The Gordimer 3

Reader response for Nadine Gordimer and her stories: “Good Climate, Friendly Inhabitants,” “Amnesty,” and “Six Feet of the Country.”

“Good Climate, Friendly Inhabitants” tell us of the events between three main characters (the narrator, Jack, and the “con man”). The Narrator of this story is an older white female who lives alone, away from her family, just because she doesn’t want to be a burden to anyone. She is the manager at a local service station and oversees a garage full of Beatle want-to-be greasers (who have little respect for anyone) and a group of “natives”. Jack is a “native who has been working at the service station for over 23 years and is very active in learning and “reading” the faces of people who come in. He has a form of street smarts, he knows who is lying (or scamming) and knows who is truthful. The “con man” is from out of town “just passing through” in a fancy car, but with bad tires. He says he’s in town to get money from some people but ends up losing everything and scamming the one person who needed someone in their lives: the narrator.

I believe that because the narrator was so desperate for “white male” attention she let her needs cloud her judgment of the con man. This man targets her with her smooth silver tongue and drags out the events that lead to her giving him money and a room to stay in (and a little “time together” at some points). Jack, being the outside view of the story, quickly sees the con man for what he is; a lying, poor fool. His words are met with closed ears as the narrators want for companionship supersedes her common sense. Jack often notifies the narrator about the trouble that the con man will cause. It’s not till the end of the story does the narrator finally understand the Jack was right, and she should listen to his advice more often.

“Amnesty” is the story of a family torn apart by activism and the need for understanding of the events that can free a nation. The “husband” in this story has a job in the city as a construction worker and builds skyscrapers, but is quickly enthralled with the new rights he has under a union. He is also caught up in the riots and revolts that the other men are active in. his “wife” is stuck at home raising three families (the “husbands” family, her own family and the new family growing as the “husband” is off in the city. At first the work in the city didn’t affect the family farms much because he sent money back home, but over time the visits became less and less and the money soon stopped. The daughter of the couple is named Inkululeko, which means “freedom”.

This story opens the eyes of the men who think the families (mainly the wives) do nothing to help “raise freedom” and such. But is not true, they support the movement, even when they are not seen. They raise the children, the crops and the thoughts of freedom and revolution into the children. The mothers of “freedom” place their hopes in the next generation, for the current movements can only go so far, but the actions can break the surface so the next generation can make the real changes.

“Six Feet of the Country” is the story of a body and what that body means to different people. “Six feet…” has five speaking characters and each impacts the other in different ways. The first two are the white family who owns the property that has a population of servants; the family tends to keep out the servants lives as long as they do their job. The wife (Lerice) connects with the servants and soon becomes one of them in the eyes of the husband. The husband (unnamed) is a business man who keeps his distance from the servants (and his wife). The other three characters are all related two sons and their father. Petrus (one of the sons) works for the white family and was smuggling his brother into Johannesburg, using the farm as a stopping point (like the Underground Railroad). The other son soon died after catching pneumonia while running from Rhodesia and caused the conflict in this story.

The now dead brother was taken by the health officials and was buried as “just a slave”. Petrus and his father begged the husband to get the body back. Now this is where it gets interesting; the man is suddenly powerless against the system. In the “white” world he is in a position of power, but against the greater system, he is powerless and is stuck against a wall. Petrus and the rest of the servants need the body back to prepare it for the afterlife so the soul is not stuck here on earth as a haunting spirit. The husband is a practical man and doesn’t understand the need for a dead body; it’s a waste of money and emotion. The wife respects the servants’ views and urges her husband to do something, but he cannot, even the “white man” is powerless against the opposing system.