The Life of Country Lovers
The life of Country Lovers
Deanna Higgins
ENG125
Hope Umansky
April 23, 2012
The Life of Country Lovers The theme of “ Country Lovers” written by Nadine Gordimer is about two people who have a forbidden love for one another and carry on behind the backs of those who would against it. They still carry on with their lives as if they are not involved but have their relationship carry on behind the scenes. I will show in this paper how the theme and narrative elements tie the story together and draw you in. I will show what point of view the story is told and makes the story. The forbidden love between Paulus and Thebedi whom grew up playing together as children but their feelings for one another grew as the grew up. Paulus was the son of the farm owner and Thebedi was a child of a worker on the farm. It is a young love that blossomed over time and they both knew it was not allowed between their two races. They would meet in places on the farm after everyone was off to work and also when his parents would leave the farm and the staff would go home. The setting is in Africa on a farm where they grow up together and have feelings for each other but they are white and black not the same in everyone’s eyes so it is not right for them to have a relationship. The point of view of the story is from the third party omniscient. Which is as our textbook states it is an external narrator who uses the thoughts and feelings of the characters in an omniscient (all knowing) point of view (Clugston, 2010). The narrator describes all the feelings that Paulus has toward Thebedi which he does not understand because he should not be having these feelings for her it should be someone else since it is forbidden. They are friends and that is ok, but to become lovers is not. They are not considered equals she is a servant and he is the master. They still go on for years at a time and become very close in private not letting anyone know the way they feel for one
Deanna Higgins
ENG125
Hope Umansky
April 23, 2012
The Life of Country Lovers The theme of “ Country Lovers” written by Nadine Gordimer is about two people who have a forbidden love for one another and carry on behind the backs of those who would against it. They still carry on with their lives as if they are not involved but have their relationship carry on behind the scenes. I will show in this paper how the theme and narrative elements tie the story together and draw you in. I will show what point of view the story is told and makes the story. The forbidden love between Paulus and Thebedi whom grew up playing together as children but their feelings for one another grew as the grew up. Paulus was the son of the farm owner and Thebedi was a child of a worker on the farm. It is a young love that blossomed over time and they both knew it was not allowed between their two races. They would meet in places on the farm after everyone was off to work and also when his parents would leave the farm and the staff would go home. The setting is in Africa on a farm where they grow up together and have feelings for each other but they are white and black not the same in everyone’s eyes so it is not right for them to have a relationship. The point of view of the story is from the third party omniscient. Which is as our textbook states it is an external narrator who uses the thoughts and feelings of the characters in an omniscient (all knowing) point of view (Clugston, 2010). The narrator describes all the feelings that Paulus has toward Thebedi which he does not understand because he should not be having these feelings for her it should be someone else since it is forbidden. They are friends and that is ok, but to become lovers is not. They are not considered equals she is a servant and he is the master. They still go on for years at a time and become very close in private not letting anyone know the way they feel for one
References: Clugston, R.W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education Inc. https://content.ashfor.edu/books/aueng125.10.2