مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - THE REFLECTIONS OF INSTITUTIONAL RACISM IN NADINE GORDIMER’S NOVELS: A LITERARY READING OF APARTHEID

Abstract :

It is known that racism has emerged in the ancient civilizations and has influenced every sphere of life since then. In its historical process, it has appeared at different stages and its final stage is institutional racism. The racism at this stage is practiced through legal arrangements by governments and by means of repressive apparatuses of the state such as police, army, jails and so on. South Africa is among the leading countries where institutional racism has been harshly practiced until recently. The intellectuals and writers in this country could not keep silent against these racist practices and they discussed them in their works. One of these is Nadine Gordimer, the nobel-winning writer in literature. Being a white activist who has been an eye witness of racist era, known as Apartheid in the world, and felt the same grief with black people has made her discourses and expressions about the issue important. In this paper, the reflections of institutional racism in her novels in which, compared to her other novels, the racist practices have been emphasized more will be discussed. Furthermore the Apartheid legislations which were so devastating and discriminating especially for the black people will be analysed and their reflections in those novels will be studied.