Premium Essay

Country Lovers and the Welcome Table

In:

Submitted By dorobe9519
Words 3086
Pages 13
Discrimination and Racism in Country Lovers and the Welcome Table
Donna Robertson ENG 125: Introduction to Literature Lyndsey Lefebvre November 18, 2012

Discrimination and Racism in Country Lovers and the Welcome Table
Racial discrimination has affected black people in the United States and Africa for many years. Although racial discrimination is against the law in both countries many people believe that racism still exists and there is significant evidence to support many racial discrimination claims. While many racist people has believe throughout time that their behavior is appropriate; two short stories which are Country Lovers and The Welcome Table illustrate these behaviors and allow the reader to interpret, understand and feel the suffering of two black women caused by painful racism. Both stories enlighten the reader on how one ethnicity believe that they are superior to the other and proves that racism is practiced through ignorance and hatred. This essay will compare and contrast the racial theme of the short stories “Country Lovers” written by Nadine Gordimer and “The Welcome Table” written by Alice Walker. Both of these short stories share the same theme, which is centered on racism, but the theme is not limited to racism it also includes love, hardship, rejection, and death. Both stories share racial tension between two ethnic groups, as well as pain suffered as a result of racism. Both of these literary pieces give the reader awareness of the pain and suffering endured by the two black characters that were subject to racial discrimination and the superior mentality of those that participated in the discrimination. Discrimination and racism is the core issue in both of these short stories.
A similarity of both short stories is that the narrator reveals the characters through observation which means both stories are

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Compare and Contrast Country Lover and the Welcome Table

...Compare and Contrast the Literary Work “The Welcome Table” VS “ Country Lovers” “The Racial Conflicts And Discrimination In The Welcome Table And Country Lovers” Katie McWilliams Instructor: Heather Peerboom 10/30/2014 Introduction I chosen to compare and contrast the literary works, “country Lovers” by Nadine Gordimer and “The Welcome Table” by Alice Walker, the theme being race / ethnicity. Theme: “The Racial Conflict and Discrimination In The Welcome Table And Country Lovers.” I want to explore the difference lives’ of these two woman was face with, and the way the narrator made me feel while I was reading the story of two black woman. Two strong black women that face all types of problems life had to offer them. These two stories shows feeling, pain, hate, and disappointments in Country Lovers and The Welcome Table. Both of these women had to struggled with their emotions and all they had to go through. Both stories are told in third person omniscient point of view, you can tell by the way the narrator describe the characters and how they’re feeling in both story. “The Welcome Table,” the old woman had her faith to guide her. To carrier her through the hard times. All she wanted was just to attend church. There is a rascal tension centered on both of these stories, in “Country Lovers” the black woman in this story was a pretty black woman fell in love with someone she grow up with a white man, she had a baby for him...

Words: 1987 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Country Girls

...From ancient times, in every culture, humans have told stories to explain what goes on in the world around them, to honor people,to celebrate achievements,and to communicate human value ( Chugston, 2014). Both of these short stories achieved this goal. Each story was able to captivate you. The authors made you fall in love with the characters. You wanted to read more. “The Welcome Table” and “Country Lovers” showed sides of racism that took place in completely different parts of the world. Each author used their literary and keen writing skills in order to get the reader to completely understand the point each one of them was trying to make. In the short stories, “The Welcome Table” by Alice Walker and “Country Lovers by Nadine Gordimer, Racism is the theme and highlight of each one. Both stories are discussing racial issues but they are two completely different stories and the authors begin each one in a completely opposite fashion. '”The Welcome Table” was written by Margaret Walker. Walker was published under her maiden name. She was best known for her poem "For My People," published in 1942, and her best-selling novel, Jubilee, based on her what her family went through during slavery and immediately after the Civil War, it was published in 1966. She was born in Birmingham, Alabama., Walker was a resident of Jackson, Miss., and was a professor emeritus at Jackson State College. She taught English and was also a director of the Institute for the Study of History, Life...

Words: 2212 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Theme of Welcome Table

...In this paper I will compare and contrast 2 short stories; “Country Lovers”(Gordimer) and “The Welcome Table”(Walker). Race and Ethncity are alive in the short stories “Country Lovers” and “The Welcome Table”. The stories place at almost the same time, in different countries, but they both show racial discrimination toward the main character. “Racism is an enduring, salient aspect of social and global structures. It is based on demonstrably false theories of racial differences appropriated by a culture in order to deny or unjustly distribute social privileges, economic opportunities, and political rights to the racially stigmatized groups. Racism, thus, structures social differences, power, and culture, as when, according to George Fredrickson, “one ethnic group or historical collectivity dominates, excludes, or seeks to eliminate another on the basis of differences that it believes are hereditary and unalterable” (Racism, 2002). It could be argued that racism is the a theme in both of these stories, but I don’t feel that way at all. I feel that Racism is a big part of each of the stories, but not the main theme of the story. In “The Welcome Table,” judgment and death are the main themes and in Country Lovers it is love and betrayal. Now yes, racism could be the third theme of the stories. Because without racism in each of the stories, you will not have a plot. The author of the each story approached the subject of racism in different ways. I will look at the...

Words: 309 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Literary Work

...Running Head: LITERARY WORK ENG 125 January 9, 2011 “The Welcome Table” by Alice Walker and “Country Lovers” by Nadine Gordimer are two literary poems that have similarities and differences. They are very different in their style, character and format. I think the most common thing that these two literary poems share is they both have a strong and excellent characterization. “Country Lovers” has events and circumstances of behavior and situations that “The Welcome Table does not have. Emphasizing the similarities in an essay defines its comparison and when you emphasize the differences in an essay you are defining the contrast. As I discuss these essays in my writing, you will note that there are some similarities but they are totally different. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast two literary stories, “The Welcome Table” by Alice Walker and “Country Lovers” by Nadine Gordimer. These two stories overall message is “engages the reader in inter-racial issues from a sociological and moral perspective” in “The Welcome Table”. When we look at the “Country Lovers” I think the message “engages the reader in the same inter-racial issues from a sociological but the perspective is psychological.” (p.69) These two pieces are similar in that they are both written in third person and they both have an effect of social and racial discrimination involved in them. As the author of both pieces intentions are to show...

Words: 2359 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Literary Work

...Discrimination and Racism in Country Lovers and the Welcome Table Zeta Donald Eng 125: Introduction to Literature Instructor: Bernadette Anayah May 7, 2012 Discrimination and Racism in Country Lovers and the Welcome Table The theme in a story is associated with ideas that lie behind the story. Every story narrows a broad underlying idea and shapes it in a unique way to make the underlying idea concrete. That’s how the theme is created. In other words, the theme in a story is a representation of the idea of the story. (Clugston 2110). This paper will compare and contrast the theme of the stories Country Lovers and The Welcome Table. Discrimination and racism is always an issue. Their backgrounds both had love, racism, rejection, hardship, and death. In the short stories “Country Lovers“, by Nadine Gordimer and “The Welcome Table” by Alice Walker, they both talk about racism and discrimination of some form. It is not a particularly hidden message in either of these stories, but the two of them approach it from slightly different angles. The main character in each of the stories is a protagonist black female who both struggle with trying to be accepted in society due to the color of their skin. Where there is racism and discrimination of all kind around us, it is more pronounced in these two stories. Both stories express the determination of two women to survive through all adversity. The authors speak of the hardship these women had to face and suffer and understanding...

Words: 2431 - Pages: 10

Free Essay

Compare and Contrast the Welcom Table and Country Lovers

...The theme in a story is associated with an idea that lies behind the story. Every story narrows a broad underlying idea, shapes it in a unique way, and makes the underlying idea concrete. That's how theme is created. In other words, the theme in a story is a representation of the idea behind the story. (Clugston, 2010) This paper will compare and contrast the theme of the stories Country Lovers by Nadine Gordimer and The Welcome Table by Alice Walker. The first story which is Country Lovers which is about a boy named Paulus Eysendyck, who is a white farmer’s son, and Thebedi, the black daughter of one of the farm workers. As children, Paulus and Thebedi played together, but when they are teenagers they began a sexual relationship. They have tender feelings for each other, even though their relationship is ultimately doomed. They continue a relationship throughout the years when Paul comes home on visits. Thebedi later marries Njabulo, a kind young black man who has loved her for years. Two months later, Thebedi gives birth to a light-skinned child. Although Thebedi is pregnant when she marries it is not considered scandalous because men in this culture often insist on finding out before marriage if their women are barren. The child’s light skin, however, reveals who the father really is. Although Njabulo knows the baby is not his, he treats the child as his own and buys things that the baby needs. When Paulus comes to visit he learns that Thebedi has married and has a light-skinned...

Words: 627 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Compare and Contrast Country Lover and the Wecome Table

...Reading the two short stories “Country Lover” who was written by Nadine Gordimer (1923), and “The Welcome Table” whom was written by Alice Walker (1970). these two stories I enjoyed reading because it shows feelings, pain, hate, and two women older and younger go through these emotions and the struggled that they had to go through. Even though one is younger and the other is older it shows that no matter how old you are it does not matter what kind of racism you face because it was a lot of that going on. With comparing these two stories it has a few things that are the same, like they both deal with interracial environment. In Country Lover this two kids had feelings for each other and knowing what the outcome would be but they made love and had a baby knowing that they could not see each other because of what color they were. In The Welcome Table this older women just wanted to attend church and she did not know what kind of church it was she just wanted to go to church even though that church was an all white church only. Country Lover when finding out that Thebedi was pregnant, when Paulus did not want that baby because it was mixed and that could not happened, so he decided to kill his baby and threatened Thebedi to kill her if she said...

Words: 1242 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Compair and Contrast of Race / Ethnicity

...Compare and Contrast of Race/Ethnicity ENG 125 Introduction to Literature September 3, 2012 Racial background and ethnicities are represented in the short stories “Country Lovers”, and “The Welcome Table.” Both these stories have a main character or protagonist black female. Both of these women deal with some degree of discrimination because of their color. The theme of these stories is the hardships that these women suffer during their life can be suffered by anyone but growing up in a discriminatory situation creates a more dramatic story. The main themes in “Country Lovers” are love and racial politics. Country Lovers was written during a time when Africa was suffering from racial segregation. This story has irony throughout the entire story. Thebedi and Paulus grow up together and they fall in love. They grew up in Africa during the apartheid when their country did not allow interracial relationships. Paulus Eysendyck was the son of the farm owner and Thebedi’s father worked on that farm. They both knew they could not be together publicly. During the apartheid in Africa it was illegal to have an interracial relationship. There are several dramatic effects in this story. The first is when the narrator talks about Paulus going away to school “This usefully coincides with the age of twelve or thirteen; so that by the time early adolescence is reached, the black children are making along with the bodily changes common to all, an easy...

Words: 1051 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Yfudt

...Race / Ethnicity Country Lovers (Gordimer) The Welcome Table (Walker) What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl (Smith) Child of the Americas (Morales) Gender Roles / Marriage The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Thurber) The Story of an Hour (Chopin) The Necklace (de Mauppassant) The Proposal (Chekhov) Country Lovers (Gordimer) Creativity / The Creative Process Poetry (Neruda) Constantly Risking Absurdity (Ferlinghetti) You, Reader (Collins) Death and Impermanence Dog’s Death (Updike) I Used to Live Here Once (Rhys) A Father’s Story (Dubus) Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night (Thomas) Nothing Gold Can Stay (Frost) In Memoriam (Tennyson) Because I Could Not Stop for Death (Dickinson) Nature Wild Geese (Oliver) Dover Beach (Arnold) The Oak (Tennyson) The Road Not Taken (Frost) Symbolism of the Journey The Road Not Taken (Frost) A Worn Path (Welty) I Used to Live Here Once (Rhys) APA samples and tutorials are available to you in the Ashford Writing Center, located in the left navigation bar. The Ashford Writing Center (AWC) has two kinds of tutoring available to you. Live Chat – If you have writing-related questions about a topic before you draft a discussion post or submit a written assignment, you will now be able to chat...

Words: 5431 - Pages: 22

Premium Essay

International Timber Management

...shops, cafes, restaurants and even sold by vending machines. Besides that, Singapore is one of the highest coffee-consuming countries in the world which is meant that 4.4kg of coffee per year (280 cups of coffee) (Channel NewsAsia, July 14, 2013). For coffee lovers, Starbucks is a famous name. It is because of the high quality of coffee bean used and the environment that lets customers enjoy the coffee. So, Starbucks is always the first choice of many people. The purpose of this report is to investigate about how Starbucks can expand their market in Singapore. This report will provide the background of the company and country. A SWOT analysis, PEST analysis and Porter’s 5 forces also will be provided in this report. Lastly, this report will give the recommendation and conclusion. 2. Company Background Starbucks is mainly famous for selling coffee, but it also sells other hot and cold beverages, pastries, sandwiches and other snacks. Today, Starbucks is the top largest coffee chain in the world which has more than 19000 branches in more than 60 countries (Hawthorn, October 30, 2013). Singapore is the third international country outside North American to introduce the Starbucks (Our heritage, 2011). 3. Country Background Singapore is a prosperous developing country. It is one of the commercial hubs in the world. Although it is a small country, it has education, healthcare, government transparency and economic competitiveness which are placed with the higher ranking...

Words: 2911 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

W Hong Kong Compare with Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel

...W Hong Kong compare with Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel Table of content Introduction3 Hotel backgrounds4 Facilities and services 6 Room types and room rates8 Amenities9 Target markets11 Conclusion14 Referencing15 Introduction Hotel always labeled into different level to identify the level of service hotel is provided. In this report, we are going to compare same level hotel but different type in Hong Kong. One is W Hong Kong which is the winner of Traveler Choice and Certificate of Excellence in 2013, another one is Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel which has established as a premium world class vacation destination. Although they are in the same level, the type of the hotel is totally different. Therefore, we want to follow this direction to compare the difference of two hotels, such as the feature of hotel what are the selling point of hotel, what product and service they have conducted. First of all, we will base on the basic information and ownership of two hotels. Secondly, to compare the service and product they have. For example, for the facilities do they have swimming pool, laundry etc. For the service do they have same special offer like reward program. For the product, what about the room type, room rates and amenities inside guest rooms. Finally, one is theme park hotel another one is business hotel that their target markets will be huge difference, so we want to though the market segments and characteristics of them to contrast the different of target market...

Words: 2634 - Pages: 11

Free Essay

Did the Financial Crisis Have a Catastrophic Impact on the Wine Tourism Sector in Italy

...much of the focus may be on the United States, the recent financial crisis has impacted countries around the world and Italy appears to be one of the hardest hit in Europe. After decades during which the Italians as well as the international industrial, agriculture and financial sectors raked huge profits without investing anything in innovation and competitive interventions, now companies are claiming the state rescue and support. According to initial estimations made at the OIV (International Organization of Vine and Wine) Italy, the world's second-biggest wine producer after France with an output of about 4.5 billion liters per year, had in 2009 a decrease in domestically demand, price and export which reflects the effects of the world economic crisis. Average price of Italian wine dropped 20 percent last year with ordinary wine prices plunging 25 percent and special denomination quality wines losing 13 percent. In 2009, Italian wine sales to export markets, the United States and Britain, fell 7 and 10 percent respectively hammered by the crisis and advance of rivals from Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, according to UIV estimates based on data from Italy's statistics agency ISTAT (Istituto di Servizi per il Mercato Agricolo Alimentare). Tourism can be an important resource for an economy and Italy is the fourth highest tourist earn and fifth most visited country in the world, behind France (76.0 million), Spain (55.6 million), United States (49.4 million)...

Words: 2628 - Pages: 11

Free Essay

Execcutive Summary Rws

...Marketing Plan Date of Plan : 1st January 2011 Fiscal Year : December 2011 Marketing Manager : Daniel Goh Contact information : 6577 7308 (Park Ops Team Manager) Contributor to the plan : Chanida Contact information : 6577 7309 (Park Ops Team Manager) Approved by : Joey Kuo (Park Ops Area Manager) Approval date : 15th January 2011 Offices & Other Information REGISTERED OFFICE IFG International Limited, International House, Castle Hill, Victoria Road, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM2 4RB, British Isles Tel : +441 624 630 600 Fax : +441 624 624 469 REGISTERED OFFICE International House, Castle Hill, Victoria Road, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM2 4RB, British Isles Tel : +441 624 630 600 Fax : +441 624 624 469 HEAD OFFICE AND SINGAPORE BRANCH 10 Sentosa Gateway, Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore 098270 Tel : +65 6577 8888 Fax : +65 6577 8890 REGISTRARS AND TRANSFER OFFICE IFG International (Registrars) Limited International House, Castle Hill, Victoria Road, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM2 4RB, British Isles Tel : +441 624 630 600 Fax : +441 624 624 469 SINGAPORE TRANSFER AGENT M & C Services Private Limited 138 Robinson Road, #17-00, The Coporate Office Singapore 068906 Tel : +65 6228 6660 Fax : +65 6225 1452 Company Summary ...

Words: 2502 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Five Guys

...Entrepreneurial Leadership: “Five Guys and Fries” Professor Watts MBAE5302 – Economics and the Free Market December 16, 2014 Euronda S. Jefferson Five Guy’s Philosophy “Anyone can make money in the food business as long as you have a good product, reasonable price, and a clean place” (Pulizzi, 2010) It was this quote from John Willard Marriott that provided the groundwork John Murrell used to build Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Jerry Murrell, Owner of Five Guys Burgers and Fries, has had a love affair with burgers and fries since he can remember – but not just any burger and certainly not just the run of the mill fries. For this reason, Five Guys’ philosophy, and mission sets it apart from other hamburger chains, thereby creating a successful business model. Five Guys’ philosophy sets it apart from other fast-food chains for the following reasons. First of all, Jerry did not have the pressure like others do when planning to start a business. Jerry was not in a fuss to make money, nor have a strong ambition to monopolize the burgers and fries market. Contrary, Jerry’s goal was to send his two sons to college, and not start a burger joint, a business philosophy providing Jerry the leverage to make more meaningful decisions for starting his burger business. Second, to Jerry’s surprise, his sons did not want to go to college, a decision that he supported. The whole family decided and agreed to use the son’s tuition to start a burger...

Words: 1843 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Elizabethan Interior Design

...changed the way that the UK decorates their homes, it has also impacted the way we live our lives drastically. This is because Ikea introduced Britain to ‘Scandinavian’ style furniture in the 1980’s which lured the customers into understanding different ways that cultures live. For example, Britain’s love for ‘casual dining’ has seen the return of the dining table. Gillian Drakeford is one of the Ikeas bosses that supports this claim by stating that ‘If you go back 30 year’s people tended to buy their house and move in after they got married. A relative would buy you a suite of furniture and the idea was that you lived with that for the rest of your life.’ (Ashley Armstrong, 2018) Nowadays because furniture is more affordable we have the ability to change our décor throughout the stages of our lives which I believe makes the homes more personalised and creative, giving a broader and positive outlook on interior design. Adding to this, I would strongly argue that by having the choice to decorate our homes with furniture taken from different countries and backgrounds, Britain is able to embrace cultures around the world and welcome different ways of life. As much as Ikea and other furniture organisations have influenced the way that we decorate, I believe that we have many other things in society such as music, celebrities and even television programmes that impact our choice in furniture. Take the documentary television programme MTV cribs for an example. Introduced to us in 2005...

Words: 1560 - Pages: 7