Knocking on the Door

Résumé du livre

An anthology of short stories, poems, essays and speeches; the writings run the range from Christian hope of overcoming injustice to deep feelings of paralysis and sterility. Chronologically arranged, they are divided into sections corresponding to Paton's life interests: penal reform, literature and opposition to apartheid, first within, and then outside the Liberal Party. The speeches and articles often refer to martyrdom; the poems range from a humorous treatment of political self-censorship to the extraordinary 1946-47 ""The Prison House,"" a powerful statement of the so-called Bettelheim syndrome of identifying with the oppressor.