Author methane sates, ““things did not get better. If they did, I did not notice it. Gradually, I came to accept hunger as a constant companion.”# Hunger however would inlay be one aspect of the harsh living.
Living conditions were also another aspect that made life in this region quite difficult. Author Mathabane states, “Winter came, and turned out to be a very bad one. Our shack – like most shacks throughout Alexandria – had no heat, electricity, or plumbing, and we had no stove, so my mother had to keep the brazier indoors, as she had done all previous winters.”# Although the brazier offered some form of heat and comfort this room coke also pose a problem such was the case one night as author Mathabane states his mother said “that’s what …show more content…
Kaffir Boy illustrates the harsh way of life which black individuals were subject to while in Apartheid – era South Africa. If not for Author Mathabane’s book, most individuals would perhaps have little to know knowledge of the way of life blacks lived in while in Alexandria South Africa. One would perhaps have no knowledge that a large portion of the Alexandria’s poor would go to the local dump and “were going there in search of scraps of food.”#
The author is able to highlight the level of desperation that these citizens faced simply in order to eat enough must to stay alive. One would perhaps have no knowledge that during this era and region “maids and nannies who worked for white people, because of fears of losing their jobs in the event of an accidental pregnancy, would often smother the baby and dump the corpse in garbage bins so they could continue working.”# Thus highlighting the level of desperation that these individuals felt in order to continue working and sustain a level of living that would perhaps still be considered horrid in the eyes of …show more content…
The circumstances and life styles of these individuals living in south Africa, as well as history often teaches us that because of prejudice individuals are mistreated and treated as second class while another group may experience a more pleasant and privileged life. Such was the case for people of color in Alexandria. One can compare the situation of the people of Alexandria to the Irish immigrants of nineteenth century America, African Americana in the American south during the Reconstruction era, the individuals of Jewish in Europe during the era of World War II, and the Chinese in California in the nineteenth century. All of which were subject to harsh living and treatment due to their race or ethnicity in a society which placed them at the bottom of the racial and social stratification. Although Kaffir Boy tells a unique story of the difficult situation of being a black south African in a society based on a racial hierarchy, living a difficult life due to your race and ethnicity is often a common and repeated theme throughout human history. However, as stated before history can also teach us that if these circumstance are brought to the attention of the rest of the world that real change can
Living conditions were also another aspect that made life in this region quite difficult. Author Mathabane states, “Winter came, and turned out to be a very bad one. Our shack – like most shacks throughout Alexandria – had no heat, electricity, or plumbing, and we had no stove, so my mother had to keep the brazier indoors, as she had done all previous winters.”# Although the brazier offered some form of heat and comfort this room coke also pose a problem such was the case one night as author Mathabane states his mother said “that’s what …show more content…
Kaffir Boy illustrates the harsh way of life which black individuals were subject to while in Apartheid – era South Africa. If not for Author Mathabane’s book, most individuals would perhaps have little to know knowledge of the way of life blacks lived in while in Alexandria South Africa. One would perhaps have no knowledge that a large portion of the Alexandria’s poor would go to the local dump and “were going there in search of scraps of food.”#
The author is able to highlight the level of desperation that these citizens faced simply in order to eat enough must to stay alive. One would perhaps have no knowledge that during this era and region “maids and nannies who worked for white people, because of fears of losing their jobs in the event of an accidental pregnancy, would often smother the baby and dump the corpse in garbage bins so they could continue working.”# Thus highlighting the level of desperation that these individuals felt in order to continue working and sustain a level of living that would perhaps still be considered horrid in the eyes of …show more content…
The circumstances and life styles of these individuals living in south Africa, as well as history often teaches us that because of prejudice individuals are mistreated and treated as second class while another group may experience a more pleasant and privileged life. Such was the case for people of color in Alexandria. One can compare the situation of the people of Alexandria to the Irish immigrants of nineteenth century America, African Americana in the American south during the Reconstruction era, the individuals of Jewish in Europe during the era of World War II, and the Chinese in California in the nineteenth century. All of which were subject to harsh living and treatment due to their race or ethnicity in a society which placed them at the bottom of the racial and social stratification. Although Kaffir Boy tells a unique story of the difficult situation of being a black south African in a society based on a racial hierarchy, living a difficult life due to your race and ethnicity is often a common and repeated theme throughout human history. However, as stated before history can also teach us that if these circumstance are brought to the attention of the rest of the world that real change can