The_Race_to_the_Bottom

The Race to the Bottom Erik Campbell ENG125: Introduction to Literature (ABG1241F) Instructor: April MacGrotty October 29, 2012 The Race to the Bottom The topic of racial inequality is evident in the short story “Country Lovers” and the poem “What it’s like to be a Black Girl”. I believe that it was intent of the authors to show the differences between the white and black races. In both the short story and the poem, the main character is a black female which faces, to some degree, a level of discrimination based on their skin color. Racism is a problem that our country has had since the days of Christopher Columbus. Racism was at its worst when the black communities of the United States were forced to be slaves to the white man. As time went on, and with thanks to President Abraham Lincoln, slavery was abolished, and blacks were “given” equal rights. Fast-forward to where we are now, and racial inequality is less of an issue. The stigma however, continues to cloud the black community of this country. Being a racist in today’s society is not something that is widely advertised by most. This is similar to the character Paulus in the story “Country Lovers”. Paulus was the son of a rich white farmer who became involved with a black female laborer, Thebedi, which worked for his family. Thebedi and Paulus grew up together as children. The spent their spare time in the woods talking and playing with one another. Eventually, as time passed and the two grew older, curiosity got the better of Paulus and Thebedi and their innocent childhood relationship grew into something sexual. It comes time in Paulus’s life to go off to school. He chooses to go to veterinary school a few towns over. Over the course of Paulus’s time in school he returned home at almost every chance he had to visit with his unforgotten love Thebedi. Despite the fact that both Thebedi and Paulus were older, it was still socially unacceptable to engage in an interracial relationship with one another. When Paulus would return home, he and Thebedi would meet in secret; often in the kaar. The kaar was the collection of huts that the laborers used to live in. The two would make love, Paulus would tell Thebedi when and where the next meeting would be, and they would go on their separate ways once again. The hidden relationship continues until one year when Paulus returned home from school for a visit. It was at this time that he learned of Thebedi giving birth to a baby just two months after her arranged marriage to another man. Racism is clearly shown by the author here when Paulus sees the baby for the first time. “He struggled for a moment with a grimace of tears, anger, and self–pity. She could not put out her hand to him. He said, "You haven't been near the house with it'"’ (Clugston, 2010). Paulus is clearly angry with himself for letting this happen. He knew that it was socially unacceptable for a white man to be involved with a black woman, let alone being the father of her baby. Almost needing to clear his head of what he just learned, Paulus left the hut housing his child and returned to the farm house. Eventually Paulus returned with a more sinister plan in mind. Paulus returned to the crib side of the baby alone; Thebedi waited outside. “After a time, long or short she did not know, he came out and walked away with plodding stride (his father's gait) out of sight, towards his father's house” (Clugston, 2010). The next morning when Thebedi arose from bed, she found her baby, dead in its crib. A little earlier in the text, the author tells of how the infant had been ill, but she seems to insinuate that Paulus was the cause of the baby’s death. It would seem as though Paulus wanted to remove the physical proof that would have linked him to a socially outlawed relationship with a black woman. The police eventually dig up the remains of the baby, and file the charge of murder against Paulus. During the pre-trial hearing, Thebedi testified that she had observed Paulus pouring liquid into the mouth of her child, and he threatened to shoot her if she told anyone. Later, Thebedi retracts her statement and states that she had no idea what was going on inside the room when Paulus was visiting. After a yearlong trial, a verdict was returned of not guilty favoring Paulus. The easiest explanation of “What it’s like to be a Black Girl (for those of you who aren’t)” by Patricia Smith, is laid out in the title of the poem. In the opening of the poem the reader immediately recognizes that this story is being written from the first person perspective. You can sense almost anger in the text of this young black girl; almost as if it were taken strait out of this girl’s diary. This extremely powerful poem shows the reader exactly what it is like for a young black girl to be growing up and going through puberty in a society that is not in favor of the black community. The first inclination of an adolescent going through puberty is given in the quote: “It’s being 9 years old and feeling like you’re not finished, like your edges are wild, like there’s something, everything, wrong.” (Smith, 4) I believe that at one point or another in every child’s life, boy or girl, they have had these same thoughts or feelings. The poor girl being described in the poem not only has to deal with the physically awkward puberty portion of life, but also the impact of going through these changes in a racially intolerant area of her community. This poem shows desperation from the main character to be more socially acceptable to her white peers. “it’s dropping food coloring in your eyes to make them blue and suffering their burn in silence. It’s popping a bleached white mophead over the kinks of your hair and primping in front of the mirrors that deny your reflection.” (Smith,9). The mirror denying her reflection tells me that the writer intended to say that no matter how you change yourself on the outside, you are still the same person on the inside. There is no amount of makeup or vanity that can ever change that. The poem almost describes the sounds of the neighborhood where the main character is going through all these changes. “it’s flame and fists and life according to Motown” (Smith, 17). This quote tells me that all she has to do is step outside and hear the futile bickering between the blacks and the whites; all while the music of Motown is being played in the background. As the poem continues the Smith attempts to show how this girl is physically changing, but her mentality is still that of a child. “jumping double Dutch until your legs pop” (Smith, 14). The poem ends with “it's finally having a man reach out for you then caving in around his fingers.” (Smith, 18) To me, this shows the dominance that a man has over a female, specifically in the black community. I chose to use both of these works based on the issue of racial inequality. Racial inequality is a problem that has plagued this country since its formation, and will continue to be, at some degree for some time, if not for the duration of the human existence. The most identifiable difference between these two literary pieces of work is the length. “Country Lovers” is quite long and very descriptive, while “What it’s like to be a Black Girl (for those of you who aren’t)” is a very short poem. Both of these pieces of work are extremely powerful in their reading. It is astounding to me that Smith can put you in a situation where you feel what the character is feeling in so few words. The message is the same in both stories: racial inequality has a variety of effects and takes its toll on people differently. The style in which the short story and the poem were written was also why I chose these two pieces of work. “Country Lovers” was written in the third person perspective. This gave the story a more overall feel as to what was going on around the main characters. Everything was well described to almost make the reader feel as though they were there with the two main characters, watching their every move. Third person point of view was more objective, and less personal. “What it’s like to be a Black Girl (for those of you who aren’t)” was written in the first person perspective. This perspective gave the story a more personal and intense approach to what the author was trying to convey her readers. In both stories the message is simple: it is not an easy life to be a black woman in a predominately white society. The trials and tribulations that a black woman faces in various situations are easily felt in the authors very descriptive writings. Racial inequality has been a problem from the start and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, not matter how obvious. References Ajay, H., & Southwest Regional Laboratory for Educational Research and Development, L. A. (1975). A Study of Themes and Styles in Popular American Literature--Based on "Popular Writing in America: The Interaction of Style & Audience.". Clugston, R. W. (2010). Country Lovers, Nadine Gordimer. In Journey into literature (chapter 3) Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUENG125.10.2/sections/h3.2 Clugston, R. W. (2010). Poems for Reflection. In Journey into literature (chapter 12 section 2). Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUENG125.10.2/sections/sec12.2 Semino, E., & Steen, G. (2008). Metaphor in literature. In R. r. Gibbs (Ed.) , The Cambridge handbook of metaphor and thought (pp. 232-246). New York, NY US: Cambridge University Press.