Nadine Gordimer

Nadine Gordimer is a writer that has lived through numerous world-changing events. She has lived through World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Korean War. She even made it through the American Civil Right's Acts, as well as an uncountable amount of natural disasters. However, she did not base her writing style or preference on any of these notable events. Gordimer summed up her writing style by stating in the introduction of one of her many stories "a writer is selected by his subject - his subject being the consciousness of his own era" (Anthology 2919). This direct quote from Gordimer says everything that we need to know about her writing style.

Gordimer was born on November 20, 1923, in a small village, Springs, located just miles away from Johannesburg, South Africa. Gordimer was born into a family of white minorities in this gold-mining country. Her father was of Jewish decent; her mother was of English decent. Being a white minority in South Africa had little implications on her when she was young. However, she would soon realize that people spanning all portions of the globe would hear her point of view.

Gordimer's education was minor when you think of it in today's terms. Being a Christian, she attended a small Anglican school in Springs. After being educated throughout her adolescence, she moved on to Witwatersand University, located in Johannesburg, South Africa. She only attended this university for one year, never earning a college degree. Regardless of her education, she devoted her life to writing collections that dealt with the racial tension that plagued her home country. Her first set of short stories was completed in 1949, at the mature age of 26. Throughout her career, she has written a myriad of essays, short stories, and novels.

A short story that focused solely on the racial tension in South Africa was Oral History. The entire short story is laced with images of the oppression that her country is faced with on a daily basis. Although the story focuses on one village, one chief, and one moral, it is evident that she is portraying the entire country of South Africa. Her focus, while telling this story, is to provide horrific images of how racial segregation has divided her country into two parts, white and black. Oral History is a microscopic depiction of what type of oppression has been endured within her home country.

Oral History begins with an introduction to the conflict of the story. The "house like a white man's" (2923) is solely meant to represent the house of the chief. This conflict stems from the colonization of the British. The chief is stuck between his loyal citizens of his clan and the white military. This white military is also the governing council. It is clear that the conflict focuses on more than just the chief; it focuses on the entire country. This country has always been known for its racial segregation.

Apartheid is a term that is widely associated with the country of South Africa, as well as the continent of Africa. This term is infamous for its reference to a system of segregation and oppression. South Africa has been overwhelmed with segregation and oppression since the Dutch inhabited the country in the early 1600's. The Dutch East Indies Companies invaded the country in hopes to set up ports for their ships. The people who colonized the country soon took up a self-governing rule, focusing on the whites only. The actual inhabitants of South Africa were black. This is where the segregation began.

With the government in position, the colonial exploration quickly turned in to an actual dwelling for the white Dutchmen. Soon after, slavery began to take shape. Slavery led to battles that pitted the colonials against the citizens. The militias that were strong enough to defeat the white armies set up there own societies. The two then began to live separately, but together, in the country. However, in 1806, the British seized the colony from the Dutch and a new governing order was established. The British abolished slavery in the colony and began to create an industrial market based on the gold and diamonds located in the country. Agriculture also began to take shape. Although slavery was abolished, the invading colonists still tightly controlled the color labor force. With the black population outweighing the whites four to one, the white colonists had to act in order to keep positive control of social, political, and economic relations. Therefore, the apartheid acts were created in 1948 in order to afford the white minorities the opportunities of command and control.

Oral History depicts a perfect scenario of minorities taking control of the countryside. In the story, the British army is overseeing a number of villages. Within these villages, there is one chief that is in charge. This chief is stuck in the middle of a moral dilemma. He should look out for his people, but he also must listen to the military rulers because they are able to defeat the militias that are fighting for independence within his own country. This white military presence within the chief's little village is a key that apartheid has been enacted at the highest point of the government. This chief's dilemma ultimately sweeps his life out from under his feet.

The apparent suicide, or staged suicide, of the chief is symbolic in a different number of ways. First off, if this was a suicide, the death comes after the white military "planes only children bothered to look up at any longer had come in the night and dropped something terrible and alive"(Anthology 2930). This something terrible and alive was more than likely