Out of all of Nadine Gordimer's writings, "Good Climate, Friendly Inhabitants", "Amnesty" and “ Six Feet of the Country,” “Six Feet of the Country” was the story that really got me. When I first started reading it I was happy to hear how the owners treated the natives that live on their land, with some respect. As the story went on I stared losing the respect I had for narrator. Towards the end the only reason that the narrator wanted to get the body back was because he was insulted about how powerless he was with his own system his people created; not to mention how this made him look in front of the natives. this may not have seemed like a big deal to many because so what its just a body,but to the natives who could have a different religion that believe if the body is not disposed properly, then the soul of the brother would spend eternity in limbo. Personally just thinking about a family member burning in hell bring me to tears, I could only imagine what these poor people felt. There was also a comment made by one of the men in the story that basically said the black all look the same and who cares. To think that anyone could be that heartless towards another human being brings me to tears. I don’t understand how any would could treat another human or any living thing with disrespect.
What was great about this story along with Gordimer’s other writing, was that we saw these stories through a disturbed characters point of view. This made it more interesting because I was able to see what was going though the characters mind, as if I was him. Many writers use the innocent or the hero as the narrator, Gordimer didn’t.
I agree that Gordimer is a skilled artist in that she can so vividly create these unsympathetic characters that can still draw the reader into the story. Their skewed point of view just highlights how awful they are and how admirable the people around them are. I agree that "Six Feet of the Country" is a profoundly disturbing story. Gordimer takes the most intimate situation of a family member dying to show the horrors of apartheid.
ReplyDeleteYou do a good job summarizing the story and pointing out the larger context of the writer's choices. You also do include your personal feelings in the response. In your next blog, see if you can go into a little more detail about how your personal experiences influence your interpretation of the stories.