Racialism and Negative Ethnicity - Essay Example

Introduction: The works that the researcher has chosen to compare are, Country lovers a short storyauthored by Gordimer written in 1975 (Gordimer, 2010), and the poem by Patricia Smith written in 1991 (Smith, 2012), which is called what it is to be a black girl. This short story by Gordimer is a description of the lovers of a country. On the other hand, the poem by Smith describes the dilemma of ethnicity and race in the smith, society. This poem and the short story all depict the role of the black woman in the society, and how they were ethnically treated. In these two pieces of art, the black female is the main character. Smith and Gordimer are able to use these female characters to in their literary works to depict the manner in which the society treats them, because of the color of their skin, as well as their racial background. The short story by Gordimer and the poem by Smith all depict the life of a black woman. Altikriti (2011) explains that racialism and ethnicity are vices that people experience on a day to day basis. On most occasions, black people are always discriminated upon, by the whites or the Caucasians. Furthermore, Altikriti (2011) explains that racialism and ethnicity was a subject that was difficult to discuss, mainly because of the emotions that it could bring forth. These two literary pieces of art are about ethnicity and racialism. Both the short story and the poem give a discussion of ethnicity and racialism. For instance, in the short story, there is a love relationship between Thebedi, a black woman, and Paulus, the son of the master of Thebedi. Altikriti (2011) explains that this relationship between Paulus and Thebedi was forbidden because of the racial nature of Thebedi. She was a black woman, and the black’s were not allowed to inter-marry with the whites. The relationship between Thebedi and Paulus emanated from their childhood romance, into adulthood, resulting to the pregnancy of Thebedi, without the knowledge of Paulus who had gone to study. This passage is able to show the love that existed between Thebedi, and Paulus, Gordimer in her 1975 piece of work denotes that, “In one summer afternoon, when water was flowing in the river, and it was very hot outside, Thebedi wadded as they used to, when they were little children, the dress she wore was able to bunch modestly tucking into her legs. The school girls that Paulus used to go swimming with at the pools or dams near the neighboring farms had their bikinis. However, the sight of their thighs and bellies had never made Paulus to feel what he felt, when Thebedi came near the river bank, where he was. They were not afraid of each other, for they had known one another, what he had done to her at the store room, at the wedding, however, this time was lovely, and they were both surprised (Gordimer, 2010)”. From this passage, we are able to denote that there was a love relationship between Thebedi and Paulus, and it began during their childhood, to adult hood. This relationship was also sexual in nature. Ethnicity and racialism is depicted in this relationship when both of them do not want their parents to know. For instance, Paulus and Thebedi can only meet in the house of Paulus, when nobody is around. That is when the parents of Paulus have gone for a long distance journey. Altikriti (2011) explains that race is a cultural creation, or a variety of species that consists of less, or more similar characteristics. In the short story, Thebedi is depicted as a woman who emanates from a different race, as that of her lover, Paulus. The author describes her as a woman belonging to a mixed race, and hence she is black. Bass, Erwin, Kinners and Maré (2012) explains that when ethnicity is practiced negatively, then it undermines the integrity of the race that suffers from it. For instance, in this short story, the white people have an advantage over the black people, and this is in situations where the rule of law is applied. For instance, because of negative ethnicity, Paulus kills the child that he brought forth with Thebedi. He argues that the child will not be accepted in his society, due to his ethnicity. On this basis, the child under consideration had to die. This is despite Njabulo accepting the child as his own. However, Paulus is released by the courts, because of lack of evidence. This is despite the overwhelming evidence that Thebedi produced against Paulus. Through this example, Bass, Erwin, Kinners and Maré (2012) explain that racialism and negative ethnicity has the capability of undermining the parties that are vulnerable to this vice. The Poem by Patricia Smith also talks about racialism and ethnicity. The title of the poem itself introduces the reader on the main theme of the poem, that is, it talks about racialism and ethnicity. Bass, Erwin, Kinners and Maré (2012) explain that from the first stanza, the author is able to depict the sense of the story that the girl tells. A reads like this, For instance, in this poem written by Smith in the year 1991, the stanza reads like this, “First of all, I am 9 years old, and there is a feeling like that I am not yet finished, the edges are wild, and something, no, everything is wrong (Smith, 2012)”. From this stanza, we are able to denote that the girl speaking is 9 years old, and she is passing through a rough time in her life. From this poem, we are able to identify the transition of a young black girl, into woman hood. This is a time when being a black woman, is not a welcomed idea. Bass, Erwin, Kinners and Maré (2012) explain that puberty is always characterized by the biological changes in the body of a young girl. This usually occurs when the young girl reaches the ages of 9, to the ages of 14 years. On this basis, Olson-Mcbride (2012) explains that the words found in the first stanza, are found in the mind of a young girl, who is in the early stages of puberty. The society, in which the black girl lives in, is full of racialism, as well discrimination. This discrimination is both of gender, as well as race. The black girl is taught to be ashamed of her race, and her gender, and she therefore wants her features to be like the features that are acceptable by the society (Pollack, 1997). She wants to make her hair, just like the white blue eyed women, and she craves for a man to protect her. However, because she is a girl, she has to accept the changes that are occurring in her body. It is the tone used in this poem that is able to depict the way in which the black girl was living. The tone used is able to denote ethnicity and racialism. In the poem, the author speaks as if, all black women constantly try to become people that they are not. It is as if, all the black girls want to live and be like the white women. For instance, in the poem written by Smith 1991, she is able to denote that, “ it is like dropping food color in your eyes, for purposes of making blue, suffering their burns in silence. It is also like popping a bleached mophead, over the kinks of hair, for purposes of denying the reflection of an individual, (Smith, 2012)”. This is a reflection that the black girl, felt like changing her looks, for purposes of looking like a white woman. She is ashamed of her ethnicity and racialism, and this is because of the social construction, that the white race is always superior when compared to the black race. On this basis, the poem, and the short play are similar, in the sense that they both talk about ethnicity and racialism, and they both use the female character as the main protagonist. However, differences come in, in the style of narration. The literary work by Smith (1991) is a poem, while the literary work by Gordimer (1975) is a short play. On this basis, they manner of organization is different, with the short play organized as a narration, while the poem is organized in form of stanzas. Furthermore, the tones used in these literary pieces of art are different. In the poem, the author uses a harsh tone, to depict the manner in which the young girl detested being a black woman, while in the short play; the author uses a sad tone, to depict the unhappiness, in which Thebedi had, for being discriminated because of her color (Long, 2003). In conclusion, the play and the poem both depict racialism. Racialism and negative ethnicity is an aspect that affects the current society. In as much as many states have initiated laws aimed at protecting the public against racialism, this vice is still practiced. Racialism is a very negative social aspect, and this is because it always leads to the humiliation of a group that is racially abused. This is in the case of Thebedi, whose child was killed by her former lover, just because the child was born from a black woman. On the other hand, for purposes of seeking to escape from her race, the young black girl aspires to be like a white woman. This means that she does not see any value of being a black girl. References: Altikriti, S. F. (2011). Speech Act Analysis to Short Stories. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 2(6), 227-232. Bass, O., Erwin, K., Kinners, A., & Maré, G. (2012). The Possibilities of Researching Non- Racialism: Reflections on Racialism in South Africa. Politikon, 39(1), 29-40. Gordimer, N. (2010). Life times: stories, 1952-2007. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Long, M. C. (2003). What Do We Know: Poems and Prose Poems. Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment, 10(1), 289-290. Pollack, H. (1997). Photographic convention and story composition: Eudora Welty’s use of detail, plot, genre, and expectation from “A Worn Path” through “The Bride of the Innisfallen.” South Central Review, 14(2), 15-34. Olson-Mcbride, L. (2012). A content analysis of poems most frequently utilized by poetry therapists. Journal of Poetry Therapy, 25(3), 137-149. Smith, P. (2012). Three poems. Ecotone, 7(2), 46-48. Read More