"Six Feet of the Country" is a powerful and thought-provoking short story that explores the complexities of human relationships, politics, and social issues in South Africa. Through the Nxumalos' journey, Gordimer highlights the tensions between traditional rural life and modern urbanization, as well as the dehumanizing effects of bureaucracy and urbanization on rural communities.
Petrus is the moral center of the story. As the foreman, he must navigate the impossible terrain of pleasing his white employer while protecting his people. He exhibits immense dignity, leadership, and quiet resilience. By organizing the collection of the twenty pounds, Petrus demonstrates the profound communal bonds and cultural values of the Black South Africans—values that completely eclipse the transactional worldview of the narrator. Core Themes The Commodification and Dehumanization of Black Lives
Nadine Gordimer, a South African novelist, short story writer, and activist, is known for her profound and thought-provoking works that explore the complexities of human relationships, politics, and social issues. One of her notable short stories, "Six Feet of the Country," is a poignant and powerful exploration of the human condition, delving into themes of death, grief, and the struggle for identity in a divided society. In this article, we will provide a comprehensive summary of "Six Feet of the Country" and analyze its significance in the context of Gordimer's oeuvre.
Later, the narrator learns that Petrus’s family in the reserves has sent money for a funeral—money that will now be used to buy a tombstone. But the tombstone cannot be placed on the grave in the pauper’s field because it is an unmarked common grave. Instead, Petrus erects a small wooden cross on a patch of the narrator’s own land—six feet of it, in fact. He tells the narrator that this is where his brother’s spirit now rests, since the body cannot be brought home. six feet of the country by nadine gordimer summary
Published in 1956, "Six Feet of the Country" is one of Nadine Gordimer’s most powerful short stories. Set during the height of apartheid in South Africa, the narrative serves as a blistering critique of the systemic racism, casual cruelty, and profound miscommunication that defined the era. Through the microcosm of a hobby farm outside Johannesburg, Gordimer exposes how the political oppression of apartheid distorts human relationships and strips the Black majority of their fundamental dignity—even in death.
After struggling to get the body back for a traditional burial, Petrus is forced to pay exorbitant costs to return his brother's remains. Ultimately, the story ends with the stark realization that the bureaucracy has made it nearly impossible for a black worker to bury his family member on the farm, highlighting that for a Black man, even the promised "six feet of the country" is unattainable in a state that denies them full human rights. 2. Character Analysis
Nadine Gordimer, a Nobel Prize winner, is renowned for her ability to dissect the racial tensions of South Africa without resorting to melodrama. In "Six Feet of the Country," she uses the metaphor of land—one of the most contentious symbols in South African history—to illustrate the total lack of agency held by Black South Africans under apartheid. "Six Feet of the Country" is a powerful
The strained relationship between the narrator and Lerice mirrors the fractured nature of South African society—they live together but inhabit different moral worlds.
Though not a character in dialogue, his death is the catalyst of the story. He represents the nameless, faceless casualties of apartheid—illegal immigrants and workers whose lives and deaths are treated as irrelevant by the authorities. 3. Major Themes in "Six Feet of the Country" The Insidious Nature of Apartheid
The disconnect between the narrator and Lerice mirrors the broader division in South African society. Lerice possesses empathy and attempts to connect with the workers, whereas the narrator is detached, cynical, and driven by economic utility. Their inability to communicate or share the same values reflects the fractured nature of a society built on forced segregation. Character Analysis As the foreman, he must navigate the impossible
However, the promised return never happens. The bureaucracy grinds to a halt, and the authorities eventually inform the narrator that the body of Petrus’s brother has been lost entirely—buried somewhere in a mass, unmarked pauper's grave.
The state machinery in the story is not designed to help citizens; it is designed to control, categorize, and suppress them. The pass laws, illegal immigrant status, and cold handling of the corpse show how legal frameworks were weaponized to strip non-white individuals of their dignity. Historical Context