Nadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer's "Once Upon a Time" begins with the telling of two stories. The first is about the author, who awakes in the middle of the night, afraid of a possible intruder. Then, to distract her mind, she creates a second story. The story is a fairytale of an affluent family living in the suburbs, which have a baseless fear of the impoverished because of preconceived beliefs about racial tension. In response, they attempt to create the perfect home security- system. The two stories relate through their theme of unfounded fear based on handed-down beliefs. In addition, the stories reflect the negative effect and consequences of the defenses that people create to protect themselves from their fear. Fear is a natural human response and safeguard to threatening situations, yet it does not need a real danger to reveal itself. Often, irrational thinking will lead to exaggerations and generalizations of the improbable, which fosters anxiety. For example, the man and woman within the fairytale story are far removed and protected from any harmful occurrences at the onset of the story. "There were riots, but these were outside the city, where people of another color were quartered...these people were not allowed into the suburbs" (25
In addition, unwarranted fear stems from the refusal to become conscious of biased ideologies. They go into hiding, closing themselves off to life. However, the story makes several references to "living happily ever after", "In the house, in a suburb, in a city, there were a man and his wife who loved each other very much and were living happily ever after. This limited knowledge influences the family's perceptions of the poor and their emotional state. Finally, the most obvious defense that the family creates is physical. He was masked; it could not be said if he was black or white, and therefore proved the property owner was no racist" (253). This is even after they have increased the height of the wall surrounding their property. The inevitable working out of consequences, of human choice overtime, challenges the illusion of control created by the family's defenses. while the bleeding mass of the little boy was hacked out of the security coil. The story emphasizes the dangers of living in fear because one refuses to become conscious of personal biases.
Common topics in this essay:
Nadine Gordimer's,
Sleeping Beauty,
belief system,
irrational thinking,
emotional response,
family acting,
coiled tunnel,
living happily,
fairytale story,
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Acceptance Essays
