Introduction
The short story Country’s Lovers by Nadine Gordimer and the poem What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl by Patricia Smith are masterpieces in terms of their content and the themes that both pieces present to the readers. The overarching theme within both stories is the plight of the black woman in her social life. Country’s Lovers for example explains the vulnerability of the black woman in her romantic life. On the other hand, Smith’s poem explains the social hardships experienced by the black woman right from her tender age. This shows that there are similarities between both pieces in terms of their content, forms of delivery, and style. This paper compares both Gordimer’s Country’s Lovers and Smith’s poem What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl in the presentation of the plight of the black woman.
First of all, it is apparent that black people in the United States are supposedly ranked at the bottom of social hierarchy. Both Gordimer and Smith bring to the attention of the reader that black people in the United States have had a rough past. Gordimer for example, goes ahead to explain the historical injustices of segregation and discrimination that is been explained by the black community in the United States. It is evident that as a result of the historical segregation which the black community in the United States has experienced, the dominant forces within society that are composed of the white population have created a social hierarchy that has created the notion that black people are at the bottom of that hierarchy(Cook, 1969, p.29). As result of the supposition that has been present in the United States that the black people are at the bottom of the hierarchy, a romantic relationship between black people and members of the white upper class is viewed as retrogression (Seltzer, 2009, p. 41). This is the reason is to why Thebedi and Paulus find themselves in a difficult position. Thebedi who is a black lady would be viewed as being inferior according to the social hierarchy compared to Paulus who is a white man who would be ranked in the top of the social hierarchy.
Despite the feelings that Paulus has for Thebedi, it is difficult for him to be in a position to openly show his affection for the lady. This is because society would judge him harshly for taking a black lady to be his lover. For this reason Paulus decides to make love with Thebedi in secret, which results into Thebedi’s pregnancy. The supposition that black people and black women for that matter are ranked at the bottom of the hierarchy is also evident in Smith’s poem. In the poem, Smith’s explains that the inferiority complex among black women is experienced right at their tender age. The black woman always wants to be white. Most black women according to the poem try all means to make sure that they mask their blackness. This means that they have to try and get artificial facial outlooks similar to those of the white woman. Black women try to also get hair that is similar to that of the Caucasian woman. The meta-question in this case is why society is shaped in this way. The white Anglo-Saxon Protestant male as the dominant force in society, have made black woman right from their tender age to believe that they are inferior. This is the reason why women at a very tender age already have a notion that being black is inferior. Therefore one of the key things that is presented in both Smith’s poem and the novel the country’s lovers is the idea that black women are inferior in society.
The second idea regarding the plight of the black woman in society is the fact that a black woman is vulnerable. For example, in the novel Country’s love, Paulus kills Thebedi’s child with whom they had together. For the mere fact that Thebedi is black, Paulus is not put behind bars for this act. At the initial stages of the trial Thebedi gives a testimony against Paulus arguing that she had spotted Paulus pouring a liquid into the child’s mouth. However, Thebedi as a black woman is manipulated and over time retracts her evidence explaining that she did not know what Paulus was doing in the house. Paulus actions illustrate the fact that he did not have any respect for either Thebedi or the child. One thing that comes out the novel Country’s Lovers is the idea that children that are interracial, out of black and white parents face social stigmatization. The society views interracial kids as more black as opposed as being white. This is the reason is why even the courts do not stand up to punish Paulus for his action to kill an interracial child. The idea that black woman are vulnerable in society is also brought out in Smith’s Poem.
According to the poem, black women have to learn say the word fuck with a lot of humility, but are required to fuck without that grace. This idea presented almost at the end of the poem bring out the Black women have over the years been viewed as objects. The society has requirements for them in terms of their ability to be in a position to satisfy their men sexually. It is evident from this poem that black women in society have been referred objectively as opposed to being viewed subjectively. In the case of Country’s Lovers black women are portrayed as sexual objects. The description of Thebedi’s body illustrates that society is more concerned about the looks and the body of the black woman not her personality. As Nadine Gordimer explains, the passions that Paulus enjoys after their sexual encounter with Thebedi are what draw him closer to the lady (Gordimer, 1988, p.36). This means that to a large extent, the relationship that existed between Thebedi and Paulus was motivated by the childhood romance that they enjoyed together not because of a caring relationship.
This dough tails with Smith’s poem that women have to learn how to fuck with no grace. This shows that for women to be appealing in society, they have to be sexually attractive to be able to adequately satisfy the sexual needs of men. In the quest to feel loved, women find themselves being taken advantage of by men. For example, Thebedi was of the view that Paulus loved him for who she was but the fact remains that the romances that they had together is what kept them together. If Paulus really loved Thebedi he could not make the decision to kill an innocent child which he had helped conceive.
The third important way that both Smith’s poem and the novel Country’s Lovers brings out the plight of women is by bringing out the idea that black women are in self-denial such that they want to be somebody else and not themselves. For example, in the novel Country’s love, it is evident that Thebedi does not protect her own welfare first. She more concerned with the welfare of other people and not her own wellbeing. Thebedi would have avoided the pregnancy with Paulus if she had a higher self-esteem and respect for herself. Chastity before marriage is a virtue for individuals who are more concerned about their future. Therefore, the mere fact that Thebedi did not take her time to think things through because engaging in a sexual affair with Paulus indicates that she did value her life in the first place.
One of the most astonishing facts about Thebedi is the fact that even after becoming pregnant with Paulus child, she goes ahead to allow herself to be manipulated to letting her newborn baby to be killed by Paulus (Gordimer, 1980, p.44). She goes ahead to give false witness in court about the death of her child, irrespective of the loss that Paulus had caused. All these actions by Thebedi illustrated the fact that she did not value her life. The only thing that she cared for is protecting other people who did not even have goodwill towards her in the first place. This idea dough tails with Smith’s poem on the idea that most black women are not proud of themselves. They are not confident about their dark complexion or their dark hair. Most black women want to look like other people of lighter complexion(Kale, 2002, p.21).Trying to change one is expensive in terms of time, psychological torture, and most importantly impossible. Despite efforts to try to look like other people so that one can feel more loved, the fact remains that one’s personality remains the same and cannot be changed in any way.
In conclusion, both the novel Country’s Lovers and Smith’s poem What it is like to be a black woman are master pieces in terms of their content, organization, and style. The overarching theme that is addressed in both works is the plight of the black woman. Both novel bring out that society is shaped in a way that black people and in particular black women are considered as being inferior. The idea of being black is viewed as being an inferiority complex rather than a pride that black women should embrace. As is evident in Smith’s poem black women are in denial of themselves right from a tender age. For example, Smith explains that as early as age nine, black women already have an understanding that blackness is an inferiority complex (Gillan, 1994, p.56).They continually strive to be someone else for the rest of their lives. It is inferiority complex that makes black women more vulnerable to manipulation and being taken advantage of. The inferiority complex makes many black women not to value themselves or their lives. This is evident in the case of Thebedi when she is impregnated by Paulus, but also lets the same individual to kill her child. Untouched by the atrocities that befall her son, she gives false witness in court to protect Paulus. Therefore, one of the greatest recommendations for black women is that they should consider themselves as being beautiful and should at no time consider themselves as being inferior.
References
Cook, D. M., & Swauger, C. G. (1969). The small town in American literature. New York: Dodd, Mead.
Gillan, M. M. (1994). Unsettling America: an anthology of contemporary multicultural poetry. New York: Penguin Books.
Gordimer, N. (1980). Town and country lovers. Los Angeles, California: Sylvester & Orphanos.
Gordimer, N., & Winter, H. (1988). Town and country lovers: three stories. Stuttgart: Reclam.
Kale, T., & Granger, E. (2002). The Columbia Granger's index to poetry in anthologies (12th ed.). New York: Columbia University Press.
Seltzer, R. (2009). Experiencing racism: exploring discrimination through the eyes of college students. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books.
