Shades

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Walter Brownley journeys to the neighbouring mission at Mbokothwe to collect a printing press. There he meets Reverend Hubert Brompton, an arrogant man who is completely out of his depth on the missions. It is also Walter's initiation to a mission which he finds terrifying because of its isolation and its eerie atmosphere.

Racism is the second side of the colonial triangle.

Typical colonialists were not necessarily racists as such but simply believed themselves superior to the Black people. They tried to inculcate the amaXhosa into English tradition, not noticing that they always moved the goal posts whenever that person was achieving the desired outcome.

In other words, the colonialists were trying to produce black Englishmen but always made it impossible for them to achieve the goal. As one novelist put it, it was a case of "all animals are equal but some are more equal than others". (George Orwell, Animal Farm)

Racism, on the other hand, is the belief that certain people are inherently inferior, and nothing can be done to change that. The Germans under Adolph Hitler believed that the Jews were inferior. On the other hand, many White South Africans accepted the idea that the Black races were genetically inferior.

Once one accepts the racist philosophy, many things then become possible. Racism is then seen to fit in with natural law: people are inferior because God ordained it so. If God therefore created a person to be inferior, it is perfectly legitimate for the "superior culture" to exploit the "inferior".

In many ways the concept of capitalism and racism went hand in hand. The Black mine labourers could be made to work under harsh conditions and for pathetic wages because God himself had created them to be inferior. Rural Black people could have their sons recruited for a few paltry head of cattle because they were accepted as being innately inferior.

To what extent are the following characters in Shades typically racist?

• Victor Drake



• Reverend Hubert Brompton

Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?

Read the notes in the left column before answering the questions below:

Mbokothwe is presented as the exact reverse of St Matthias. In what way do the two missions differ?

• St Matthias. (3)



• Mbokothwe. (3)

[Need help?]

You need to examine such things as: the gardens (vegetables and flowers) at St Matthias vs the desolation at Mbokothwe; the different atmosphere at each — words like tranquil and sinister should be at the forefront of your argument; the different attitudes of the missionaries, especially Fr Charles and Hubert Brompton.

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Walter finds Mbokothwe to be sinister.

• In what ways is this so? (6)

[Need help?]

This is a pretty easy question but be thorough with your answer. There are several sinister things about Mbokothwe. You should be able to name five or six without really thinking about it.

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Read the notes on Colonialism and Racism.

• Would you say that the Reverend Brompton is a Colonialist or a Racist? Explain your answer carefully. (6)

[Need help?]

You need to click on the links to colonialism and racism to be able to answer this one. While reading these two short essays, try to determine into which category Hubert Brompton would fit. If you say "both", you would probably be right. Brompton was indeed a strange mixture of colonialism at its worst — and of racism. In his case, though. it is quite difficult to separate one from the other.

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Walter believes Brompton to be on the verge of collapse.

• What gives him this idea? (6)

[Need help?]

If Walter believes this, he is probably correct. After all, Walter is seldom wrong in his feelings, is he? But search for the evidence to substantiate this answer, for example: Brompton is a relatively young man but he acts as if he is old; His ideas are so inflexible; He also seems to see bad in almost everything and appears to be full of fear; And what about the blueness in his lips — is this not a sign that something is desperately wrong with his health?

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Comment on Pusey's apparently dual character:

• The simple and dishevelled servant. (3)



• The shadowy but alert figure. (3)

[Need help?]

Pusey appears as the dishevelled servant when in the presence of Brompton. His other character comes out when he is alone, or when he does not know that Walter is looking. A major problem with Pusey is that he is a diviner, and possesses a natural power — a power that is innate within him and which he cannot suppress. Because of Brompton's violent hatred for traditional Xhosa rituals, however, Pusey is forced to suppress it when in Brompton's presence. Note, however, the remarkable change in Pusey that is shown later in Chapter 27.

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Comment on the DRAMATIC IRONY in Walter Brownley's words: "Not Mbokothwe, Boggis. That I promise you, now . . . Anywhere, Boggis. Anywhere, but not Mbokothwe." (6)

[Need help?]

Dramatic irony means that the character in the story professes a certain belief, while the audience or reader knows that the opposite will happen. In this case, Walter prays that he will never be sent to Mbokothwe because he believes that that path will lead to madness. The reader, however, intuits that he will indeed be sent to Mbokothwe — although we hope that he will not go mad!

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