Racism is something that we all see, hear, and experience in our mundane lives. It may be something that we do non talk about every bit frequently as it is displayed, merely like in the short narrative “ Country Lovers “ . The short narrative entitled “ State Lovers ” was written by Nadine Gordimer in 1975 ” ( Clugston, 2010 ) . This short narrative is about a secret love matter between a immature black miss named Thebedi and a immature white male child named Paulus Eysendyck ; which took topographic point on a South African farm.

The chief characters Paulus and Thebedi were raised together since they were childs. Paulus was a white male child and Thebedi, a black miss who lived on the Eysendyck household farm. The two of them played together and spent much of their childhood yearss with one another. As clip passed they begin to turn up and the distances between the two besides grow apart but the love may hold still been at that place.

Paulus Eysendyck was the boy of the farm proprietor and Thebedi ‘s male parent worked on Mr. Eysendyck ‘s farm. They both knew they could non be together publically. Throughout this short narrative there are a batch of state of affairss where race plays a large factor. The first state of affairs takes topographic point when Paulus is sent off to get oning school, this is around the age of 12 or 13 because pubescence is now going nowadays, and the black kids are larning to accept their bodily alterations. These are bodily alterations which everyone goes through and what seems to be an easy passage to maturity. This is now a new beginning of naming their old playfellows missis and baasie small maestro ” ( Clugston, 2010 ) . These names are names of discourtesy used towards white males and female since they became older.

This development in age did non impede the bond created between Paulus and Thebedi as kids. Both Paulus ‘ and Thebedi ‘s parents ne’er stopped them from seeing one another because they did non believe that it was nil more than two childhood friends. What they did n’t cognize was that there was ever this concealed love affair that was taking topographic point between the kids. The childs knew this love affair was incorrect because they ever hide the fact that they did pass a batch of clip with one another. An illustration of this would be when Paulus came place from school and brought Thebedi a gift. “ She told her male parent the missis had given them to her as a wages for some plants she had done-it was true she sometimes was called to assist out in the farmhouse. She told the misss in the kraal that she had a sweetie cipher knew about, intertwine off, off on another farm, and they giggled, and teased, and admired her. There was a male child in the kraal called Njabulo who said he wished he could hold brought her a belt and ear-rings ” ( Clugston, 2010 ) .

There ‘s loss of Thebedi ‘s artlessness, Thebedi ‘s virginity, and an act of out love as described here when Paulus watches Thebedi Wade in the H2O. “ The schoolgirls he went swimming with at dikes or pools on neighbouring farms wore Bikini but the sight of their dazzling abdomens and thighs in the sunshine had ne’er made him experience what he felt now when the miss came up the bank and sat beside him, the beads of H2O beading off her dark legs the lone points of visible radiation in the earth-smelling deep shadiness. They were non afraid of one another, they had known one another ever ; he did with her what he had done that clip in the storage room at the nuptials, and this clip it was so lovely, so lovely, he was surprised. . . and she was surprised by it, too-he could see in her dark face that was portion of the shadiness, with her large dark eyes, shiny as soft H2O, watching him attentively: as she had when they used to huddle over their squads of clay cattle, as she had when he told her about detainment weekends at school. ” ( Clugston, 2010 ) . This sexual act was something new to her but non to him. He looked at her otherwise than he did those misss she saw in Bikini. They were both surprised by their actions but non afraid of their actions.

The racism sets in really barely towards the terminal of this short narrative when Paulus Eysendyck came place from veterinary college for the vacations. This is where he finds out that the immature black miss Thebedi had gotten married and had given birth to a babe. When he finds out about the babe he goes to Thebedi ‘s hut to see for himself. When he reaches the hut and saw the babe foremost manus “ He struggled for a minute with a face of cryings, choler, and self-pity. She could non set out her manus to him. He said, “ You have n’t been near the house with it? ” ‘ ( Clugston, 2010 ) . By his reaction when happening out that the two of them had created a life during their tabu relationship shows how he knew that the consequence of their actions was non allowed in his community.

After the conversation the two had about the babe Paulus returned to the hut, the following twenty-four hours, where Thebedi and the infant kid lived. She told Paulus that the babe was ill and he went in to see it. Thebedi did non follow him in but stayed at the door until he returned. “ She thought she heard little oinks from the hut, the sort of baby oink that indicates a full tummy, a deep slumber. After a clip, long or short she did non cognize, he came out and walked off with sloging pace ( his male parent ‘s pace ) out of sight, towards his male parent ‘s house ” ( Clugston, 2010 ) .

As more of the narrative unfold the realisation that Paulus killed the baby kid that twenty-four hours when he returned to Thebedi ‘s hut is really clear. “ The babe was non fed during the dark and although she kept stating Njabulo it was kiping, he saw for himself in the forenoon that it was dead. He comforted her with words and caresses. She did non shout but merely sat, gazing at the door ” ( Clugston, 2010 ) . This portion of the narrative tells that Paulus was afraid that the community would happen out about the relationship between the two and attempts to cover it up what would be solid grounds of their love affair as if nil of all time happened between the two of them. This shows how hard life must hold been back so with the racial favoritisms.

At the very terminal of this narrative the constabulary had dug up the babe and brought charges against Paulus for slaying. Thebedi up on the base said “ She cried hysterically in the informant box, stating yes, yes ( the gilding hoop ear-rings swung in her ears ) , she saw the accused pouring liquid into the babe ‘s oral cavity. She said he had threatened to hit her if she told anyone ” ( Clugston, 2010 ) . Over a twelvemonth had gone by when Thebedi returned to the tribunal house ; but this clip she told the tribunal that “ she said she had non seen what the white adult male did in the house ” ( Clugston, 2010 ) . Because of her testimony “ The finding of fact on the accused was “ non guilty ” ( Clugston, 2010 ) .

The verse form “ What It ‘s Like to Be a Black Girl ( For Those of You Who Are n’t ) ” ( Clugston, 2010 ) , was written by Patricia Smith in 1991. An account in its purest signifier of “ ( What it ‘s like to be a Black Girl ( For Those of You Who Are n’t ) ” by Patricia Smith, is merely that, an account. This account is what the writer feels that black misss were traveling through at the present clip. It ‘s more of a “ one for all ” type verse form because it does n’t state one black miss or a specific name, merely black misss in general.

From the first three syllables “ First of all, ” the writer gives a sense of a narrative being told and possibly with some attitude. A batch of rough, wrong sentence construction and strong pick words are used to demo the reader the importance of her subject. Smith ‘s verse form gives the audience an insider ‘s position into a immature black miss ‘s passage into black maturity at a clip where both being a black miss and a black adult female was non every bit easy as it may hold seemed.

Puberty is defined by the biological alterations a immature miss ‘s organic structure goes through around the age of 9 up until about 14. “ It ‘s being 9 old ages old and experiencing like you ‘re non finished, ” writes Smith, “ like your borders are wild, like there ‘s something, everything, incorrect ” ( Clugston 2010 ) . This is what Smith thought ran through the heads of immature miss traveling through pubescence. The verse form “ What it ‘s like to be a Black Girl ( For Those of You Who Are n’t ” , can be considered to be a expression into the head of a black miss in a society that is fueled with racism and favoritism by both of race and gender. Smith is utilizing her verse form as a voice for immature black miss turning into immature black adult females and seeking to accept the alterations that are taking topographic point within her organic structure. At the age of 9 she has realized that she is ashamed of who she is, what she looks like, and where she comes from. She wants to look like the 1s who are accepted in society.

She tried to turn her eyes blue by utilizing nutrient colouring. She placed a faded swab caput on top of her caput as if it was a light-haired wig. She started to detect the infinite between her legs and the perturbation at her thorax ( Clugston 2010 ) . This was the development of her hips and her chest coming into signifier due to puberty. She grow tall and started have oning more white and started smelling blood in her breakfast ( Clugston 2010 ) . Both of these descriptions are due her monthly rhythm and have oning white is merely a “ manner no ” when it ‘s that clip of the month. “ It ‘s larning to state f**k with grace but larning to f**k without it ” is reasonably much explanatory ( Clugston 2010 ) . “ It ‘s eventually holding a adult male reach out for you so undermining in around his fingers ” is merely stating to hold a adult male eventually want you and accept him and acquire wrapped around his finger ( Clugston 2010 ) .

Nadine Gordimer was born in 1923, “ She has lived in South Africa since birth and, except for a twelvemonth spent in university, has devoted all her grownup life to writing-completing 13 novels and 10 short narrative aggregations, works that have been published in 40 linguistic communications. Her strong resistance to apartheid, the socioeconomic system that oppressed the bulk black population in South Africa ( 1949-1994 ) , is a dominant subject in her authorship, with her ulterior plants reflecting challenges attach toing the altering attitudes in the state toward racial relationships. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1991 ” ( Clugston, 2010 ) . Patricia Smith who was born in 1955, was an African American poet and public presentation creative person, has won the National Poetry Slam four times ( Clugston 2010 ) .

The adversities that these adult females suffer during their life can be suffered by anyone but turning up in a discriminatory atmosphere creates a more dramatic narrative or result. The great thing about reading is that it brings you to another topographic point, clip and feeling. At times a narrative can do you smile with the character, and other times make you cry with him. Even with some narratives and poems the literature may even let the reader to place with the characters.

In decision, world can frequently be a batch like a piece of literature, in that a individual may be traveling through the exact same thing, or something similar, and be experiencing the same manner. It is effortless to see the tough and mute racism demonstrated in Nadine Gordimer ‘s “ State Lovers ” every bit good as how the miss feels in Patricia Smith ‘s What It ‘s Like to Be a Black Girl ( For Those of You Who Are n’t ) . In both readings you get a sense of the adversity ‘s that both the characters had faced because of racism ; the things that people may make or let occurrence because it is so difficult.