Transcript Document

Lesson Four
A drink in the passage
By Alan Paton
Contents
Part One: Warm-up
Part Two: Background Information
Part Three: Text Appreciation
Part Four: Detailed Study
Part Five: Assignment
Warm up
Questions:
1. What do you know about South Africa?
•.
2. What do you know about the situation in South
Africa at the time the story was written?
3. Have you ever heard of the “apartheid”? What
do you know about it?
4. What dramatic changes have taken place in
this country since the time this story was
written?
5. Has racism been a serious problem in human
history? Is the problem resolved?
6. How much do you know about Nelson
Background information
1. About the author
• Alan Paton (1903-1988)
“I do not like to mention it
But there is a voice I cannot silence.”
—Paton
Paton, craggy old liberal, hater of and hated
by apartheid, loved and unloved by the
ANC, famous for Cry, the Beloved Country.
Alan Paton was born in Pietermaritzburg, South
Africa. He started his career by teaching at a
school in Ixopo. The dramatic career change to
director of a reformatory for black youths at
Diepkloof, near Johannesburg, had a profound
effect on his thinking. The publication of Cry, the
Beloved Country (1948) made him one of South
Africa’s best known writers, and by the time he
died, it had sold over 15 million copies. Following
his non-racial ideals, he helped to found the South
African Liberal Party and became its president.
• Cry, the Beloved Country
• Perhaps the most famous
novel to come out of
South Africa, Paton’s 1948
work brought to the notice of the world the dilemmas of
ordinary South Africans living under an oppressive
system, one which threatened to destroy their very
humanity. Informed by Paton’s Christian and liberal
beliefs, the novel tells of a rural Zulu parson’s heartbreaking search for his son, who has been drawn into
the criminal underworld of the city. Cry, the Beloved
Country has sold millions of copies around the world
His works
• “Cry, the Beloved Country, —universal, liberal,
reforming. Reads like an aloe in the cool morning,
reads like the taste of soap in your mouth. His
poetry, to my mind, is a truer voice. No
breathtaking, romantic landscape: nature,
particularly plants and sunlight, forms a spiritual
cipher. There is a sense of individual tragedy as
history catches up with itself. There is passion and
tenderness. There is political comment, but also a
flickering uncertainty absent from the
mountainous liberalism of the novels.”
• —An anonymous comment
• “Cry, the Beloved Country, however, is
also a monument to the future. One of South
Africa’s leading humanists, Alan Paton,
vividly captured his eloquent faith in the
essential goodness of people in his epic
work.”
• —Nelson Mandela, former President of
South Africa
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1953. Too Late the Phalarope
1961. Debbie, Go Home
1968. Instrument of Thy Peace
1973. Apartheid and the Archbishop: the life and
times of Geoffrey Clayton, Archbishop of Cape
Town
1975. Knocking at the door
1980. Towards the Mountain
1981. Ah, but your land is beautiful
1986. Diepkloof: reflections of Diepkloof
Reformatory
1988. Journey Continued
1995. Songs of Africa: collected poems
Background information
2. Apartheid
South Africa was colonized by the English and Dutch in
the 17th century. English domination of the Dutch
descendents (known as Boers or Afrikaners) resulted in
the Dutch establishing the new colonies of Orange Free
State and Transvaal. The discovery of diamonds in
these lands around 1900 resulted in an English invasion
which sparked the Boer War. Following independence
from England, an uneasy power-sharing between the
two groups held sway until the 1940’s, when the
• Afrikaner National Party was able to gain a strong
majority.
Strategists in the National
Party invented apartheid
as a means to cement their
control over the economic
and social system. Initially, aim of the apartheid
was to maintain white domination while extending
racial separation. Starting in the 1960s, a plan of
“Grand Apartheid” was executed, emphasizing
territorial separation and police repression.
• With the enactment of apartheid laws in
1948, racial discrimination was
institutionalized. Race laws touched every
aspect of social life, including a prohibition
of marriage between non-whites and whites,
and the sanctioning of “white-only” jobs. In
1950, the Population Registration Act
required that all South Africans be racially
classified into one of three categories:
white, black (African), or colored (of mixed
decent). The coloured category included
major subgroups of Indians and Asians. Classification
into these categories was based on appearance, social
acceptance, and descent. Non-compliance with the race
laws were dealt with harshly. All blacks were required
to carry “pass books” containing fingerprints, photo
and information on access to non-black areas. In 1953,
the Public Safety Act and the Criminal Law
Amendment Act were passed, which empowered the
government to declare stringent states of
• emergency and increased penalties for
protesting against or supporting the repeal
of a law. The penalties included fines,
imprisonment and whippings. In 1960, a
large group of blacks in Sharpeville refused
to carry their passes; the government
declared a state of emergency. The
emergency lasted for 156 days, leaving 69
people dead and 187 people wounded.
Wielding the Public Safety Act and the
Criminal Law Amendment Act
the white regime had no intention of changing the
unjust laws of apartheid.
The penalties imposed on political protest, even nonviolent protest, were severe. During the states of
emergency which continued intermittently until 1989,
anyone could be detained without a hearing by a lowlevel police official for up to six months. Thousands of
individuals died in custody, frequently after gruesome
acts of torture. Those who were
ried were sentenced to death, banished, or
imprisoned for life, like Nelson Mandela. The
apartheid policy was highly effective of achieving
its goal of preferential treatment for whites, as is
demonstrated by the statistics in Figure 1.
Text Appreciation
• Plot: a well-educated black finds himself cordially
•
invited to split a bottle with a white man in
•
the passage of the latter’s apartment
•
building
• Setting: social setting: Apartheid South Africa in
•
1960
•
story setting: in the passage
• Protagonists: “I”—the black sculptor
• Writing techniques: go to Writing Devices
• Theme of the story: go to the next page
Text Appreciation
1. Theme
The story tells us how racial prejudice can prevent us
reaching, touching and connecting with each other.
This invisible wall exists between the white and the
black and hampers their free communication and full
understanding. It is not just a wall imposed by
apartheid laws, but a wall deeply rooted in their hearts.
Text Appreciation
2. Structure
• Part 1 (Paras. 1-6 ) about:
Against what background and from whom
the story comes
• Part 2 (Paras. 7-76) about: How the story
goes
Text Appreciation
3. Writing Devices
1. Point of View:
Point of view signifies the way a story gets
told—the mode (or modes) established by an
author by means of which the reader is presented
with the characters, dialogue, actions, setting,
and events which constitute the narrative in a
work of fiction.
•
The first person point of view:
This narrative mode limits the matter of the
narrative to what the first-person narrator knows,
experiences, infers, or can find out by talking to
other characters. We distinguish between the
narrative “I” who is only a fortuitous witness
and auditor of the matters he relates (Marlow in
Heart of Darkness); or who is a participant, but
only a minor or peripheral one, in the story
(Nick in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby);
or who is himself or herself the central character
in the story (Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre).
2. Flashback
Now study the following paragraph. What is
the function of it?
He said to me. “This is the second cognac
I’ve had in my life. Would you like to hear
the story of how I had my first?” (Para. 6)
This paragraph serves to introduce a
flashback.
• What is flashback?
•
Flashbacks are interpolated narratives or
scenes (often justified, or naturalized, as a
memory, a reverie, or a confession by one of
the characters) which represent events that
happened before the time at which the work
opened. Arthur Miller’s Death of a
Salesman (1949) and Ingmar Bergman’s
film Wild Strawberries make persistent and
skillful use of this device.
3. Figurative Language
• Now study the following sentences and tell us what
figurative speech is used in each and how it contributes
to the expressive effect of the language.
1. It’s also the first time I’ve drunk a brandy so slowly.
In
Orlando you develop a throat of iron. (Para.5)
2. He sat slumped in his seat, like a man with a burden
of
incomprehensible, insoluble grief. (Para. 75)
3. What he was thinking, God knows, but I was thinking
he was like a man trying to run a race in iron shoes,
and not understanding why he cannot move. (Para. 75)
Detailed study of the Text
1,
In the year 1960 the Union of South Africa celebrated its
Golden Jubilee, and there was a nationwide sensation
when the one-thousand-pound prize for the finest piece
sculpture was won by a black man… (Para. 1)
In the year 1960, the Union of South Africa celebrated its
fiftieth anniversary, and there was a great excitement
throughout the country when people heard that the prize
for the finest piece of sculpture was won by a black man.
• Golden Jubilee: Jubilee is the celebration of a
special anniversary: silver jubilee (25th
anniversary) ; golden jubilee (50th anniversary)
and diamond jubilee (60th or 75th anniversary).
• nationwide: throughout the nation
Note that " -wide" is an adjective or adverb suffix
meaning throughout,
e. g. nationwide worldwide; communitywide; a
sensation: extreme excitement or interest
• 2. His work, African Mother and Child, not only
excited the admiration, but touched the
conscience or heart or whatever it was that
responded, of white South Africa.
His sculpture, African Mother and Child, not only
won the admiration of the white people for its
artistic merit, but also deeply touched or moved
their hearts and conscience because the work made
them see the injustice of racial discrimination and
the black people's yearning for a better life for
their children.
• 3. It was by an oversight that his work was
accepted ...
• It was by a careless mistake that his work was
accepted, because as a black person, he was not
supposed to participate in the competition.
• oversight: a mistake that you make by not
noticing sth or by forgetting to do sth, e. g.
• I didn't mean to leave the room unlocked. It was
just an oversight.
• By (an) oversight, the letter was sent unsigned.
• 4. The committee of the sculpture section received a
private reprimand for having been so careless as to omit
the words "for whites only" from the conditions ...
a private reprimand: a private criticism/ a criticism that is
not made public
reprimand: a sharp, angry and official rebuke (criticism)
so careless as to omit the words "for whites only" from
the conditions: so careless that they forgot to put the
words "for whites only" in the conditions for entering the
competition
• 5. a very high personage :a high-ranking official; an
important person
personage: a person of distinction
Compare: person, personage, personnel, personality
6. The committee then decided that this prize must be
given along with the others, at the public ceremony
which would bring this particular part of the
celebrations to a close.
to bring sth to a close: to end or conclude sth, e. g.
The government was anxious to bring the hostage crisis
to a close.
The surrender of General Lee's army soon brought the
Civil War to a close.
7....but in certain powerful quarters, there was an
outcry against any departure from the "traditional
policies" of the country...
... but in certain politically influential circles, there was
a strong protest against this decision as it was not in
conformity with the traditional, apartheid policies of
the country...
quarters: a usually unspecified group of people
• 8. However, a crisis was averted, because the
sculptor was "unfortunately unable to attend
the ceremony".
A crisis was avoided because to the relief of the
authorities Simelane apologized that he would not
be able to attend the ceremony personally to
receive the prize.
Notice that what is given here in quotes is the
official announcement which was probably not
true, and everybody knew it.
• 9. "I wasn't feeling up to it," Simelane said
mischievously to me. "My parents, and my wife's
parents, and our priest, decided that I wasn't
feeling up to it. And finally I decided so too."
When Simelane said mischievously to the author
that he wasn't feeling up to it, he meant that he
was going to pretend that he was sick and
therefore he could not go to the ceremony, and he
knew that the author would understand that it was
only an excuse. The meaning became even clearer
when he went on to say that his parents and others
"decided" that he wasn't feeling up to it. What they
really meant of course was that he should not go to
the ceremony
• as it was too risky.
• 10. " boys, I'm a sculptor, not a
demonstrator."
Majosi and Sola and the others were
obviously well-known anti-apartheid
activists. They wanted him to go to the
ceremony for political reasons. But his
response was that he was only a sculptor
and he was not interested in politics. He did
not want to make it a political issue.
• boys: my friends
•
11. "This cognac is wonderful," he said,
"especially in these big glasses. It's the first
time I've had such a glass. It's also the first
time I've drunk a brandy so slowly."
Brandy is an expensive drink that was usually
consumed by well-to-do white folks in
Apartheid South Africa who would use a brandy
glass and sip slowly. When a black person like
Simelane ever got a chance to drink brandy; he
would usually use a small glass and drink it
quickly for fear that he might be seen and
arrested by the police for breaking the law. A
brandy glass is a large one with a wide bowl and
narrower top. It is this shape so that the drinker
can appreciate the aroma of brandy.
• 12. "In Orlando you develop a throat of iron, and
you just put back your head and put it down, in
case the police should arrive."
When black folks in Orlando drank brandy, frequently
they had to put back their head and drink it up in one
gulp in order to avoid police detection, and because
brandy is a very strong drink, you gradually develop a
very strong throat—like a throat of iron. Notice that
according to apartheid laws, blacks could not remain
in the big cities after a certain hour at night. Orlando
must be a small town where blacks live.
• 13. They gave a window to it, with a white
velvet backdrop, if there is anything called
white velvet, and some complimentary words.
They gave a whole window to the sculpture with a
white curtain at the back and some words in praise
of the work. The curtain (backdrop) was made of
white velvet, if there is such a thing as white
velvet. Velvet is usually soft and smooth. But in
this country of apartheid, it was hard for the
sculptor to associate the color "white" with such
qualities as "softness" and "smoothness". Notice
the sharp contrast of the colors of the backdrop
and the sculpture. There is something symbolic
about it.
• 14.On my way from the station to the Herald
office, I ... would only squint at it out of the
corner of my eye.
the station: This obviously refers to the railway
station. The sculptor lives in Orlando as he is not
allowed to live in the big city and therefore has to
commute by train every day.
the Herald office: We can assume that the sculptor
works for a newspaper called Herald.
to squint at: to look or glance to the side
out of the corner of my eye: Notice in this idiom
that it is "my eye", not "my eyes".
• 15. …so I thought I'd go and see the window, and
indulge certain pleasurable human feelings.
So I thought I'd go and see the window, and enjoy secretly
some pleasant feelings—feelings of pride for example for
one's genius.
• 16. I must have got a little lost in the contemplation of
my own genius …
I must have become too absorbed or preoccupied about my
own genius ...
• 17. And you know, one doesn't get called "mate" every
day.
In South Africa, a black man does not hear a white man
call him "mate". They are usually treated very rudely. But
this white man was very friendly. Therefore he just
couldn't bring himself to say no to his invitation.
• 18. Well honestly I didn't feel like a drink at that time
of night, with a white stranger and all, and a train still
to catch to Orlando. (HSI)
Well, to tell the truth, I didn't like the idea of having a
drink at that time of night. It was getting late, and I had to
catch a train to Orlando before I got into trouble with the
police. Besides I would be drinking with a white stranger
and would have to face all the possible consequences.
• and all: the whole thing; including everything or
everybody mentioned, e.g.
My boss promised to provide me with a computer and all.
He ate the whole of the fish, head, tail, bones, and all.
• 19. "My flat's just round the corner. Do
you speak Afrikaans?"
(just) round the comer: very near
Afrikaans: a Dutch dialect spoken mainly
by the white people of Dutch descent in
South Africa. The fact that the sculptor had
spoken the language since he was a child
showed that although he was black he was
well-educated. In this passage, there was
quite a problem for the sculptor as to what
language he should use, as language served
as an important social status symbol.
• 20. I couldn't have told him my name.
Why did Simelane say he couldn't have told van Rensburg
his name?
It might be that Simelane had been acting as if he were
admiring somebody else's work of art and therefore it
would be embarrassing to reveal his true identity. He did
not want the other person to know that he was indulging in
admiring his own genius, esp. after hearing the
compliments of this stranger.
• 21. We didn't exactly walk abreast, but he didn't
exactly walk in front of me.
Is there any symbolic meaning of the sentence? Would it
be a problem for them to walk abreast? A black was not
the equal of white so they would never walk side by side
as equals.
Gandhi (1869-1948) and Nehru (1889-1964)
were both leaders of the Free-India Movement
which aimed at winning national independence
for India through non-violent, civildisobedience means. In the course of this
struggle, they were jailed by the British
government several times. But their efforts
finally brought about the independence of India
on August 15, 1947.
• 22. "I wanted a bookshop, like that one there, I always
wanted that, ever since I can remember. But I had bad
luck. My parents died before I could finish school."
Did van Rensburg's background have anything to do with
his appreciation of the sculpture?
• 23. I said unwillingly, "Yes." Then I thought to myself,
how stupid, for leaving the question open.
Simelane thought it was stupid of him to leave the question
open. If he had said "no", that would have ended the
subject. Now that he had said "yes", this stranger would
naturally want to know how far he had gone. Answer the
question in such a way as to lead to further questions.
• 24. I was glad to see that the entrance lobby was
deserted. I wasn't at my ease. The lift was at ground
level, marked Whites Only.
I was glad to see that there was no one in the wide entrance
passage. I was a bit nervous.
• to be deserted: with no one present
• to be at one's ease: feeling natural and comfortable;
without any embarrassment or discomfort
lift: (chiefly British) an elevator (AmE)
Similarly flat is also used chiefly in British English. In
American English, apartment is more often used. English
in South Africa is British English.
ground floor: also British English for what the Americans
call the first floor
25. ... and looked at me with a kind of honest,
unselfish envy.
... and looked at me in a way that showed that he
sincerely envied me. He was not jealous of my
education.
26. On the other side were the doors,
impersonal doors.
– impersonal doors: The doors looked
impersonal because for one thing, they looked
all the same, this being a cheap apartment
building. They had no names or signs on them.
• 27. "Sorry there's no brandy," he said.
"Only wine. Here's happiness."
I He was sorry that there was no brandy? for
brandy is generally considered more
expensive stuff.
Here's happiness: Let's drink to your
happiness. Van Rensburg was proposing a
toast.
• 28. I wasn't only feeling what you may be
thinking, I was thinking that one of the
impersonal doors might open at any moment,
and someone might see me in a "white"
building, and see me and van Rensburg
breaking the liquor laws of the country.
You may be thinking that it was an insult to have
me drink in the passage instead of inviting me into
their apartment, to sit down and drink properly.
Yes, I was feeling that way. But there was
something else. I was also afraid that one of the
cold, unfriendly doors might open at any moment
and someone might see me in this "whites only"
building, drinking with a white man and breaking
the laws on drinking.
• 29. Anger could have saved me from the whole
embarrassing situation, but you know I can't
easily be angry. Even if I could have been, I
might have found it hard to be angry with this
particular man.
I could have simply left then and there angrily and
thus freed myself from the awkward situation. But
you know, I'm not the kind of person who can
easily get angry. Even if I could, I might have
found it hard to be angry with this particular man.
He seemed so nice to me.
• 30. ... "You know, talk out my heart to him." ..
You know, talk to him heart to heart; tell him
everything in my mind freely and fully; pour out
my feelings to him
• 31. ... but not for all the money in the world could I have
said to her dankie, my nooi or that disgusting dankie,
misses,
Under no circumstances could I have said to her dankie, my
nooi or that disgusting dankie, misses.
Apparently, both "dankie, my nooi" and "dankie, misses",
something like "Thank you, my lady", were considered
proper in this context for blacks. But Simelane would not
talk like that. He had his dignity. On the other hand, he
could not speak English because the woman was speaking
Afrikaans. So finally he took his chance and used an
expression so polite in Afrikaans that he could have been
knocked down for forgetting his place as polite language
was supposed to be reserved only for the white people.
high Afrikaans: Afrikaans spoken by educated white
Africaners
• 32. ... so I took the risk of it and used the word
mevrou, ..., "Ek is a elankbaar, Mevrou."
Mevrou: Madam, a title of respect, clearly
inappropriate for a black person to use
Ek is a dankbaar, Mevrou: This must be a very
formal form of address.
Obviously, Simelane was caught "between a rock
and a hard place". As an educated person, he had a
natural refined manner and was inclined to use
more formal form of address, but as a black, he
was not supposed to.
• 33. ... and van Rensburg, in a strained voice that
suddenly came out of no- where, said, "Our land is
beautiful. But it breaks my heart."
Van Rensburg suddenly appeared and, in a worried voice,
said, "Our land is beautiful. But it breaks my heart. ”
out of/from nowhere: happening or appearing suddenly
and without warning, e. g.
Mr. Jones was driving too fast on the expressway when a
police patrol car appeared out of nowhere and stopped him.
A stone came from nowhere and hit him on the head.
our land: our country
to break one's heart: to make one extremely sad
• 34. And I thought the whole thing was mad, and
getting beyond me, with me a black stranger
being shown a testimonial for the son of the
house,
Why did he say the whole thing was mad and
getting beyond him?
testimonial: a formal statement affirming the
character or worth of another person
Van Rensburg was the son of the house, and the
woman was praising him in front of a black man,
and a stranger at that too. This obviously was very
abnormal, and Simelane was bewildered.
to get beyond sb: to become difficult for. sb to
understand
Assignment:
•
Oral Work
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Work in groups. One student acts as the black man,
the other the white man. Had the black man told his
true name to the white man, what would have
happened? Please continue the story.
Suppose you were the author, after hearing
Simelane’s story, what would you like to say to him?
Can we divide the world neatly into the victims and
the vitimizers of racism? Is it possible for them to
change places?
What is the root of racism? Is it merely a problem of
color difference?
Do you think racism also exists in China? Why or
why not?