Comparison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Comparison - Essay Example Her main focus was to provide rights to the Blacks and give them a representation in the society. She has a literature Nobel prize to her name, along with eight novels and over two hundred short stories to her credit. The other form of literature that will be scrutinized is â€Å"What it’s like to be a black girl?† a poem by the famous Patricia Smith. Smith, also an activist wrote this specific poem to explain the feelings of a black girl, growing up to be a woman in a time when blacks were despised severely. (What its like to be a black girl, Poetry - CollegeTermPapers.com, 2013; Post Colonial Analysis of "Country Lovers" by Nadine Gordimer, 2013) â€Å"The Country Lovers† is a short story written by Nadine Gordimer, and it forms the second part of the story called â€Å"The Town and Country Lovers†. With the scene set in countryside, the story revolves around two protagonists namely: Thebedi and Paulus. Thebedi is a black girl and Paulus happens to be th e son of her white masters. Thebedi and Paulus have spent their entire childhood together; hence, when they grow up into teenagers, they get attracted to each other and fall in love. What they experienced cannot be typically termed as love, but they were physically involved and their love blossomed as they were over whelmed by the strength of emotions that they felt. Now in those times, interracial relationships were forbidden, which meant that it was close to committing a sin, hence, this whole relation was kept as a secret. Time passes with the way things are and Thebedi gets pregnant, but she hides this fact from Paulus. Paulus till such time was carrying on with his own life and Thebedi was getting married to a man named Njabulo, who had been in love with her for quite some time. When Thebedi gives birth to a daughter, her appearance raises questions because the girl, carrying her father’s genes is light in color and has colored eyes. Njabulo, being a sincere husband does not question this and treats the child like his own. As word travels, Paulus gets to know about the child and in an instance realizes the daunting truth. He pays a visit to Thebedi and asks her to five the child to someone else as it is a proof of their sin. On insisting, Thebedi leaves Paulus alone with the child and after a day, the girl dies. The matter is taken to court as Thebedi swears to confess that Paulus had poisoned her child. However, on the day of the trial, Thebedi fails to confess and says she did not â€Å"see† Paulus poison the baby. Hence, Paulus is freed without any charges due to the lack of evidence. (Country Lovers, 2013) This short story brings into focus the problems of being in an â€Å"interracial†, â€Å"forbidden† love. (Post Colonial Analysis of "Country Lovers" by Nadine Gordimer, 2013) It not just explains the problems that the protagonists, especially the female encountered, but it also portrays perfectly the thinking of the peop le in those times. The story remarkably portrays the female as the vulnerable character as men mostly get away with their acts easily. As the story was staged for the 20th century, a time when racial discrimination was at its peak, the role of Thebedi shows the negatives of being a black and a woman at the same time. Her character was questioned when her child turned out to be light in colored. Paulus’s selfish act of saving his reputation from being damaged, and poisoning the child to