The white boy in the story (Paula Eysendyck) did not realize that Thebedi (a young black girl) was one of the crowd at the kraal. She was in his sisters clothes. This shows that the black children are given clothes that the white children would not wear anymore. It also shows that they are not of the same “social status”.
They used to meet secretly because they feared what people would say if they saw the educated white boy with the black farm girl “Down at the dried-up river bed” was where they usually met. This is because they were hidden from view. They would sometimes me at the boy’s house, But only when his parents were out. This also shows she’s scared to be seen by Paules’ parents: “there was a risk of someone would discover her or a trace of her presence”.
Later on in the story she is looking in at Paules’ house and compares with hers. He has a large house and a T.V. She has a window. In the society where Thebedi lives, this is a great achievement. When Thebedi has her baby it is pale with light hair. Her husband knew she had slept with a white man. Later on the story when they are in court Thebedi’s husband did not say it was the white man’s baby.
The “Gold Cadillac” is set in America in the 1950s. It concerns a black family in the northern states, who buy a Gold Cadillac, which is an expensive car and is usually owned by the rich white Americans. The father of the family decided to drive to Mississippi in the Southern states to see his grandparents. At this time black people in the southern states had less freedom and fewer rights than those in the northern states.
At home the family can drive freely around their town. But when the father decides to drive to Mississippi his brother tells him it is very dangerous. “It’s like putting a loaded gun to your head”
This shows how it was for the black people to drive to Mississippi. That is because at this time there were many black people in the area and they were all much poorer and where not welcomed anywhere. They would also get looked at and be discriminated against.
The father’s other brother also said to him
“We may have fought a war to free people overseas, but we’re not free here!”
This shows all of his relatives were worried about him.
They did not want amything happening to him. He did nothing wrong. He bought the car from the money he worked hard and honestly for.
When they decided to drive to Mississippi everybody went and took picnics. This was because they would not be able allowed to eat on the roadside restaurants. The children thought that they were going for a picnic. They did not no why they could not eat.
When they drove into the town of Kentucky they saw many signs saying, “WHITE ONLY, COLOURED NOT ALLOWED2. These signs were on places like schools, churches, zoo and even restaurants and the toilets at the service station. While they were driving the Cadillac a police car stopped them. The policeman had asked the father to get out of the Cadillac. The policeman asked him where he got the car “Whose car is this boy”. He then immediately called him “Liar” and said that he “stole the car”. The father had to go to the police station because he was not believed. The fact that the policeman referred to the black man as boy, is very discriminating to him. It is almost as if he is not up to the same social “status” as the policeman.
After they had left the police station the police car still followed them. They passed many shops and everyone looked at them. This was because they were black and they were “different”, also because they were driving a “White-mans” car. The police car made sure that they had left the town and not caused any damage or stopped anywhere.
In both the stories the young children are relatively unaware to the feuds in society around them. In “Country Lovers” they change when the white children go to school this is because they are educated about their society and how to behave. In “The Gold Cadillac” the children ask their parents why they were not allowed to go into shops when they went further south. The father told them it was because their skins were a different colour and the stupidity and ignorance of the law. This was the law in South Africa. White and black people were not allowed to be together. In” Country Lovers” the boy and girl were trying to hide so that they were not seen together. This shows that the society they were living in did not approve of cross-cultural relationships. In “ The Gold Cadillac” the father knew that he was not welcome in Mississippi. He still went down to prove that a black man can work hard and earn money. He was also showing his children how, in the same country, society can be very different.
