suggesting that systems of oppression, like Apartheid, create unsustainable existential conditions for everyone involved. Through this dystopian vision of reciprocal entrapment, Gordimer transcends simple moral condemnation to offer a profound existential critique of Apartheid. Her dystopian narrative demonstrates how the Apartheid system, designed by Whites to secure their privilege by systematically destabilizing Black existence, ultimately creates the conditions for white existential collapse when the system itself falls apart.
Keywords
Dystopia ; Existentialism ; Deterritorialization ; Essence ; Apartheid
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