Crackling Day Abrahams

Discrimination, injustice, and oppression. These words describe the condition of South Africa under apartheid. The short story “Crackling Day” by Peter Abrahams tells about Lee and Andries’ journey to purchase crackling. Faced by harsh discrimination during their journey, they come to realize the extreme injustice they receive because of their skin color. In the short story, “Crackling Day” by Abrahams it shows that a person's place in society defines how much power he/she is given. These injustices are first present when Lee feels powerless when he arrives at the pig farm, owned by white men. The white men use their high ranking in the society to gain power over non-white people. For example, Lee and Andries, who are both black, wait in a line for a very long time to purchase crackling and when they finally arrive at the front of the line they are treated with disrespect. Lee addresses the white man politely by saying

Their encounter sends bad vibes through Lee and Andreis’ veins. For example, in the short story it says, “Andries saw them first and moved over to my side of the road,”(Abrahams 14). The white boys presence causes a shift in power. Power had been given to their parents and has now been passed down to their children because they are white. Also, in the story it says, “They had school bags,”(Abrahams 14). This portrays injustice, as the white kids are getting an education while the non-white kids are running errands for their family. As we know, education is a powerful aspect in human culture and defines injustice and oppression. If Lee and Andreis were receiving an education, they might have more power in the society. During this era of the story’s setting education is what is keeping the white people higher up in the society which in turn leads them to having more