Flawed - The Coloured Curtain

<p>FLAWED<br>Edward Horner was born with a silver spoon in his mouth but the spoon<br>is tarnished as he is psychologically abused by his father during his formative years.<br>As a result of this abuse Edward loses his self esteem and self confidence. This has dire<br>consequences in his later years as he squanders his inheritance due to his irrational<br>determination to prove himself. Edward's inability to confidently implement his<br>creative ideas eventually leads to his financial downfall. Edward's marriage to Cynthia<br>fails as he avoids the responsibilities of marriage and fatherhood. His relationships<br>and the various enterprises that he establishes all fail as a result of his lack of confidence<br>in his abilities and his failure to be forceful about his opinions. Frustration at his<br>helplessness and fear of failure become his constant companions. Coupled with this<br>is his failure to provide for his old age due to his incessant unrealistic imaginings of<br>success and wealth. Dream follows dream until suddenly<br>there is no time for another dream.</p><p>THE COLOURED CURTAIN<br>In the early 1970s a nineteen-year-old black farm labourer John Matlala<br>leaves the citrus farm in the Northern Transvaal where he'd spent his<br>entire life and travels to Johannesburg to seek his fortune. Unable to achieve<br>his goals by legitimate means John teams up with a streetwise black petty criminal<br>Jimson in the hope of finding the wealth he desperately yearns for through crime.<br>Initially the two young men prey on defenceless old people pick-pocketing and<br>tricking them but as their greed grows they turn to armed robbery resulting in<br>the robbing of an elderly Indian tailor with tragic consequences. Running parallel to<br>John's story is the story of the privileged life of Herman Malan heir to his late<br>father's steel construction business. The two stories merge when John and<br>Jimson attempt to rob Herman after he leaves the bank with the firm's wages.<br>Jimson and Herman are both killed when the police intervene but John escapes.<br>He flees to the huge black township of Soweto. Can John safely hide<br>in this huge metropolis?<br> </p>