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SAFE HOUSES
Nick Lawee
NADINE GORDIMER
SUMMARY
The Story
The story starts off with a man seemingly trying to hide his presence or make himself unnoticed. He meets a wealthy, beautiful woman during his ride on a bus. She seemed out of place and sharply caught his attention. She's married to her husband who travels abroad for work and two children who go to boarding school. Their mere conversation led to them becoming more than friends and causes them to struggle with trusting each other and creates this relationship built on top of lies.
Setting
South Africa; Johannesburg
Setting
CHARACTERS
The man ("Harry")
The man ("Harry")
The white man is interpreted as a political exile who is on the run from the government. He hides in people's homes and constantly moves to ensure he isn't caught. He rides the bus to decrease his chances of being arrested. Everything changes when he meets "Sylvie". He goes by the alias of Harry, and creates this facade for himself. He depicts himself as a construction engineer who travels to build up structures or tear them down, just to impress this newly, befriended woman. He changes, opens up to this woman. Paranoia.
The woman ("Sylvie")
The woman ("Sylvie")
A wealthy woman whom Harry encounters on the bus who seems out of place. Married to a husband who rarely comes home. Sexual endeavors/desires. Owns black servants. Sheltered inside her grand estate. lonely, racist.
Theme
IN DEPTH
- One big theme is the idea of cheating on your loved one, or infidelity. Harry accepts the affair with Sylvie and uses it to his advantage as means to hide from the police. It was a recurring thing that would cause him to slip out everynight to the house of Sylvie, down Sylvia Pass. Sylvie had a strong attraction to this random Harry and couldn't contain herself enough that she had to forget her kids, husband, and sleep with this man.
- social class
- Another theme was lies, lies, on lies, on lies.
POV
POV
This story was told in more of a third person omniscient point of view.
The narrator can see from the perspective of Harry and Sylvie as well, we can sort of delve into their personalities.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
ADDITIONALS
Safe Houses & Amnesty
Safe Houses & Amnesty
In this story we can see that Harry is on the run after a failed coalition against the Apartheid in South Africa. We read that he is apart of "The Movement".
In "Amnesty", we see that the young black woman's husband was also apart of the same Movement as well that spoke for the rights of the colored people and they were both shushed by the white South African regime.
Real life "Movement"
Apartheid ("apartness" in Afrikaans) - idea or laws that would segregate all races and make the whites superior and in control of the government system
All non-whites resisted the Apartheid but they weren't able to bring about any actual change since they wouldn't be heard. The white regime wasn't having it and this led to the arrest of Nelson Mandela and killing of the lesser-known Steve Biko.
Literary Elements
LIterary Elements
imagery
Imagery
pg. 172: "Aware like an animal: scenting something different in the bus's familiar sun-fug of sweat and deodorants, fruit-skins and feet. Perfume. Real perfume.."
pg. 177: "Behind him the colours of Persian carpets, paintings and bowls of flowers blurred in the deep perspective of one of those huge rooms used for parties."
pg. 186: "He felt an enormous thrill and a fircely crashing desire, all the abstinence of a planned non existence imploded like the destruction of one of his imaginary twenty storeys that she feared might fall on her head. "
pg. 193: "Their flesh crept deliciously under the double contact of the breeze and each other's warmth."
Irony
The relationship between Harry and Sylvie. You have a white political exile who's against the Apartheid making love to a white woman who owns black servants.
Works Cited
Works Cited
- https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/the-anti-apartheid-struggle-in-south-africa-1912-1992/
- http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1991-10-13/news/1991286098_1_gordimer-nadine-south-africa
- https://tavaana.org/en/content/struggle-ground-anti-apartheid-movement-south-africa