Poetry Paper (MLA style)

Ochoa 1

Ochoa 2

Ana Ochoa

Professor Surendar

ENC 1102

March 6, 2020

The Oppression Through Literature

Oppression is a common theme in many stones. This theme refers to the injustices that people have had to go through given their color, place of origin, and their income levels. This oppression, as seen in most stories, can be imposed by people from other races such as the Whites oppressing the Africans or even the Africans oppressing each other simply because they hold a senior position in the government or in the community. The theme of oppression is often used in stories to illustrate the inequalities that exist in the society when one group considers itself to be superior and thus, feel they should control everything while enjoying at the expense of the general population. Highlighting oppression through stories is important in literary works as it allows readers to realize the effects of their actions, whether done knowingly or unknowingly in the day to day life.

Bessie Head was a South African writer who is usually considered Botswana’s most influential writer. She wrote novels and short stories that are infused with spiritual questioning and reflection. She used the theme of oppression in her story to emphasize the dehumanization and cruelty suffered by many South Africans during the era where racism was the daily bread in their lives.

“The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses” is a short story about a group of South African political prisoners called Span One, who work at the prison farm collecting cabbages. Due to their few political crimes, they took control of the prison, breaking the rules and doing what they wanted. His days of control ended when a new warder arrived at the prison called Warder Hannetjie, an extremely strict and brutal guard whose actions are dehumanizing. One of his worst abuses was to beat up a man with glasses for a misdemeanor called Brille. Due to their mistreatment in prison, all prisoners lived in fear and felt deprived of their liberty by this new guard, until they decide to blackmail the guard blaming him with the authorities of stealing fertilizer to place it on his farm. Hannetjie tries to buy Brille's silence by offering tobacco for him and his group, however, Brille again accuses him with the authorities of offering them smuggled tobacco. Finally, Hannetjie and Brille reached an agreement that Hannetjie would stop being so mean to the other prisoners while the Span One group would help him steal supplements for his farm, where both Hannetjie and Span One begin to change for good between them themselves and with the other prisoners.

In the story, oppression is reflected in racial segregation and dehumanization. This story is set in South Africa after World War II, when racial segregation was inevitable in those days. Violence and discrimination are very common factors in prisons today, however, at the time in which this story is based, it was a nightmare for prisoners because they lived under heavy punishment and deprived of their rights. Therefore, oppression is one of the most prominent themes in the story.

Langston Hughes was an American poet, novelist playwright, and columnist. He uses oppression as a theme in his story to represent the freedom and slavery, using black and white characters to create a dynamic of what a racially divided society scenario would be like and to demonstrate the different forms that racism can take.

“Slave on the Block” is a short story about a white couple named Michael and Anne Carraway, the couple lived in New York and considered themselves very open about racial relations, however, they did not have a good relationship with their black neighbors. One day a black boy named Luther arrives, who was a relative of one of the couple's workers, asking them if they had any jobs they could offer him. The couple decide to hire him to take care of his garden and also to make portraits of him since Anne was a painter. Luther meets Mattie, the Carraway maid, and they begin to build a friendship that eventually becomes a bit problematic. During the day, Anne paints Luther's paintings when he falls asleep, until one day he decides to paint him as a slave about to be sold, thus calling his painting "the boy on the block." With the passage of time, things began to get intense in the house with the Carraway and with Mattie and Luther, the employees began to misbehave and disobey the orders of the Carraway. However, they could not fire them because Anne wanted to finish painting her painting called "the boy on the block". Finally, Michael's mother comes home for a long time, Luther and Mattie begin to treat Michael's mother better than their own bosses, until one day Luther says something very offensive to Michael's mother. They then decide to fire him and Mattie decides to leave with the saying that he no longer supports the Carraway, which confuses Anne, since she always considered that her treatment was fair and correct with her employees.

In this story, oppression is reflected in discrimination and slavery, that we are all human beings and deserve to be treated as such. Throughout history, the behavior of the Carraway was not entirely fair to their workers. Therefore, at the time that Luther and Mattie reveal themselves before their bosses, it was the moment where they felt their freedom sleeping away and declared to defend themselves.

Erskine Cadwell was an American novelist and short story writer. Most of his stories reflect protests against the racial and economic oppression in the South during the Great Depression. He uses oppression in his history to reflect racial prejudice and lack of humanity, showing the dangers of violence as something common and indifferent that can lead indirectly as intentional violence.

"Saturday Afternoon" is a short story about a man named Tom Denny, owner of a butcher shop along with Jim Baxter, who was resting in a block of meat on a Saturday afternoon. One day, Jim went to wake up Tom to chase an African American named Will Maxie, as he allegedly said something offensive to a white woman. Will had always been careful with his business and was always respectful of whites, which generated envy among many people in his city because he was making a lot of money. The crowd found Will, so they tied him with chains to a tree and set him on fire, while other men from the town dedicated themselves to selling homemade Coca-Cola and whisky to "enjoy" the execution. Finally after the torture is over, Tom and Jim hurry off to work, waiting for the next customers to buy meat for Sunday.

In this story, oppression is reflected in the indifference to violence and racism. It is illustrated in the characters of Jim and Tom and the sellers of whisky and Coca-Cola during the execution as if it were an entertainment area. Racism is also an important part of the story. The violence that is represented in the story has no effect on the characters, but particularly on an African American man. In addition, the characters in the story call Will Maxie with racist nicknames, and none of them question Will Maxie of being guilty for talking to the white woman.

In conclusion, oppression is something that brings a lot of suffering to the people oppressed. It leds to suffering and restrictions on one’s ability to enjoy their rights. These stories show that people are often born into oppression and it takes long for someone to escape such bondage. While trying to free themselves, one usually goes through difficult steps which affects them physically and emotionally as there are other people who simply cannot escape it. For instance, in the story "Saturday Afternoon" it is shown how they kill and torture a man who didn't even take the time to know his side of the story. It is also reflected in "the Prisoner who Wore Glasses" where prisoners were tortured under the hands of a guard who also did horrible and unjust things behind the authorities. The oppression in “Slave on the Block" is reflected in the attitudes of the Carraway, forcing and treating their workers as slaves, without them realizing that at some point they were going to reveal themselves and defend their own rights. Thus, oppression comes with a lot of suffering and it is only rebellion that saves someone from inhumane life of indignity caused by those who abuse their power.

Works Cited

Bessie Amelia Head (2000). South African History Online. Retrieved on September 10, 2019

from https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/bessie-amelia-head

Carl Van Vechten, (2020) Langston Hughes, Poetry Foundation. Retrieved March 7, 2019

from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/langston-hughes

Encyclopedia Britannica(2014). Erskine Caldwell, American Writer. Retrieved April 10, 2019 from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Erskine-Caldwell