Metaphor for power
When the British colonizers reached the territory known today as South Africa, they already had access to guns and other lethal weapons. In contrast with them, the indigenous people has primitive weapons such as spears or bows and arrows. The Europeans had no trouble in asserting their control over the population and because of this the guns are used as a metaphor for power.
Growing flowers
The second part of the book begins with the narrator describing a single flower growing in the middle of the desert, strong enough to survive the scorching heat and the harsh wind. This flower is later described as growing to become a tall and strong tree, towering over everything. The tree is used here as a metaphor and it represents the endurance of the African people.
Just like monkey
During the first contact between the British and the South Africans, it was clear that the British soldiers already had an idea in their minds when it came to the natives. The narrator includes in the book fragments taken from the letters the soldiers sent back home in which the black natives are compared with monkeys. This comparison is important here because it shows just how little the British thought about the natives and how they saw themselves as superior from the start.
Metaphor for intolerance
Christianity reached South Africa through the British colonizers who were almost in a proportion to 95% devout believers. The aboriginal beliefs were instantly categorized as being pagan and great efforts were made to convert the general population and eliminate the old beliefs. The practices used by the British were often violent and cruel and because of this, when the narrator talks about Christianity, he also uses religion as a metaphor for intolerance.
The white building
The British governor and its cabinet were given a white and imposing building in the middle of the biggest city in South Africa. The narrator mentions that guards were permanently station there and that their guns shined in the morning sun. The building was always avoided by the black South Africans and regarded with fear and suspicion. The building is also used here as a metaphor, representing here British rule and its racist policies.
