Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

he story "Country Lovers," by Nadine Gordimer, was an innocent black girl that went by the name Thebedi. Thebedi was in love with a white boy name Paulus, which was once childhood playmates and became lovers as teenagers, Thebedi finds herself in a situation that makes her choose between her feels and her generosity.

The two played together as children, but wasn't allowed to paly when the white children had school. After growing up Thebedi showed her love for Paulus in many different ways, when went away to school Thebedi gave him "a bracelet she had made of thin brass wire and grey-and white beans of castor-oil crops his father cultivated." (As cited in Clugston, 2010 section 3.1, para.2). And she also expressed her love for him by listening to Paulus stories that he told rather they were funny or not. Thebedi carried her childhood love for Paulus continue into her teenage years, and throughout the years the two never stop seeing each other, they would see each other at the boy's house when his mother and father would go out of town the two had to hide their relationship because of their races. Despite that the two continue to see each other after Paulus went of to school Thebedi discovered that she was pregnant, then her family made arrangement for her to marry a man name Njabuio, after the marriage Thebedi had a baby girl that had light skin and yellowish-blue eyes. After returning from school Paulus discovered the news about baby. And rushed right over to see the baby, discovered that the baby had a light color. So he told her that one can see or know about the baby, he wanted her to get rid of the baby. Paulus decided one day to go and see the baby and this was Thebedi time to plead for help, but by her love for Paulus she just could not. ("Her eyes began to glow, to thicken with tears") as cited in Clugston, 2010 section 3.1 para.19). However after Paulus visit with the baby the baby dies moments later. An autopsy revealed that the baby was poison. The two went to court on the charge that was against Paulus, but once again the love that Thebedi had for Paulus she told the court that if she said anything about the baby that he would kill her. A year later they went back to court and she decided not to testify against him and all the charges were drop. And they went on by there lives. Thebedi had another baby for her husband.

After the fact that Thebedi realize that the relationship between her and Paulus was not going to serious and continue the way that she wanted it to be because it was a racial relationship, her feels began to change.

This story represents most of the symbols: Spring - birth and new beginning, which represents the birth of her babies and the marriage to Njabuio, Autumn- aging, the aging of the two from childhood playmates to teenager lovers, Winter - death, it represents the death of her baby. Darkness- evil, it represents the evilness that Paulus showed