The Moment Before the Gun Went Off | Analysis | Nadine Gordimer

Indledning
Racial discrimination has been a troublesome topic throughout most of the last century in South Africa. The consequences have been racial separation and oppression of black peoples’ civil rights which both were expressed through the tense apartheid regime.

As the society was built around segregation, the legislative-, executive- and judicial branch of government were all favourable towards whites and outright derogatory towards blacks.

This resulted in black people being much more likely to end up in prison due to people judging by the colour of their skin rather than the content of their character.

On the contrary, white men and women did unquestionably have privileges and control over black South Africans, even though not everybody was interested in the discriminating position they were socially expected to act out.

In such way, whites were superior to blacks and therefore automatically an enemy of the blacks with no exception. In the short story “The Moment Before the Gun Went Off”, written by Nadine Gordimer in 1991, it is suggested that racial discriminating systems not only limits the downtrodden but also limits the powerful.

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Uddrag
The protagonist of the short story is Marias Van der Vyver, who is a man who faces the limits of the apartheid system when he shoots to death a black “boy”. The black boy, named Lucas, was working for him and turns out to be his own son.

Van der Vyver is deeply affected by death of his own son which is clearly seen when he goes to the police department to give a statement:
‘Van der Vyver wept. He sobbed, snot running onto his hands, like a dirty kid.’ (Lines 62-63)

His remorse and sorrow indicate that there was a strong relationship between him and Lucas, and Van der Vyver even calls Lucas for his friend. In extension of Van der Vyver and Lucas’ relationship, it is in the following fragment also expressed that Van der Vyver is not racist as it is explained that he not only sees white people as friends:

‘...friends are not only your own white people, like yourself, you take into your house, pray with in church and work with on the Party committee.’ (Lines 34-37)