Noah Pfister: Six Feet of The Country (Nadine Gordimer)

Noah Pfister
World Lit. Survey
Prof. Benander
 

Six Feet of The Country

      Written by Nadine Gordimer, Six Feet of The Country, is story of a white land owner who goes out of his way to help some of his farm hands.  The story presents interesting events because of the fact that the land owner is taking time to hand issues what most people wouldn't bother to care about.

Gordimer creates a story in which a certain farm hand, Pertus, invites his brother to leave Rhodesia and travel to Johannesburg in an attempt to help him find work. However, after completing the long travel, Pertus' brother dies of phenomena.  After conveying the news to the land own, the dead body to take by the health services and disposed of.  Unfortunately however, the problems begin when Pertus requests to have his brothers body returned. The land owner grants his request and retrieves the body.The issues then becomes the fact that the land owner had been given the wrong body and now fights with the authorities to correct their mistake.
The irony in this story is that Gordimer has created a character in this land owner that fights on principle. Regardless of skin color, the land owner and his wife Lerice, fight to return both the correct body and the money owed to their farm hands. It is rather unusual to fine a wealthy white man to fight on the principles of fairness in regards to black Pertus. The racial and economical barriers have been broken and equality have begun to creep in. It is interesting to me that despite the land owners frustrated attitiude, to continually does his best to help Pertus and win him just treatment.

What interests me greatly about this writing, is that only two characters have names; the farm hand Pertus, and the wife Lerice.  The story is told from the point of view of the land owner, he therefore only refures to himself as, "I" or "Me".   I personally feel that the reason only the wives name is reveal is because she is actually the cause for the land owners pursued of justice.  THroughtout the story, the land owner often grumbles and complains about spending too much time help the farm hands with insignificant issues.  Its not until the wife suggest things or until Lerice pushes her husband, that he actually begins to be productive.
My thoughts then are that Gordimer gives Lerice a name because she wishes for readers to be drawn to this character. Gordimer wishes to speak to wives on how to focus the husband attention and push him into action. It is not impossible to assume that Gordimer is writing a gender role message that explains the important of the womanly influence on mens thoughts and actions.

In my personally life experienced, I have witnessed both fighting on principle.
During a conversation with my father this past year, we there discussing a law-suit that his company was tied up in. When in inquired upon the amount the case dealt with, I was shock to find the amount in dispute to be only a few hundred dollars. My father than explained to me that the amount in question wasn't truly important. But rather the fact that the supply company refused to correct a small part malfunction. My fathers company had been wronged and were fighting on the principle that supply companies should be allowed to get away with cheating customers simply because there is no one to challenge them.