One morning, the narrator learns that Lucas has disappeared. Days later, a neighbor informs him that Lucas’s body has been found by the roadside. He was likely picked up by police for not having his passbook, died in custody (possibly from a beating), and his body was dumped.
is a short story by Nadine Gordimer, first published in 1953. The story revolves around the death of a farm worker, Paulus, and explores the themes of mortality, social class, and the relationships between the rich and the poor in a rural South African setting.
"Six Feet of the Country" remains a staple of post-colonial literature because it avoids grand political speeches, choosing instead to critique Apartheid through intimate, everyday interactions. Gordimer showcases how structural racism fundamentally alters human empathy, turning a simple funeral into a heartbreaking display of systemic injustice. The story serves as a timeless reminder of how political systems can strip human beings of their identity, both in life and in death. six feet of the country by nadine gordimer summary
, move from Johannesburg to a farm ten miles outside the city, hoping the rural lifestyle will repair their strained marriage. The Incident : One night, their farmhand reveals that his brother—an illegal immigrant from
Several symbols are woven throughout the story, adding depth and complexity to the narrative: One morning, the narrator learns that Lucas has disappeared
The narrator and his wife, Lerice, purchase a smallholding about ten miles outside Johannesburg, seeking to change something in themselves. The narrator works in the city during the week and retreats to the farm on weekends, where he feels a sense of "triumph" and safety from the "tension" of urban life, which for white South Africans means "the guns under the white men’s pillows and the burglar bars on the white men’s windows". He and Lerice have several Black employees who live on the farm, including a worker named Petrus . The narrator maintains a paternalistic, detached relationship with them, believing their arrangement to be mutually respectful and comfortable.
In a final, desperate act, Petrus’s family returns and makes a new request. They no longer ask for the body to be taken home. They simply ask that the narrator dig in the cemetery, find any body, and let them have it to give a proper funeral. The narrator, horrified by the absurdity of this request, refuses. He cannot dig up a stranger to pretend it is his brother. is a short story by Nadine Gordimer, first published in 1953
"Six Feet of the Country" is a rich and nuanced story that explores several themes and motifs, including:
The story is narrated by an unnamed white man who, along with his wife, Lerice, bought a small farm ten miles outside of Johannesburg. Their move was intended to "change something in ourselves" and salvage their troubled marriage, though the farm has failed to achieve the profound silence they sought. Despite their marital friction, the narrator finds a sense of "triumph" in his escape from the city's racial tensions, where "guns under the white men's pillows and the burglar bars on the white men's windows" are a fact of life. He describes the farm's "almost feudal" relationship with its Black employees as "wrong, I suppose, obsolete, but more comfortable all around".
This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the story, including a detailed plot summary, an analysis of its characters and themes, and an exploration of Gordimer's masterful literary techniques, to offer a complete understanding of this essential work of short fiction.
Gordimer masterfully modulates the of the story. It begins with a satirical and almost lighthearted tone as the narrator describes his and Lerice's foibles and the pretensions of their city friends. This tone slowly darkens as the dead body enters the narrative. By the end, the tone has shifted to one of weary, tragic resignation. This tonal shift mirrors the narrator's journey from complacency to a new, painful awareness, allowing the reader to feel the full weight of the story's devastating conclusion.