Down Second Avenue is a memoir by Es’kia Mphahlele recounting his experiences of Apartheid in South Africa. The book begins with Mphahlele announcing that he never knew why he and his siblings were taken to rural areas to live with their granny. During this time, he was five years of age, and his parents were working and living in Pretoria. Mphahlele’s grandmother was strict and barely smiled. The author states that his aunts also inherited such a kind of personality. As a result, nobody cared to marry his aunts.
Life in the rural area was a tough one as Mphahlele was forced to trek seven kilometers to go to school. The extremities and intricacies detailed by Mphahlele in this book are beyond conception. Apartheid led to Mphahlele changing his views on social situations. Mphahlele lived in a world defined by the promise and confines of contemporary cultural fundamentalism. This world limited his capacity to achieve his dreams. The ruling minority set stringent laws against the impoverished majority. Despite these harsh laws, he soldiered on with education.
The autobiographical book describes the true undergoing under the apartheid era. The predicaments and experiences in South Africa resulted in him fleeing the country. However, after some decades in exile, he offers to return to South Africa to help his fellow citizens fight for independence. Many vocal leaders were suppressed and imprisoned during the apartheid era. Racial prejudice was the order of the day. Police brutality against native blacks was severe.
