A Racist Society: Portrayed In The Grass Is Singin

2354 Words10 Pages
In the novel, ‘The Grass is Singing,’ Doris Lessing uses both her characters and themes to comment on and criticize the Rhodesian society in which she was raised. Lessing uses the characters, Dick and Mary Turner and the corresponding theme of ‘white domination and racism’ to portray the beliefs of the white settler’s of the Rhodesian society she lived in. Secondly, Lessing uses the character, Moses, to comment on the theme of oppression and as a representation of a spirit of Africa that was beginning to assert its right to freedom. Moses is also used by Lessing as a symbolic connection to the environment of Rhodesia. Finally, Lessing uses the characters Charlie Slatter, Tony Marston and Sergeant Dunham and its connecting theme, ‘the decay of civilization,’ to depict how quickly everything that is good can become evil and also reveal the true state of the Rhodesian society and it’s dominating ‘white civilization.’ In the following essay I will discuss the above points to comment on and criticize the Rhodesian society in which Lessing was raised. To begin with, I will discuss the ways in which Lessing used the characters Dick and Mary Turner and the theme, ‘white domination and racism,’ to comment on and criticize the beliefs of the white settler’s of the Rhodesian society she lived in. Lessing’s central character, Mary Turner, represents the theme perfectly as Mary, like most Rhodesian women, is overtly racist, believing that white people should be masters over the native people – a belief that stems from childhood teachings. Throughout the novel we see Mary struggle to gain power and dominance over the native servants and farm workers, “…she had to face it, this business of struggling with natives… and felt reluctant, though determined not to be imposed on.” Mary, like all Rhodesian women, was taught from childhood to be afraid of the natives, to never associate
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