The Lion on the Freeway is a thematic introduction to post-1950 South African English literature. After examining the nation’s political history and four earlier landmark works, the study examines the oppressed peoples’ moods, ranging from loving to attacking; the oppressors’ attitudes, ranging from ignorance to action; and the contradictory forecasts the literature offers for South Africa. The study scrutinizes works in numerous genres by thirty-one authors (8 white; 23 non-white). Among them are J.M. Coetzee, Nadine Gordimer, Dennis Brutus, Bessie Head, Mazisi Kunene, Oswald Mtshali, and Mongane Wally Serote.