Critical discussion - Essay Example

ANALYSIS OF LITERATURE When Leila Aboulela’s saw the drunk Scottish man approaching, she knew that her life and that of her baby were in great danger. This is evident by the fact that she referred to the man as Danger. “Yes towards us and no one else was Danger. (42)” This was worsened by the condition in which the man was, he was not neatly dressed and he appeared to be saying some things that neither Leila nor her baby could understand. The man was concerned by the fact that the baby was not being carried in her mum’s arms but was instead being wheeled on a pushchair which according to Leila could easily be, “swapped at or yanked away…(42)” Her fear was greatly intensified when he saw the man moving towards them and appeared to be reaching out for something.

At that moment, she knew that her life and that of the baby were soon coming to an end as the man was likely to pull out a gun or anything dangerous to harm them. “Would he hit me, shout something terrible, vomit on the baby? (42)” She thought the man had come to carry put revenge on Lockerbie through them. At that moment, she ready for anything but above all protect her baby when something she least expected took place. The man pulled a coin from his pocket and handed it over to the baby.

Leila tried to resist the offer by telling the man not to do so but to no avail. She was deeply hurt by the fact that the man thought they were for charity. This resulted into a big blow to her ego and pride which made her cry. This is a clear demonstration of racial biasness as the man believed that people from the race where Leila came from, were poor and needed assistance. Ones race in this case determines their financial state and level of education as evident in the case of Leila’s encounter.

Nadine Gordimer in Is There Nowhere Else Where We Can Meet brings the opposite of the kind of weather that Leila is talking about. After a long lonely walk, the white lady meets a stranger unexpectedly. From the description of the person she meets, shows an environment where poverty is the order of the day. The person looks frail with red eyes and sweat all over the face. Their meeting sparks a lot of fear in the narrator. She paradoxically explains how shivers of fear rushed down her spine. Gordimer’s narrator portrays the person as one who is living in abject poverty.

His physique is not pleasing at all. Deep in his eyes is an array of pain as seen from his tears. After the narrator has passed by, comes life-threatening encounter. The man follows her and a battle ensues. Unfortunately, she has to fight not only the man but also the foul smell that comes from his sweaty and dirty body. “Now she fought with him and trembled with strength as they struggled. (134)” Afterwards, she realizes that the battle is not going to end soon. She therefore decides to throw her handbag and parcel at him in a bid to distract the man from her.

She finally finds her way across a fence and dashes off to the other side of the village. The white lady regretted engaging in a fight with the poor black man. She thought she should have just handed over her items to him and let him go his way but it had already happened. ReferencesAboulela, L. (2006). Travel is Part of FaithGordimer, N. (1983). Selected stories. Harmondsworth: Penguin.