Gordimer's political convictions are apparent in this narrative in the way she uses pejorative languages to express her viewpoint. “Art is the negative knowledge of the actual world,” for example, according to “Reconciliation Under Duress.” Art, on the other hand, investigates the unknown, and, as Adorno puts it, "art does not become knowledge with reference to ordinary immediate actuality." Gordimer avoids using the phrase "immediate actuality" in her writings. As Ettin notes, we never obtain a complete picture of the storyline and must instead orient ourselves by thinking about what hasn't been communicated. Gordimer illustrates the enormous attraction of this German, Jewish theorist by drawing on Adorno's views, further separating herself from the genre of black authors and redefining the goal of a political book.
