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Country Lovers and the Welcome Table

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Discrimination and Racism in Country Lovers and the Welcome Table
Donna Robertson ENG 125: Introduction to Literature Lyndsey Lefebvre November 18, 2012

Discrimination and Racism in Country Lovers and the Welcome Table
Racial discrimination has affected black people in the United States and Africa for many years. Although racial discrimination is against the law in both countries many people believe that racism still exists and there is significant evidence to support many racial discrimination claims. While many racist people has believe throughout time that their behavior is appropriate; two short stories which are Country Lovers and The Welcome Table illustrate these behaviors and allow the reader to interpret, understand and feel the suffering of two black women caused by painful racism. Both stories enlighten the reader on how one ethnicity believe that they are superior to the other and proves that racism is practiced through ignorance and hatred. This essay will compare and contrast the racial theme of the short stories “Country Lovers” written by Nadine Gordimer and “The Welcome Table” written by Alice Walker. Both of these short stories share the same theme, which is centered on racism, but the theme is not limited to racism it also includes love, hardship, rejection, and death. Both stories share racial tension between two ethnic groups, as well as pain suffered as a result of racism. Both of these literary pieces give the reader awareness of the pain and suffering endured by the two black characters that were subject to racial discrimination and the superior mentality of those that participated in the discrimination. Discrimination and racism is the core issue in both of these short stories.
A similarity of both short stories is that the narrator reveals the characters through observation which means both stories are

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