The Role of the Black Woman in the Society - Literature review Example

Introduction to Literature June 11, Introduction: The works that the researcher has chosen to compare are, Country lovers a short story authored 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 blacks 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. In a bid to strengthen this theme of Love, Gordimer in her 1975 piece of work denotes that, “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 (Gordimer, 2010)”. From this statement, it is possible to depict that Paulus was not interested in any other girls, apart from Thebedi. However, this is during their childhood years, as later on, Paulus neglects this love, and decides to kill the child that they had together with Thebedi. When two people are in love with each other, they would not be interested in any other association, apart from their partners. This is a characteristic that Paulus was able to show towards Thebedi. However, Altikriti (2012) argues that child hood love is only infatuation, and with time, the love that exists would end. This is the case between Paulus and Thebedi. Their love ended when Paulus went to study, and because of the social pressures of the society, Paulus did not want people to know that he had an association with Thebedi, a black woman. This is racialism and ethnicity, and the right behavior that Paulus could have embarked on is to defend the love that he had towards Thebedi, by embracing the child, and accepting its existence. 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) explain 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. This is an acceptance by Paulus that racialism and negative ethnicity existed during their times. This was a cowardly action by Paulus, mainly because he could have chosen to accept the child, and raise him up in a proper manner. This is because he came from a privileged background, and he could have used the wealth and social contacts he had, to protect the child and give him a better life. The cowardly action by Paulus is further seen when he decides to hide the relationship he had with Thebedi, mainly because of her race. The question to ask is, had Thebedi been a white girl, would Paulus decide to hide the relationship during their childhood? The most likely answer is no, because a white girl emanates from the same race as himself, and hence his parents would not have any objection to such kind of a relationship. Racialism is further depicted when Paulus is released by the courts, because of lack of evidence. This is despite the overwhelming evidence that Thebedi produced against Paulus. From this action, the courts were indirectly denoting that a white man can commit a crime against a black person, and the courts would protect him or her. 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. Patricia Smith uses a bitter and cynical tone in this poem. For instance, the phrase that, “it has been like 9 years, and there is a feeling that am not finished (Smith, 2012)”, is an indication that the young girl is bitter with her life. The bitter tone used is able to denote the manner in which black people resented negative 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 mop head, 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. 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 types of tones used in these literary pieces of art are different. In the poem, the author uses a bitter 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). Furthermore, the two authors have managed to use personifications in their literary works. In the poem, the girl is able to denote that, mirrors are able to deny the reflection of a person (Smith, 2013). Through this aspect, the author gives mirrors a human characteristics, in the sense that they have choices, either they can accept, or deny. This stanza clearly illustrates the manner in which the girl detested being a black person, by denoting that even the mirrors were able to reject her color or complexion. Personification is also used in showing the love between Thebedi and Paulus. For instance Gordimer denotes that the sight of other women thighs and bellies were not enough to elicit a feeling of affection and love to Paulus. Through this passage, Gordimer tries to give the thighs and bellies of individuals a human characteristic, in a sense that they can evoke emotions, and hence expressing the romance that was there between Paulus and Thebedi. Smith in her poem also manages to use symbolism in articulating her message. For instance, the black girl denotes that it’s like dropping food color in an individual’s eye; with the intention of turning them into color blue (Smith, 2012). Through this statement, the author was talking about the use of make ups, to enhance an individual’s beauty. Because the young girl wanted to be like the white women, she had the desire of using make ups, just like the white women are using them (Altikriti, 2011). In trying to explain the love relationship that existed between Thebedi and Paulus, Gordimer denotes that Paulus brought a painted wooden box as a gift to Thebedi. This was a symbol of love. Symbolism is further depicted in this play, when Thebedi denotes that the white children had to go away (Long, 2003). This symbolized that white children were more important than their black counterparts, and hence they had to leave, and not the black children. 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