Discrimination and Racism in Country Lovers and The Welcome Table

1712 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Discrimination of women

Discrimination and Racism in “Country Lovers” by Nadine Gordimer and “The Welcome Table” by Alice Walker

Discrimination and racism is always an issue, but the hardship these women had to face and suffer is something that is still being discussed. Understanding the fear, struggle and hardship that women of color went through during this time period is very important. Both “Country Lovers” by Nadine Gordimer and “The Welcome Table” by Alice Walker discuss race and the struggle with trying to be accepted in society.

The short story “Country Lovers” written by Nadine Gordimer, who in 1991 received the Nobel Prize for Literature, writes about forbidden love and racial politics between a black girl and a white boy on a South Africa farm. This story takes place during the time South Africa was dealing with racial segregation and is filled with irony and a theme that is clear from the start and that is deeper than racism, but the love between the two of opposite race.

Thebedi and Paulus have grown up playing together is childhood. He is the son of the farm owner and she was the daughter of a farm worker for the farm. As they grew older, Paulus went off to boarding school and Thebedi would eventually drop out of school and help on the farm. It was known that “once the white children go away to school they soon don’t play together anymore.” (Clugston, 2010). When Paulus went off to school, they were entering adolescence and body changes were uncommon to all. Paulus was a popular boy at school and with the “sister” school that the girls went too.

When Paulus would return from school on break he would bring Thebedi gifs and she would give him a handmade bracelet in return, and this is where they grew closer and th...

... middle of paper ...

...oing on in this day in age, and it will always be an issue. With so much negativity, that we see and deal with on a regular basis is a consent battle, which influences us and the way we handle things. However, we have come a long ways as to what it used to be as if people have learned to accept each other.

References

Chopin, K. (1894). The story of an hour. Vogue.

Clugston, R. W. (2010). Country lovers (p. 3.1). San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved from http://content.ashford.edu/books

Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved from http://content.ashford.edu/books

Racism. (n.d.). Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. Retrieved June 13, 2011, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/racism

Show More
Related

  • It Ll All Come Out In The Wash By Joanne Crutchfield

    1205 Words  | 3 Pages

    One story that the Author told that really struck a chord with me was when she went to the diner and was yelled at for just standing in front of the diner. You hear stories from like this from the past often, but it gives it a different perspective when it’s a young girl. If I was put in this situation, I would personally have a breakdown. I would want to lash out in anger and frustration, but the consequences of lashing out against a white person during this time period were very large. I have lived in predominantly white areas for most of my life, and I have not experienced any overt racism like the author

    Read More

  • Comparing Pride in A Good Man is Hard to Find, Good Country People and Revelation

    973 Words  | 2 Pages

    Edwards, Jr., Bruce L. "O'Connor's 'Good Country People.'" Masterplots II-Short Story Series.  Ed. Frank N. Magill. Pasedena, CA: Salem P, 1986. Vol. 2. 901-902.

    Read More

  • The Power of Personality in Toni Cade Bambara's The Lesson

    1415 Words  | 3 Pages

    Bambara, Toni Cade. "The Lesson." Eds. Hans P. Guth and Gabriele L. Rico. Discovering Literature: Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1997.

    Read More

  • Turning Points In Anne Moody's Coming Of Age In Mississippi

    922 Words  | 2 Pages

    To the modern white women who grew up in comfort and did not have to work until she graduated from high school, the life of Anne Moody reads as shocking, and almost too bad to be true. Indeed, white women of the modern age have grown accustomed to a certain standard of living that lies lightyears away from the experience of growing up black in the rural south. Anne Moody mystifies the reader in her gripping and beautifully written memoir, Coming of Age in Mississippi, while paralleling her own life to the evolution of the Civil Rights movement. This is done throughout major turning points in the author’s life, and a detailed explanation of what had to be endured in the name of equality.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Help By Katheryn Stockett

    635 Words  | 2 Pages

    This novel also looks at social norms overseeing gender in the southern states around the 1960's. White women in the book are valued by the amount of children they can reproduce for the black women to raise. Even though getting a job is difficult for these black woman, the white women have a hard time seeking out a job as well. But these black women sacrifice their lives to be major workhorses surrendering their own families to work for white employers. Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter confront the roles put upon them by society and receive fulfillmen...

    Read More

  • Gender Inequality In The Soul Of Black Folk And The Yellow Wallpaper?

    1130 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the twentieth century, people of color and women, suffered from various inequalities. W.E.B. Du Bois’ and Charlotte Perkins Gilman (formerly known as Charlotte Perkins Stetson), mention some of the concepts that illustrate the gender and racial divide during this time. In their books, The Soul of Black Folk and The Yellow Wallpaper, Du Bois’ and Gilman illustrate and explain issues of oppression, dismissal, and duality that are relevant to issues of race and gender.

    Read More

  • Economic Inequality in Toni Cade Bambara's The Lesson

    1658 Words  | 4 Pages

    Bambara, Toni Cade. "The Lesson." Eds. Hans P. Guth and Gabriele L. Rico. Discovering Literature: Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1997. 307-12.

    Read More

  • Alice Walker In The Color Purple Analysis

    1285 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sofia’s encounter with Millie is a daily occurrence in nations worldwide. Her “Hell no” is a justified response to the subservience white people have forced upon African Americans and the constant struggle against black women have against abuse and sexism. Millie is an example of the everyday white woman whose class and social standing prompt her unawareness about social problems and her own racist misgivings. Alice Walker’s novel explores this deep-rooted racism intertwined with social class and sexism. Walker’s writes from the events that have marked her life, other’s lives, and the cruelty that has scarred the black community for years. Hence, the softened racism in the form of stereotypical comments, white superiority complexes, and the sexism towards women of color that fills the

    Read More

  • Racism In America

    1597 Words  | 4 Pages

    Racism (n): the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other race (Wordnet search, 1), a controversial topic in today’s society, a subject that many people try to sweep under the rug, but yet a detrimental problem that has been present in America since the colonial era. Will this dilemma come to a halt? Can all Americans see each other as equals despite their skin color and nationality; and what role has it played in past generations versus today’s generations and how will it affect our future? Has this on going way of thinking gotten better or worse? These are questions raised when many think about the subject; especially members of American ethnic groups and backgrounds, because most have dealt with racial discrimination in their life time.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Paul And Faul

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a child Paul and Norman were very much the same, for they both seeked love from their father but, growing up Paul strayed from his fathers teaching. We see that in fly fishing; Paul leaves the four tempo technique, and creates a technique called shadow casting. Paul seeks attention, for example when he danced with the Native American girl all eyes were on them due to the provocative dancing or Native American. Paul loves being in the center of attention whenever; he came home he would often tell stories with both parents giving him full attention. Paul’s character was very boisterous and quick-tempered. Paul tended to start fights and cause a scene. Paul is not reserved, and he will quickly tell you how he feels. Paul is a very independent person, and he does not like to receive help; for example after the gambling scene Paul tries to dissuade Norman away from helping him. Paul is not one to follow other people’s example, but rather sets examples like fly fishing. Paul has an alcohol and gambling problem, and he knows, but he refuses help due to his pride. Paul was equally loved as a child, but he craved for attention as an adult because he did not know what to do with the love that was given to him. In the movie Paul started to really act out when Norman came home, and perhaps this was because he felt as if he was in Norman’s shadow. Norman was called the “professor” in the family because he went to college, but Paul never left Montana, and he could never achieve what Norman achieved perhaps that is why he acted so immaturely to receive

    Read More

  • Raymond Carver's Cathedral

    1050 Words  | 3 Pages

    Charters, Ann & Samuel. Literature and its Writers. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2013. 137-147. Print.

    Read More

  • Racism in America

    1088 Words  | 3 Pages

    Racism is one of the most revolting things within the vicinity of humanity. Many times it haunts our past, degrading our future. However, a good fraction o...

    Read More

  • The Influence Of The Color Purple By Alice Walker

    1943 Words  | 4 Pages

    As written in Literature and it's Times, a distinct place where racism and prejudice took place was the South. In the early 1900's, the South remained mostly rural and agricultural in economy. Poverty was everywhere, and sharecropping had replaced slavery as the main source of black labor. Blacks who remained in the South received the burdens of poverty and discrimination. The women faced sexual and racial oppression, making th...

    Read More

  • Paul's Character in Paul's Case

    615 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the beginning of the story, Paul seems to be a typical teenage boy: in trouble for causing problems in the classroom. As the story progresses, the reader can infer that Paul is rather withdrawn. He would rather live in his fantasy world than face reality. Paul dreaded returning home after the Carnegie Hall performances. He loathed his "ugly sleeping chamber with the yellow walls," but most of all, he feared his father. This is the first sign that he has a troubled homelife. Next, the reader learns that Paul has no mother, and that his father holds a neighbor boy up to Paul as "a model" . The lack of affection that Paul received at home caused him to look elsewhere for the attention that he craved.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of 'How It Feels To Be A Colored Me'

    1487 Words  | 3 Pages

    How would you feel if you woke up in the morning, knowing that everyday a mass group of people are against you, because of the color of your skin? America has always come across issues about race, and this is something that will most likely never end. Race is embedded into our society, media, and even our classrooms. Zora Neale Hurston, author of “How it feels to be A Colored Me”, describes her exploration in the discovery of her self-pride and identity. She tells how living in her community she did not feel alienated or different. Tyina Steptoe, author of “An Ode to Country Music from a Black Dixie Chick”, uses a country film to understand her own life because she notices that the film sparked her love for country music, even though she had

    Read More

More about Discrimination and Racism in Country Lovers and The Welcome Table

Open Document