Visible/Invisible Plot Structures: A Deconstructionist Study of Nadine Gordimer’s Jump and Other Stories

Abstract

This research presents a deconstructionist reading of selected short stories from Nadine Gordimer’s Jump and Other Stories (1991). In so doing, a three-step model of narrative construing is proposed. This three-step model, firstly, locates invisible structures in the plot building of the selected short stories that appear alogical. Secondly, it is argued that at closer scrutiny these invisible constructions appear logical, thus a paradoxical pair of invisible and visible structures is established. Finally, this research postulates that the time-and-again shifting weight of the paradoxical pair eventually reveals the presence of invisible constructions. With this revelation, the plot collapses—which is evident in the short stories' startling, rather jumpy, endings.