Country Lovers and Apartheid

The central message of Country Lovers is to criticize apartheid by describing a love story between two normal teenagers. This message is brought out in the following three ways.
Firstly, Gordimer depicts the lifestyles of black and white in an objective way. Readers can see the differences between the lives of black and white. Hence, reader would understand the unfairness of apartheid. They can know how harsh and sad the lifestyles of black. When the black are small, they have fewer possibilities than the white. Whites can go to town, go to cinema…But blacks are left behind. Their year is dropping behind the white. From the schooling and opportunities the white and black received, the poor education that the black received is criticize by Gordimer. As black don’t get proper schooling, they always remain poor farmers. Moreover, Kraal, where black live and work is dirty. The huts’ floor is of mud and the workers are working in the sun and fly. Even though black are working house, white are the people who benefit as they are the owners and masters. White lives in farmhouse and black live in huts. White always have privilege under apartheid. Gordimer wants readers notice the inequality among black and white. Despite the skin colours, black and white are the same. However, their treatment is completely different. Their lives is different. The status of white is always higher than black. Gordimer is voicing out for the black who are being compressed. Secondly, the contrast between the characters’ childhood and adult experience is like a review on “before” and “ after” of adopting apartheid. When black and white are small, they don’t realize the differences of their skin colours. They are innocent and playing together before going to school. Black are not stupid at all. For instance, Thebedi is a brilliant girl who teaches Paulus to make an artwork. When Thebedi and Paulus are small, they play together. When they are teenagers, Paulus, the white, becomes proud and