On Anomie Under Apartheid In Gordimer’s July’s People

Nadine Gordimer(1923-2014)is the first South African woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.Nelson Mandela calls her a heroine who has inspired millions.And the international community reputes her “the conscience of South Africa”(Mandela).The writing technique in her most prestigious novel,July’s People,has been praised by critics as “prophetic realism”.In this novel,Gordimer shows the severe distortion and extreme pain caused by racial discrimination in South Africa to individuals,families and society.The concept of anomie is first put forward by French sociologist émile Durkheim referring to the disorder of social norms.In the 1930 s,American sociologist Robert King Merton further developed the theory of anomie,which he believed was an imbalance between cultural goals and institutionalized means in a society.The main clue of July’s People is the movements of July and the Smales family.It describes the whole social life of the town,family settlement,African village and black tribe in South Africa during the civil war.Based on the theory of anomie and the unique historical context of apartheid in South Africa,the thesis analyzes the anomie in July’s People from the aspects of individual,family and community,to explore its negative impact on the South African society and reflect on the norm and order of a harmonious society.The thesis is divided into three chapters.The first chapter analyzes the loss of the sense of belonging of the main characters in the novel at an individual level.The black laborers like July are uprooted from their hometowns to survive,fliting from industrial towns to impoverished Africa countryside.July,who has adapted to urban life for a long time,can’t be accepted by the white society because of his black identity.While his words and deeds are incompatible with the black people in the primitive villages in Africa,which makes him dissociate between the two and face the dilemma of “in-between”.The privileged white people represented by Bam and Maureen have long been used to enjoying a comfortable life based on the exploitation of black people.After their living space moved to the isolated African village,the whites’ original “center” status is impacted,and “marginalization” is their awkward situation.The second chapter mainly expounds on the disorder of ethics in the family.The first is that the role of the father is absent in the black family due to the forced departure of young laborers,thus making a vicious cycle of broken intergenerational relationships.Next is the materialized gender relation between Bam and Maureen.Without the economic foundation,the white man’s hypocritical and perfect family structure is falling apart.Finally,patriarchal culture and racial prejudice oppress women.Maureen,Martha and other women have never been treated equally,nor have they ever obtained a matching status in the family as males in the irrational social ideology.The third chapter analyzes the distortion of values in the community.In the face of the cruel social reality,the words and deeds of white liberals are contrary to the beliefs of “equality” and “freedom”,and they only want to maintain their superior position.The tribal chief with relative authority ignores the cause of black national liberation,regardless of right and wrong,and only satisfies the greed for power.The radical black youth at the bottom confuses good and evil and steals things in the name of “nationalism”,which shows the helplessness of the black people.Only by behaviors that violate public morality,can black people arm themselves,engage in the movement of black liberation,and carry forward the spirit of revolutionary struggle.The degree of social value distortion can be seen.Fundamentally,the anomie in July’s People reflected the social problems that need to be solved in every aspect of South African society at that time.Only by eliminating these underlying contradictions can South African society progress fully.By analyzing the anomie in July’s People,Gordimer calls on South Africa to become an ordered society with a strong sense of individual belonging,harmonious family ethics and positive social values,which still has reference and significance for today’s society.