QUESTION

Choose two stories in which racism occurs. Outline the situation in which racist attitudes are
displayed and show how relationships are damaged because of the racist attitudes.
The obvious stories are Berry and Shabine.
Paragraph 1. INTRODUCTION Tell your reader which two stories you have selected and name
their authors. Remind your reader of the theme (racism), and the angle of your discussion (how
racism damages relationships).
Paragraphs 2 and 3. SITUATION
1. In Berry, the situation is how Berry is employed to work at the childrens home, where
Mrs. Osborn, Dr. Renfield and the staff show different types of racism:
(a) Osborn wants to get rid of him
(b) Renfield realizes they can pay him less because hes black
(c) The staff heap their work on him (give examples)
2. In Shabine, the situation arises when a white man, Mr. Cazaubon, uses the black maid
for his sexual pleasure. He promises to acknowledge and educate the child born from this
union, but does not keep his promise. His wife, too, is racist, and she hates both the maid
and her child, Justine. (Go into details about how Madame Cazaubon behaves towards
Justine and her mother)
Paragraphs 4 and 5 DAMAGED RELATIONSHIPS
1. Berrys relationship with the children are damaged because of the racism that causes his
dismissal. (Go into detail about the nice relationships with the kids). His helpfulness to
the staff (details of this) is not appreciated, but taken for granted because he is black, so
relationships are exploitative.
Because of racism, Mr. Cazaubon assumes he can exploit his black maid. He damages the
relationship with his wife (explain) and with Justines mother (mention how she died).
Justine, too, suffers because she and her children are rejected by both the white and the black
communities. Because of continuing racism, she may not have a friendship with the boy next
door.
Paragraph 6. CONCLUSION. Say what you have discovered in the course of writing the
essay.
Question
Each of the two short stories, Mom Luby and the Social Worker, and To Da-duh In Memoriam,
depicts a strong black woman. For each,
a) Outline the situation in which we become aware of the womans strength. (8 marks)
b) Describe the strong points in her character. (8 marks)

c) Say what impact the womans strength of character has on one person with whom she
comes into contact. (9 marks)
The stories Mom Luby and the Social Worker by Kristin Hunter and To Da-duh In Memoriam by
Paule Marshall both depict a strong Black woman. The womans strength of character has a great
impact on one particular person. (Notice how you must use your Introduction to mention the two
stories and their authors, and to indicate what you are going to focus on in your essay.)
a) Mom Luby shows her strength of character through many acts of charity and community
service, but especially by taking in two orphans and caring for them even though she is
neither young nor wealthy. She runs a cook-shop to finance the house-hold, but when she
cannot afford school shoes for the children, she approaches the Welfare Services. The
Social Worker proves to be unhelpful: she wants Mom Luby to fill up endless forms and
attend interviews. Although she and her Department offer no practical assistance
whatsoever, she does offer plenty criticism f Mom Lubys household management.
b) Mom Luby has a wonderful sense of humour, laughing at the social worker instead of
getting annoyed with her. She is loving and generous not only looking after the two
children and running her speak-easy, but looking out for a young lad in jail, visiting a sick
neighbor, delivering a baby and preaching at a funeral. Mom Luby is clearly resourceful,
and sometimes does illegal things distilling her corn whiskey, lying to the authorities to
get assistance for the children and bribing the police. When it becomes clear that the
Welfare Department is not going to help, she simply decides to manage without their
assistance.
c) The social worker is impacted by Mom Lubys personality. She recognizes that although
she has been trained to do social work, and although her Department has been given the
task of meeting social needs, Mom Luby, who is not qualified, actually does far more to
help people with problems than she has ever done. It is evident that all the red tape in her
Department actually prevents staff from getting things done, and for all her training she
lacks the compassion that energized this elderly woman
a) The grandmother in Marshalls story shows her strength by taking pride in the traditional
ways of Barbados. When her granddaughter from Brooklyn comes to visit, boasting to
her grandmother about everything in New York, Da-duh is not impressed. She enters into
an informal competition with the little girls, showing off the fruits and trees on her land,
insisting that there can be nothing so wonderful in the barren place the girl comes from
despite all its technological wonders. She remains strong until one day aeroplanes fly
very low over the island, and the family returns to the house to find Da-duh dead in her
chair. Evidently technology won the battle despite Da-duhs strength and determination.
b) Although she is not young, Da-duh fights the pain in her body and goes every day to her
little farm. She is unmoved by all the talk of televisions and washing machines and
aeroplanes, preferring the life she has always known. She wears traditional clothes and is
proud of her heritage, scorning the modern songs and dances the granddaughter seems to
love
c) The person most affected by Da-duh is the granddaughter. She begins by boasting
endlessly about everything in New York, but when she sees how much it hurts Da-duh to

know that there are buildings taller than her wonderful royal palm, she is ashamed of her
boasting. On returning to New York, she rents an attic above a factory and paints
Caribbean landscapes while the machines pound beneath her. It seems that she now wants
to keep alive the world that Da-duh loved so much.
The strong woman in each story leaves her mark on at least one individual who will be
changed by the encounter.