The skewed social image of white South Africans in Nadine Gordimer’s The Conservationist

Xiangting Chen,N Hamid,S Zhou

doi:10.1051/e3sconf/202018903031

Abstract

-In this article he examines the social identity crisis of White South Africans in Nadine Gordimer’s “The Conservationist”. Gordimer describes the psychology, social deformities and human distortions of the repressed white people in post-colonial South Africa. At that time, white South Africans were tortured by colonial guilt and racial contradictions. While recognizing the culture of their European ancestors, they wanted to integrate into the black South African society. This paper analyzes the decline of South African white identity and the phenomenon of white exodus from the perspective of the protagonist’s thoughts and behaviors, and combines the political and social problems during those days.

Highlights

Most literature from the apartheid era examines a national identity in crisis, and its reception highlights the issues of South Africa's unique political development
Where did the white South Africans’ national consciousness and exodus come from in the story? Is it as profoundly influenced by apartheid as Gordimer implies in the story? I will argue that the apartheid policies and racial conflict in South Africa were responsible for the self-identification crisis and even the tendency of white South Africans to flee
I will discuss in sequence about apartheid in South Africa and the social identity of the white people in it, the process of the protagonist seeking identity, the conflict between the culture of the colonist's home country and the traditional Culture of South Africa, and the social problems that make the white people lose the will to live in South Africa

Summary

Introduction

Most literature from the apartheid era examines a national identity in crisis, and its reception highlights the issues of South Africa's unique political development. Gordimer's work is set against the background of separation of white and black South African society under the policy of apartheid. It depicts the political situation and turbulent society of South Africa, as well as the revolutionary movement after the awakenings of white and black people. She reveals the serious consequences of apartheid on men, women, children and parents, and shows the confusion of identity felt by the protagonist under the high pressure of South Africa's apartheid policy. Where did the white South Africans’ national consciousness and exodus come from in the story? Is it as profoundly influenced by apartheid as Gordimer implies in the story? I will argue that the apartheid policies and racial conflict in South Africa were responsible for the self-identification crisis and even the tendency of white South Africans to flee

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