Nadine Gordimer

This week we read three stories by Nadine Gordimer, “Amnesty”, Good Climate, Friendly Inhabitants”, and “Six Feet of the Country.” In all of these stories Gordimer has a way of drawing the reader in and making us feel something for the characters within. Though we feel strong emotions regarding these characters we must remember that they are in fact nameless, unreliable narrators. This technique shows the readers how complicated the truth can be.

The story that stood out to me the most was “Amnesty”. The narrator may be uneducated, a woman, and a farmer, but she is also a strong mother who remembers the importance of family and traditions. Her strong will and devotion to a man that will never fully be with her makes me remember just how many people out there do the same thing every day. Some women may not know exactly what is being fought over, but they know that they need to maintain the home so there is something to fight for and come home to. It is rare to find stories from this perspective. Most are from the perspective of the male “hero”. I think this was a refreshing change of pace. I can see why her literature has made such an impact.

While I am taking this class I am also taking an American Literature class. This week we have focused on Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Throughout the whole Frederick Douglass discussion I was thinking of how many connections there were to our class discussions this week. Most importantly, the need to understand that colonization starts and ends in the mind, then the body. How the thoughts and education of those colonized differs, and that sometimes they do not even think to question what is going on around them. This makes all the people who speak out that much more commendable. It seems there is a common theme amongst many of my classes this quarter.