Interrogating the Literary Representation of an Exceptional Group in Society - Old People
Coletta Kandemiri, Nelson Mlambo

Abstract
Ever thought of old people in any sense other than just being old people? This paper gives attention to old people who are an exceptional group in society by acknowledging their presence and importance. People generally perceive old people from the point of myths and stereotypes that surround old people. A few can distinguish facts from myths about old people. Old people have duties and responsibilities in African societies. Any negative impact on old people's life, might it be physical or emotional will reflect on their performance. They fail to play their roles as expected by the society. The oppressive and exploitative systems that are found in Charles Mungoshi’s Waiting for the rain and in George Lamming’s In the castle of my skin are some of the determinants of the behaviour of the old people's characters in these texts. The main thrust of this paper is on old people of African origins and how the old people relate to their respective societies from an Afro-centred approach. To be centred calls for African-ness to be the basis on which the world is viewed, judged or weighed from.Afro centricity as a theory advocates for the change of the African person from seeing self from the other. An African viewing self from a Eurocentric point of view would definitely create problems and unnecessary commotion.

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