Forbidden Love and Racism Tiombe Granger 2/21/12 ENG 125 Introduction to Literature Instructor: Sarah Ross Forbidden Love and Racism In the readings from this course one of my two favorite most memorable stories are the Welcome Table and the story Country Lovers. They are both about two black woman in the past dealing with racism and love.
Both the stories touched me inside and made me rethink about all the things I take for granted that my ancestors did not have the privilege of experiencing and the things they had to endure.Racism can be subtle or overt and in your face. In these two stories they show both a subtle version of racism and an overt version of racism and the consequences erring that come from being racist. The story the Welcome table starts off describing an old black lady dressed in her Sunday best staggering down the road to church which was about a half a mile away. She was looking angular and lean the color of poor gray Georgia earth, beaten by King Cotton. Her elbows were wrinkled and thick her skin looked ashen but durable like old pines.
The people of the church only saw her age, the dotage, the missing buttons down the front of her mildewed black dress, saw her as a cook, chauffer, maid, mistress, and some even saw her having jungle orgies in a evil place, while others were reminded of riotous anarchists looting and raping in the streets (Clugston R. 2010). Some even saw the lady as desecrating there church with her presence. The reverend of the church even felt uncomfortable with her presence in his church he asked her did she know this wasn’t her church.Church is supposed to be a place we are welcome at no matter what color, age or financial status we have it doesn’t matter. The old was so focused on the thoughts inside her head she shunned off the ushers that asked her to leave weakly asking them to go away.
The woman of the church had their husbands pick the old bootless gray haired lady that smelled of decay and musk out of the church right on to the front stoop. She started to sing out loud instead of n her head but the song was sad this time. As she was singing and walking down the street she saw Jesus walking down the street towards her. As he approached her he stated “Follow Me”. The old black lady followed him walking down the highway singing her way to heaven.
The story Country Lovers is about two children off two different races called Thebedi and Paulus that grew playing together not seeing the difference in color. Thebedi she was balck and Paulus he was white.As they grew older they grew fonder of each other and starting bringing each other gifts secretly, he would bring her back things from boarding school that he made and she would make him stuff from out her dads stuff on the farm. Every holiday or in the summertime he would return and they would go off and meet each other by the dried up river bed where they caught a Laguun when they were about five or six years old which is a creature that looks like ferocious crocodile but is as harmless as lizard (Clugston, R. 2010).The secret meetings would go on for a while longer until Thebedi became pregnant and married another man.
The thought of someone finding out about their daughter made them both panic. He stated he wanted to die so Paulus does the unthinkable he takes his daughters life and Thebedi didn’t stop him. Both of these stories show how hateful racism is. In the Welcome Table the church members were so righteous in there wrong they put a old black lady out of the church on her dying day.
The sad part is they felt closer to the lord after they put the old haggard lady out of the church.Jesus showed in the end that he is the only that decides who goes to heaven and who doesn’t. In the story Country Lovers from a secret innocent love between a black girl and a white guy who couldn’t handle what their family and friends might say or think about the child. Paulus does the unthinkable and takes a life as if it had no value. The difference in the two stories is the Welcome Table the old lady showed true perseverance and loyalty to the lord. She did not fall off she kept stead fast in her faith no matter what the church members did to her.
In the Country Lovers Thebedi was submissive and didn’t stand up proclaim her love Paulus out loud she was so afraid of what her family and his would think. She allowed Paulus to take their daughters life. In these two stories it showed that standing firm with your beliefs will pay off in the end with the lord but some blacks didn’t have the mental strength to truly fight for their rights or feelings in the past nor did they feel they had the right to fight against racist treatment.These two stories made me think about all the rights that I have now and don’t even think about.
I can freely go to school and get an education. I can date any race I want without the repercussions of having to hide it or take its life. I can attend any church I would like without the fear of getting put out of there because of my color or age. References Clugston, R. W. (2010).
Journey into Literature, San Diego : Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
