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Racism vs. Humane Feeling In
[Author’s Name]
[Institutional Affiliation(s)]
Yes, Mr. Compson did much for helping Nancy and he did not discriminate her for being an African woman. It won’t be wrong to say that he could do more to save her from her husband who wanted to kill her for being pregnant with another person’s child. To protect her, he gave her a place to live, let her sleep in his children’s room, and at the end, went to leave her in the lane. Something more he could have done for Nancy was to look for Jesus and get him arrested so that Nancy could live peacefully.
To some extent, Mrs. Compson was reasonable for having a bitter feeling when her husband, Mr. Compson used to leave her alone and walked to Nancy’s house as she was under constant threat of killing by her husband for her illegitimate child. On the other hand, it could be said that despite knowing the severity of situation, Mrs. Compson remained insensitive towards the dangers Nancy was facing.
Mrs. Compson asked her husband to call the police so that they could deal with it as she wanted him to stay out of the situation. Being a mother and a wife, her suggestion was considerable, but Mr. Compson refused to call the police as Nancy had already told them how she was treated in jail, so he did not call the police as he already knew that the police would not help Nancy in this case.
It was justified the way Mrs. Compson reacted against letting Nancy sleep with their children as Jesus, Nancy’s husband had threatened to kill her, so her concerns were justified but she could have acted more humanely like her husband.
Mr. Stovall behaved inhumanely with Nancy and reflected a difference that was obvious between the Blacks and Whites. Nancy’s behavior against the injustice done by Stovall showed her helplessness. Not Stovall, but Nancy was put in jail and she tried to take her life as she knew that she would never get justice in a White dominant society where Blacks are treated like nothing (Erik, 2016). Her reaction to this scenario was pitiable as despite being right, she was beaten in jail. She was in sheer despair and she tried to hang herself as this was the only way she could strike back against White racism. Moreover, she was not at all driven by wildness rather with low-esteem.
Throughout this short story “The Evening Sun”, the oppression and pitiable condition of Blacks could be seen. Considering their condition, Nancy’s work as prostitution seems justified as this was the only thing she could do for earning an income. Mr. Compson’s comment shows that he blamed her for her work and advised her to stay out of it, and just let the Whites do what they want to.
Her terror shows that she refused all the help she was offered. Her behavior to this situation clearly points towards the mental state of the Africans who were living under constant threat (Gale, 2016). Her reaction depicted her rejection of all the help she was offered as she believed that she was hell-born and like all Blacks she is doomed for all that she was facing.
“I reckon it belongs to me. I reckon what I am going to get ain’t no more than mine”. This statement of Nancy shows her oppression. Through this statement, it could be seen that she believes that being an African, she deserved to be killed as it is the only thing they are destined for. She claims that even if she would be killed, it would be no more than what she deserves as a Black.
I would react sympathetically against Nancy’s efforts that she made. It was a heart wrenching situation for me to see her when she was trying to keep the children in her cabin at the end of the story out of fear of her husband Jesus. She was frightened for herself as she knew her husband would kill her any time.
Compson’s children, Jason and Caddy were way better in treating Africans especially Jason behaved in a non-racist way towards Nancy. They were not reacting insensitively and behaved like any sensitive child would. They reacted better than most of the White adults as they went with their father to leave Nancy at her cabin at the end of story where they looked back at Nancy sitting before the fire until she got out of their sight.
References
Erik, H. B. (2016). The Compson Family In William Faulkner’s The Sound And The Fury And “That Evening Sun”. This is Just to Say: A Collection of Creative Student-responses.
Gale, C. L. (2016). A Study Guide for William Faulkner's" That Evening Sun". Gale, Cengage Learning.
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