Identity Economies in Narrative Practice: Resource Allocation and Group Identity in the Fiction of Zakes Mda

Identity research has increasingly emphasised the narrative and discursive construction of social identities, yet relatively little attention has been paid to how identity narratives regulate the distribution of social resources within groups. Drawing on Identity Group Theory (IGT), this article conceptualises identity formation as a process of narrative resource allocation, in which participation entails investments of attention, effort, and emotional engagement, and generates forms of recognition, authority, and belonging.The analysis focuses on Zakes Mda’s The Heart of Redness and Ways of Dying, which depict communities negotiating historical memory, social transformation, and collective loss in post-apartheid South Africa. Through close reading and discourse-oriented analysis, the article examines how characters mobilise narrative authority, form alliances, and participate in practices—such as debate and mourning—that structure communal life.It argues that Mda’s fiction renders visible the processes through which recognition and influence circulate within groups. In doing so, the article demonstrates how the concept of identity economies advances cultural theory by moving beyond anti-essentialist accounts of identity as process toward an analysis of how narrative practices distribute recognition, authority, obligation, and belonging. The article therefore contributes to an interdisciplinary framework linking literary studies, cultural studies, sociology, and discourse analysis.