Intro to Literature

LITERARY ANALYSIS OF TWO TEXTS

Introduction

What is like to be a black child poem and the country lovers short story are two texts that share a common conflict. They both address the issues of cultural beliefs that led to the suffering of many and furthermore they address the issue of discrimination. The poem was written by Patricia Smith and in the poem she addresses the pain that the African American children underwent during the times of slavery. On the other hand the short story of the country lovers is set in South Africa at the time of apartheid where the blacks were not allowed to mingle with the whites yet a white boy fell in love with a black girl.

Thesis statement

Most people experience racial and ethnicity discrimination but they do not speak about it, these kinds of discrimination still exist in the modern society and therefore, it is the responsibility of everyone advocate for the end of such discrimination and uphold respect and love for everyone despite their race, color or place of origin.

Conflict

The conflict of racial discrimination and slavery appear in both texts and both protagonists suffer in the hands of the white people simply because they are black. In both texts, the blacks are considered the lowest in the society and whatever happens to them is not the concern of the authorities. For instance in the poem by Patricia Smith, the young black girl child is raped and nothing is done about it. For the Country lover, Thebedi suffers as she labors for Paulus father in the farm, she dies not get sufficient rest yet she is overworked with no pay simply because she is of a different skin color.

The difference between the two texts is the setting in that the poem’s setting is in America during the times of slavery while the short story by Nadine Gordimer written in 1975 is set in South Africa during the times of apartheid in South Africa. Despite the fact that the black were the majority, they were still considered the lowest in the society and they were the workers who worked for the whites and the Indians. They did not enjoy their freedom or using the country’s facilities simply because they are black.

Three literary techniques used in the texts

Literary techniques used in the texts are symbolism, idioms and flashback. Symbolism and narration have also been used.

Literary Techniques in the poem

One of the literary techniques used in the poem is symbolism, ‘it’s dropping food coloring in your eyes to make them blue and suffering their burn in silence.’ The dropping of food color is the eyes to make them blue symbolizes the suffering the black child in going through. There is use of idioms in the poem, ‘it’s growing tall and wearing a lot of white, it’s smelling blood in your breakfast,’ the idiom ‘smell blood’ means that the girl senses that she is going to be attacked while she takes breakfast. The other technique used in the poem is flash back. The poem begins by the protagonist reflecting back on the events that happens when she was nine years old, ‘First of all, it’s being 9 years old and feeling like you’re not finished’ (Patricia, 1991).

Literary techniques in the short story

Symbolism is used in the story of the country lovers. The suffering of Thebedi is a representation of what other black people were going through and fact that she doesn’t find justice in the court system shows that the black’s quest for justice is not being fulfilled by the country’s authority. Narration style has been used in the story to describe Paulus behavior. The writer describes how he meets many girls and befriend them and despite that fact he still cares for Thebedi and he expresses the love he has for her by buying her gifts. Flashback has also been used in the story to show Paulus attitude when he was 15 years old, ‘When Paulus was 15 years old he started to meet other girls from the school. He meets a girl at a wedding. They are sleeping together in a bedroom in the house. But even though he meets new girls, he buys gifts for Thebedi.’

Contrast and comparison

Racial background and ethnicities are things that have been evident in both texts and both the main characters in the texts are black females. They both deal with a great deal of discrimination because of their race and cultural background.

One of the difference is that from the short story, Paulus and Thebedi played together when they were young, and they were good friends because the differences between them did not matter then. As they grow, these differences start showing and they realize they are in a world that forbids love between people of two different races and so this affects their relationship and distances them. From the poem, the little girl has never been shown love, all she knows is cruelty since she was young (Nadine, 1975).

Conclusion

Racial discrimination and ethnicity are things that hinder the development of a loving community. From the short story, the act of discrimination causes the death of an innocent child and from the poem, the girl child is raped. These action causes more conflict between the different races.

References

Patricia, S., (1991). What It's Like To Be A Black Girl And Child Of The America's. Retrieved from,