Age of Iron

Age of Iron Overview Chapter 1   1. Discovery and chasing away of Mr Vercueil in alley 2. Revelation of Terminal Cancer 3. Mrs Curren’s explanation of Writing: Own sake > Daughter’s 4. Mrs Curren’s charity to Mr Vercueil 5. Mrs Curren’s Job Offer a. Vercueil’s Rejection and Spitting 6. Mrs Curren’s Collapse and Vercueil’s Help 7. Mrs Curren’s rejection of Vercueil’s idea of a Boarding House 8. Task given to Vercueil to cut Grass a. Gives up after an Hour 9. Mrs Curren’s passing out and Sighting of Vercueil’s Theft 10. Drive with Mr Vercueil a. Mrs Curren’s Sobbing b. Vercueil’s Indifference 11. Mrs Curren’s offer to pay Vercueil for Odd jobs a. Vercueil Questions if anyone Deserves anything b. Mrs Curren Shoves her Purse at Vercueil 12. Mrs Curren plays Classical Music and Vercueil listens, hidden from sight 13. Neighbour asks if Mr Vercueil is a trespassing vagrant a. Mrs Curren claims that Vercueil works for her b. Decision to stop answering the phone 14. Mrs Curren worries about House after death a. Yearns for the good old days 15. Mrs Curren criticises South Africa 16. Comment on how Bars make her feel as if she is in a Zoo

17. Mrs Curren asks if Vercueil would send papers to her daughter 18. Vercueil agrees after some Resistance Chapter 2   1. Florence returns with Hope, Beauty and Bheki a. Mentions chaos in Gugulethu b. Mentions that Schools in Gugulethu have closed; Children now running around getting in Trouble c. Disapproval of Vercueil’s Presence 2. Vercueil plays with Hope and Beauty 3. Conversation between Florence and Mrs Curren reveals that Children are burning down schools and acting in a defiant manner 4. Mrs Curren compares her life to that of Florence and her Family a. Mrs Curren recollects visiting Florence’s Husband 5. Vercueil, John and Bheki’s Fight a. Vercueil asked for water b. John pours out Vercueil’s Brandy c. John calls Vercueil a Dog d. Vercueil Curses at John e. Mrs Curren laments that John is self-important f. Fight Begins g. Vercueil leaves 6. Florence calls Vercueil a Rubbish person and Mrs Curren objects 7. Mrs Curren criticises Florence letting John and Bheki get away with disrespecting elders 8. Florence blames their behavior on White people > Parenting 9. Mrs Curren notices police and tells them that Bheki and John have permission to be around house a. Tells Florence to send them home b. Florence objects claiming that shootings are common in Gugulethu 10. Mrs Curren thinks about dead mother 11. Vercueil returns with another woman 12. Vercueil’s sleeping reminds Mrs Curren of her daughter

13. Mrs Curren gets agitated about people swarming her house before her death a. Makes Florence chase Vercueil’s lady friend out 14. Police van chases after Bheki and John as they are Cycling 15. Boys crash into the door of a van 16. Mrs Curren stems Bleeding on John’s forehead 17. Mrs Curren chides Florence for Running away a. Florence claims that she does not want to deal with Police 18. Mrs Curren unable to find John at Hospital after calling 19. Mrs Curren, Florence, Bheki and Vercueil go hunting for John 20. Mrs Curren remains in the car with Vercueil due to pain a. Accustomed to Vercueil’s stench b. Parallel to evils of South Africa c. Mrs Curren considers giving herself over to the care of nurses d. Vercueil recommends telling her daughter about Cancer e. Discussion about daughter 21. Florence rants about Bheki being left with a room of people awaiting death 22. Mrs Curren and Vercueil go to visit John a. John’s indifference b. Story of Thucydides c. “Be slow to judge” 23. Mrs Curren and Vercueil watch TV and read books a. Vercueil reveals that he worked at sea 24. Mrs Curren ​ ​ tries to press charges against the two policemen but she cannot because only people directly affected by an action can do so. a. Bad excuse 25. Mrs Curren complains; Vercueil asks for money Chapter 3   1. Mrs Curren brings Florence to Find Bheki a. Call indicating that he was in trouble

b. Vercueil refused to follow c. Police approach car: Mrs Curren claims that she is bringing housekeeper home 2. Mrs Curren enters one of the houses with Hope and Beauty; Allegory 3. The duo meet Thabane who guides them to Gugulethu 4. Chaos at Gugulethu 5. Mrs Curren asked if she could lend a car to a “friend of Bheki’s”; Refused, insisted on leaving for home 6. Mr Thabane criticises Mrs Curren, asking her to consider all the people who had Gugulethu as home a. Crowd gathers around duo b. Mrs Curren claims that the scene is terrible but states that she needs to find a way to condemn it in her own words c. People stare in disbelief 7. Sighting of Bheki dead alongside four other boys a. Mrs Curren’s own desire for death 8. Mrs Curren drives home and asked an Officer if he knew what was going on a. Officer claims that she should not jump to Conclusions as to who is responsible 9. Mrs Curren thinks about her family and starts describing a photograph of herself as a child 10. Mrs Curren and Vercueil drive around in Car a. Find two women collecting Florence’s items when they return b. Mrs Curren writes a cheque for Florence 11. Vercueil asks if “today is the day”; Mrs Curren plans to commit suicide but does not go through with it 12. Mrs Curren discusses how hard it is to decide if she should commit suicide 13. Mrs Curren starts talking about her mother, her thoughts on the country, and how everything she loved has passed 14. Vercueil encourages Mrs Curren to commit suicide 15. Mrs Curren and Vercueil drink and drive 16. Mrs Curren discusses Bheki’s death a. Mrs Curren’s past perception of death as old white people dying in hospitals b. Mrs Curren worries that kids these days are growing up too fast because of the terrible things they witness c. Does not want get over Bheki’s death 17. Mrs Curren’s refusal to get drunk angers Vercueil a. Takes her car keys and throws them into the bushes b. Mrs Curren is unable to find keys c. Mrs Curren wonders if she should have visited daughter when given opportunity

d. Recollects last telephone call e. Considers trust of Vercueil to pass letter 18. Mrs Curren goes shopping and spills food in pain 19. John arrives at Mrs Curren’s house, looking for Bheki a. Informs him that Bheki is dead b. Asks for money to return home by Bus c. Mrs Curren refuses in fear of endangering John d. Mrs Curren considers how she fears John 20. Mrs Curren thinks about the letter she's writing to her daughter. It's becoming more abstract. She had expected it to be more geared towards pulling her daughter towards her, and now it feels as if she's writing it from the stars 21. Mrs Curren discusses her disturbing dreams 22. Mrs Curren bandages John a. Expresses her views on South Africa’s situation 23. Mrs Curren notices John hiding something 24. Mrs Curren calls and asks Thabane to sends someone for John a. Claims that Bheki and John have stashed a weapon in her house b. Mr Thabane’s indifference c. Mr Thabane pretends that the phone has a bad connection d. Mr Thabane expresses support for the boys’ comradeship in struggling for the same cause 25. Police officers arrive at Mrs Curren’s house a. Mrs Curren attempts to defend John b. Mrs Curren is dragged out of the house; relishing screaming that she had cancer i. Claims that pain is in her heart 26. John is killed 27. Mrs Curren refuses to return home, claiming that her house was not her home any longer 28. Mrs Curren sits under a bridge a. Realises she forgot her pills but does not care about survival 29. Wakes up finding children trying to see if she has Gold teeth to steal a. Claims that she has a contagious sickness 30. Vercueil arrives and carries Mrs Curren to a dark wooded space where they sleep on cardboard a. Mrs Cu