Tina Chatmon

ENG 125 Introduction to Literature
Instructor: Mary Louise Phillips Becker
August 2, 2012

Today in the Twenty-first century we still encounter racism in many categories. Ethnic racism which is unfortunately common has been around for centuries. It would be nice to be able to say that racism is just a thing of the past and that it no longer exists; however, that is not the case. In this brief essay I will discuss the similarities and differences between the poem “What It’s like to be a Black Girl” and the short story “Country Lovers”. Each story depicts women who experienced racism or prejudices in some shape or form, whether it was because of the color of their skin, being a women or social economic background; in either case the results end up the same.

The problem of racism is a complex one; it is difficult to characterize it or place it into one category due to its far reaching effects and implications. The moral issues generate social concerns. ("Racism in america," 2002) Some may have experienced various forms of discrimination such as gender, economic status or weight, but how many have actually experienced racism based on their race? Patricia Smith wrote the poem “What It’s like to be a Black Girl “, this was written in 1991. (Clugston, 2010) There are several different tones Patricia uses during her poem, the first is sad a young girl describing how she feels. As the poem progresses you hear the rage or the bitterness in her voice as she gets older. In this poem she uses similes to describe her pain going through puberty and not bring able to control the way she looks or her body. “It’s being 9 years old and feeling like you’re not finished, like your edges are wild, like there’s something, everything wrong”. (Clugston, 2010)

In this poem she does not use persona but speaks first person identifying herself as the speaker, “First of all, it’s being 9 years old”. (Clugston, 2010) Her choice of words let you feel her intense pain of being in a world that does not accept her because of her color or gender.

The interpretation that was given is a young lady trying to fix everything about herself that the world is telling her is wrong. The straightening of her hair because being black left her with kinky, curly, frizzy hair. It's like the dying of hair, the contacts you wear, and the things you do to make yourself look more like the beautiful, blonde-haired, blue-eyed "white girl." “Its flame and fists and life according to Motown”. (Clugston, 2010) She was explaining the sights and sounds of racial slurs and fighting in her surroundings. If one has not experienced the turmoil within the character, Patricia gave imaginative details that brings you closer to visualizing how it is to be a black girl in a society that looks down upon your for being a woman and black. It evokes an emotional response from the reader. The poem is written in staggered versus that are direct to the point with the use of hyperboles to get her message across, example, “It’s jumping double dutch until your legs pop, it’s smelling blood in your breakfast”. (Clugston, 2010) As said by Ralph Waldo Emason “Poetry is a form of symbolism the use of symbols has a certain power of emancipation and exhilaration for all men”. ( Bourbon, Brett, 2007)

“Country Lovers” is a short story of forbidden love between two main characters, a young black female Thebedi and a young white male Paulus. The setting is in South Africa on a farm during the time of (1946-1994). The author Nadine Gordimer has lived in South Africa and experienced “socioeconomic system that has oppressed the majority of the black population”. (Clugston, 2010) Due to her life experiences she has a “strong opposition to apartheid”. (Clugston, 2010) One of her writings “1959: What is Apartheid?” Gordimer writes, “In all of a black man’s life, all his life, rejection by the white man has the last word.

With his word of rejection apartheid began, long before it hardened into laws and legislation, long before it became a theory of racial selectiveness and the policy of a government.” (Nobleprize.org) She was able to arrange the events in this short story to develop the basic theme and point of view from third person. Her writing immediately captures your attention in the beginning of the story. “Given that the short story writer and the text have less one to develop common frames of understanding or means, the beginning of the story is especially important”. (Hardy, Sarah, Style)

During these times when the white elite owned farms it was not uncommon for the farm owners and the workers children to become playmates. Thebedi and Paulus friendship started off when they were small innocent children, not aware of what societies dictations were regarding race and color in those times, Quoted by Sparks “children are "color-blind," i.e., they are unaware of race and racism”. (Derman-Sparks, Higa, Sparks, 1978-1980)

As time went on the two became very fond of one another, maybe feeling a bit more than just friendship. Because of the social economics in South Africa at this time it was forbidden for them to be together in public places. There was no telling what the punishment would be if caught together. Paulus now a growing young boy was sent off to boarding school but he would find himself thinking about Thebedi. Once again these were his own private thoughts that he kept to himself because he knew those around him would not approve of his liking a black girl. When he would visit home he would buy dainty gifts for Thebedi and she would treasure them. They spent plenty of summers sneaking off to private meeting places near the river so that they could be alone.

To get a good visualization of their surroundings the author would use metaphors and similes so that the reader will be able to imagine the scene, “Wild asparagus bushing up between the trunks, and here and there prickly-pear cactus sunken-skinned and bristly, like an old man’s face”. (Clugston, 2010) Soon the two became intimate. Their secret meetings continued on throughout the summer near the river bed on hot nights with less and less small talk. Somehow avoiding being mischievous their parents never suspected any rendezvous’ between the two.

As the story moves along the climax starts, “When the turning point of the story begins and the reader wonders what happens next”. ("Short story elements,”) Paulus returns from Vetenary School unaware that his secret forbidden love has married and has a new born child. Once he has been made aware that Thebedi has a child it peaks his curiosity and he goes to her small home to see the child. He sees the child and realized the baby resembles him. All of a sudden Thebedi is presented with his true colors and noticed that Paulus is not happy with this situation at all. Somehow she is made aware that she is still that black girl. He questions her and wants to know if she has taken the baby anywhere near his home and she answers no. Based on his tone he is irritated and now wondering what would people say, he knew it would be considered unacceptable.

Paulus leaves but comes back to her small home; he decided to take matters into his own hands. Based on the events that occurred and the sounds Thebedi heard coming from the baby’s room you realize that Paulus killed the baby. “She thought she heard small grunts from the hut, the kind of infant grunt that indicated a full stomach, a deep sleep”. (Clugston, 2010)

The police were summoned to Thebedi’s home because Paulus had been seen leaving her there. Once the police came and dug up the corpse, Paulus was eventually accused or charged with killing the baby. He went through the formalities of the judicial system and because the defense felt there was not enough evidence he was not charged. Perhaps he was not charged because the courtroom was biased that he was an up and coming white male and Thebedi was a black woman who worked on a farm. They suspected or wanted to say that Thebedi was part of the crime but since there was no evidence no one was charged with the murder.

Over and over again in private thoughts Paulus had what we call a conflict “Man vs. Society (social) – a person struggles against ideas, practices, or customs of other people”. ("Short story elements,”) Because Paulus struggled with what society would think or what we know as racism it caused him to do the unthinkable and take an innocent child’s life. Oppressions were so inextricably linked back then that Paulus allowed his fear, guilt and denial to constantly divert him from standing up for what was right, he was a coward and took the easy way out. What I do find surprising is that Thebedi’s husband was fully aware that this was not his child based on the brightness of her skin. But because he loved her so much he was willing to raise the child as his own without any questions asked. Yes Paulus was afraid of what society and those around him would say; yes that is pressure on a person. The courage it took for Thebedi’s husband Njabulo to stand firm against any form or racism or criticism from those in his town or surroundings made him a hero in my eyes.

In reading “What It’s like to be a Black Girl”: and “Country Lovers” both women experienced difficult and hard times. They both were reminded of their color and gender. The women were subjected to racism but in different forms. These are moral issues that some harbor secretly and some who have no control. We understand that children are not born being racist just like we have to learn what is right and what is wrong, and we understand from the stories that racial discrimination and disrespect can lead to conflict in society. “Racism is said to be something that is learned, according to Murray from the American Psychological Association. Children are born; at least that is what is told by social scientists, with purity, with no predetermined hate of others. Therefore, one can conclude that children learn hatred, racism, and stereotyping”. (Derman-Sparks, Higa, Sparks, 1978-1980) What we can learn and take from the poem and the short story is that even though racism surfaces in various ways the outcome is still a horrific ordeal to endure.

REFERENCES

Bourbon, Brett, . "What Is a Poem?." Modern Philogy. 105.1 (2007): 27-43. Web. 2 Aug. 2012. .
Clugston, R.W. (2010). Journey into Literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books.
Gordimer. (n.d.). Nadine gordimer and the south african experience.

Retrieved from http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1991/gordimer-

article.html

Hardy, Sarah, Style, . "A Poetics of Immediacy: Oral narrative and the short story." Academic Search Premier 27.3 (1993): n.pag. EBSCO. Web. 2 Aug 2012.

Racism in america. (2002). Retrieved from www.allaboutpopularissues.org/racism-in-america- Faq.htm

Short story elements. (n.d.). Retrieved from http:hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/engramia/elements.html