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The award-winning Doris Lessing wrote the short story “Old Chief Mshlanga” literally to depict the aspect of discrimination that was prevalence in Southern Africa. Lessing describes a Caucasian girl living in Africa who first has a different perspective on Africans before meeting a native chief. Little Nkosikaas, the main character, learns as she matures that regardless of social standing, people should be treated according to their skin color. One of the key themes of Lessing’s short story is the problem of racism and oppression, which predominates the text (Zhang 393). The young girl realizes the old man deserves respect because he is the one in authority even though her parents did not teach her that and white adult would still have not regarded it. This is portrayed when Nkosikaas says, “A Chief! I thought, understanding the pride that made the old man stand before me like an equal- more than an equal,”( Lessing). This implies the level of disrespect that the white people showed to person with authority.
However, racial prejudice is well depicted in several circumstances throughout the narrative. For instance, Nkosikaas’ mother becomes incredibly prejudiced and hostile toward the chief’s son who is serving in their home after learning about his background and future possibilities (Akhter 39). The protagonist grows up seeing African natives working hard on farms for white people, trying their best to please the Europeans, and even having to pave a path whenever they meet them. Furthermore, she even finds pleasure in sending off dogs to chase Africans and even throwing things at them. This portrays the discrimination that native people face due to the color of their skin.
The young girl’s journey toward changing her perception initially seems difficult, but after meeting the chief, she finally succeeds in successfully. As a result of her connection with the chief, Nkosazana can appreciate and love her native Africa to its fullest (Zhang 395). The way that Nkosikaas views Africa as an adult differs from how she did as a child; later, she even expresses her desire for natives and white settlers to live in harmony together.
However, racial oppression and discrimination are still present in our daily lives and are not just depicted in the literature. The white people in Africa today hold the natives in low regard because of their race, however, this is rare compared to pre-colonial times (Zhang 388). White settlers in Africa employ locals to work in their fields and residences, but now that black people rule their own sovereign nations, white people are compelled to accept authority figures regardless of their race or creativity. The white people in Africa are now required to live by the laws of the nation rather than by their own free will.
Meanwhile, the mentioned themes are corresponding to various events in America’s history. The aspect of racism has affected American society and politics broadly. Racial discrimination maims the disadvantaged social classes or the minorities by dividing people on popularity and political movement making them unable to challenge prevailing forms of power as well as inequalities (Akhter 43). This is how the divide and conquer strategy is infected to favor the ruling elite’s class interest. In American history, however, we can trace back the geographical displacement and genocide that went down when white people vacated to Northern part of America. A native group who had already taken firm control of a good number of economic resources had to fight over the resources hence leading to genocide and displacement. The native’s oppression was justified on grounds that they were uncivilized since they were mostly nomads.
Works Cited
Akhter, Tawhida. “Language as A Means to Break the Gender Inequality in Doris Lessing’s African Works,” 2020, pp. 39-43.
Lessing, Doris. The Old Chief Mshlanga. HarperCollins UK, 2013.
Zhang, Xin-Yue “Doris Lessing’s Farm Writing and Capitalist Colonial Space Production.” Journal of Literature and Art Studies, vol. 11, no. 6, 2021, pp. 388-395.
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