Q1.

What does the story The Lemon Orchard show the readers that Racism is clearly an evil in any society. In ''The Lemon Orchard'', written by Alex la Guma, we read a third-person scene in which a Coloured teacher is taken hostage and verbally and physically abused by five white men who have kidnapped him. The black man manages to control his fear, despite the abuse, in order to keep his dignity intact. Perhaps the most noticeable theme in the story is racism. The first form of abuse the black man suffers is verbal abuse. The evidence is clearly shown when the hostage is savagely insulted and disrespected by the white men. He is called dumb, hotnot, kaffir and bastard by the men. They force him to answer their insulting questions and force him to refer to them as bass, which implies that they are superior to him. These statements would have been highly offensive to a black man, and are clearly motivated by the racist feelings of the white men. Thus the dialogue and the choice of language that La Guma uses shows the abuse victims of racism suffer. Another form of abuse the black man is subjected to is physical abuse. The men force the black man from his home in the middle of the night, not allowing him to even dress himself in warm clothes. His teeth are chattering and he is obviously cold and tired. The kidnappers hit him with a gun and it is clear that they will beat him further, when they say we will give him a better hiding. These descriptions dramatically show the theme of racist behaviour. The final form of abuse the victims of racism often suffer is threats. In this story, the black man has stood up for himself by taking a complaint against another white man before the magistrate. The leader of these kidnappers states I will shoot whatever hotnot or kaffir I desire... which is clearly a threat to his person, especially as he jabbed the muzzle of the gun into the black mans back. By threatening the mans life and attempting to scare him into leaving town are serious forms of abuse these men use against the man purely because he is black. These threats clearly show the theme of racism. In conclusion, this story highlights some of the extreme and subtle abuse racism can provoke in people. La Guma vividly shows the reader the abuse blacks have suffered in South Africa, but also presents the reader with a character who is determined to keep his dignity. By showing us these two extremes objectively through his 3rd person narration, he is able to allow the reader to see how racism is clearly an evil in any society.