Hybridity in Ezekiel Mphahlele's Down Second Avenue

In the 1930’s it was rare for a black South African to attend college. But Mandela not only attended, he graduated, got a degree from law school, and set up a practice in Johannesburg which he hoped could support his small family. Yet apartheid was always a humiliation to him. When the Afrikaner, or Dutch South African, Nationalists came to power in the 1948 election, the segregation habits of the past three hundred years became law. Hoping for a brighter future, Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC) and became its first Youth Leader.

Thesis Statement: Apartheid may have been a horrible era in South African history, but only so because the whites were forced to take action against the outrageous and threatening deeds of the blacks in order to sustain their power.

was used to living a humble life. Growing up as a Baptist on a farm near Independence,

He adhere to a code that remained consistent and strong. From his what he experienced as a convicted criminal, he believed that the punishments were always disproportionate to the crime and that the crime, in the end, does not really matter. He stated, “’I found out the crime don’t matter. You can do one thing or you can do another, kill a man or take a tire off his car, because sooner or later you’re to forget what it was you done and just be punished for it.’” (O’Connor 365). The Misfit also harbored a genuine bafflement about religion. Whereas the grandmother accepted faith unquestionably and weakly, he challenged religious beliefs and thought deeply about how he should or should not follow the beliefs. He said, “’Jesus was the only One that ever raised the dead,’” (O’Connor 365) and “’He shouldn’t have done it. He thrown everything off balance. If He did what He said, then it’s nothing for you to do but throw away everything and follow, and if He didn’t, then it’s nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you can’” (O’Connor 366). He had chosen to live under the assumption that religion was pointless and adhered to his own kind of religion: “’No pleasure but meanness.’” (O’Connor 366). His moral code was violent and was never wavered. He also did not enjoy killing anyone: “’It’s no real pleasure in life.’” (O’Connor 366). In his mind, the moral code he

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” Mandela, N (n.d.)

The Apartheid was initiated as a ploy for Europeans to better control the exploited populations for economic gain, as maintaining tension between the different racial classifications diverted attention from the Europeans as it fed hatred between groups. This assisted in minimizing unity between the exploited to rally against European control as it backhandedly induced “submission” for survival. One way of accomplishing this was by instilling laws that’d force segregation, classification, educational “requirements”, and economic purposes. The Population Registration Act of 1950 enacted, requiring segregation of Europeans from Afrikaans . Following shortly, the Group Areas Act of 1950 was enacted as a new form of legislation alongside the Population Registration Act. This detailed act separated tribes based on ethnics; consequently, further detailing segregation amongst the natives .

Just as he was an Elk, a Booster and a member of the Chamber of Commerce, just as the priests of the Presbyterian Church determined his every religious belief

“The story is told through the photographs, and so what may appear to be autobiographical is not always so. On the other hand, many of the events are completely fictional, although they may be true in a historical context. For some of these events, there are photographs; for others, the image is a collage; and in all cases, the result is entirely of my doing. So although it may appear that these stories are my family’s, they are not precisely, and yet they are. (xi)”

In this research, I plan to understand the persona’s voice and their period. Due to both author’s creativeness, I hope to find a few symbolisms and ideals that are still being implemented today. Both stories’ personas try to identify themselves as someone worthy of improvement, in social aspects. However, we might be concern that they might not pursue their known agenda and instead used all wordiness as an excuse for their actions

In this way, he sees religion not as an abstract or other-worldly social concept but as a function of society for its utility and usefulness. He does believe in G-d and thanks him for all that he has received but, similar to Frederick Douglass, is aware of the falsehoods being taught in mainstream religion. For instance, he describes a local ministers sermons as "their aim seeming to be rather to make us Presbyterians than good citizens." Although he did not believe in any one religion, he did feel that they were good for the community and actively supported the Presbyterian minister, Jewish temples, and other groups.

The apartheid of South Africa was a time of constant fear and unknown and tested faith in the people who it continuously impacted.

Most people think religion should be spiritual, a belief in someone or something greater than the believer. Hughes believes the church has betrayed its mission by becomi ng a monetary institute. Even though Hughes is acknowledging the existence of religion he is also saying that the church had become too commercial and money oriented. This thought is exemplified in “Goodbye Christ” when Hughes writes, “Marx Communist Lenin Peasant Stalin Worker ME--“ (22). Here Hughes is saying it’s time for religion to move out and let “ME” become the profiteer. When this poem was written most of the Black race was lower class and did not have a lot of money.

This section demonstrates how the fear manifested itself among the whites. The Afrikaners’ power is not in numbers, as “they were few” but instead in political authority. They exploit this and impose harsh laws on the black to try to control and restrict them. However, they have bound themselves in their fear of the natives, a force that is perhaps more confining than their rules. Instead of trying to understand their fear and show their compassion towards these other human beings, they instead choose to hide it so that they will not appear weak. Additionally, the solution of love that Paton suggests presents a conundrum. In order end the fear, they must love, but to love they must stop being afraid. This demonstrates the almost impossible nature of true equality occurring between the natives and the Afrikaners.

I have always thought that Nelson Mandela has been one of the most important people in history. I find it very fascinating that one man could end the Apartheid and that is why I want to find out more about this. South Africa is a country with a past of enforced racism and separation of its multi-racial community. The White Europeans invaded South Africa and started a political system known as 'Apartheid' (meaning 'apartness'). This system severely restricted the rights and lifestyle of the non-White inhabitants of the country forcing them to live separately from the White Europeans. I have chosen to investigate how the Apartheid affected people’s lives, and also how and why the Apartheid system rose and fell in South Africa.

Next, I’d like to discuss the ways in which the conditions of “Living, Loving, and Lying Awake at Night,” and the roles that were plagued amongst the women in South Africa and how forced migrations affected their situations. Due to the Apartheid era, and men's non existence in their families life because of forced migration, women began to feel as though they could only do for themselves causing for their acceptance without man's presence. In an early reference to the chapter, leaving, the author shows the ways that apartheid affected the women. For instance, “As year went from the woman had come to