Negotiating Power Dynamics: ‘Neo’Colonial Hegemony and Rhizomatic Interraciality in Zakes Mda’s The Heart of Redness

Abstract

African literature critically interrogates Eurocentric discourses, ideologically driven narratives that construct black subjectivity as the subordinate Other within a white-normative epistemology.  This white-supremacist ideology emerges as an exclusionary system of identification that fragments the reality of African people, subjecting them to alienation, segregation, and violence. Employing a qualitative, thematic approach firmly grounded in postcolonial theory, the paper investigates the representation of ‘neo’colonial hegemony in Zakes Mda’s The Heart of Redness. It examines how race intersects with identity, power, and violence to legitimize racial hierarchies, defining native inhabitants as inherently primitive and savage. It, at the same time, uncovers moments of interracial harmony, demonstrating how the chosen fictional narrative foregrounds rhizomatic interactions and non-asymmetrical encounters. The findings reveal that Zakes Mda’s novel not only highlights essentialist categories but also reimagines racial difference through hybridity and intersubjectivity. The paper, hence, offers valuable insights into how postcolonial African fiction stands as an artistic and critical framework that seeks to deconstruct the enduring legacies of ‘neo’colonialism and Eurocentrism, contributing to subversive modes of discourse and knowledge.