30 pages • 1 hour read
Nadine GordimerThe Moment Before the Gun Went Off
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1991A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Socio-Historical Context: Apartheid
Nadine Gordimer’s short story “The Moment Before the Gun Went Off” takes place in apartheid-era South Africa. Apartheid, which means “separation” in the language Afrikaans, was a system of institutionalized racial segregation that existed in South Africa from 1948 until 1994. Under this system, the white minority government imposed a system of racial segregation and discrimination against the Black majority. Policies under apartheid included the Group Areas Act, which designated certain areas for certain races, and the Pass Laws, which restricted the movement of Black people within the country. White people and people of color were forced to live in different places and were forbidden from sharing schools and transportation; interracial relationship were also illegal. Black South Africans often worked in subservient roles for white employers, as is the case with Lucas working for Van der Vyver in “The Moment Before the Gun Went Off.” As a result of these unequal opportunities and extreme prejudice, many Black people suffered at the hands of white South Africans (called Afrikaners).
Gordimer wrote this short story in 1988, while international pressure was mounting for the South African government to release anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela from prison and dismantle the apartheid system. (Mandela was ultimately released in 1991, at which point he negotiated the end of apartheid and became the first Black president of South Africa in 1994.) As a result, the story places an emphasis on “anti-apartheid agitators,” who were conducting boycotts, divestment campaigns, and protests calling for the end of apartheid. Gordimer wrote “The Moment Before the Gun Went Off” during a time of extreme instability, violence, and impending change in South Africa.
Meanwhile, the characters in this story reflect the social hierarchies that existed in apartheid-era South Africa. White characters like Marais Van der Vyver and his family are shown to have significant power and privilege, while their Black laborers are oppressed and marginalized. The internal thoughts of the white main character reflect deep-seated racism, “othering” of Black South Africans, and opposition to the political changes ahead.
Authorial Context: Nadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer was a renowned South African author and anti-apartheid activist. Her literature portrays the human rights abuses and social injustices that took place under apartheid. Though her early works dealt with the lives of white South Africans, as she grew older, she increasingly turned her attention to Black South Africans and the impact of apartheid on their lives. She was a vocal opponent of the apartheid system to point that she was banned by the South African government for her political activism. During her 60+ year writing career, Gordimer produced 15 novels and many collections of short stories, essays, and other works. In 1991, she won the Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the first South African recipient of the prize. Her writing garnered praise for its lyrical prose, insightful characterizations, and unflinching honesty about the injustices of apartheid. Gordimer's well-known work includes her short stories "Once Upon a Time," "The Ultimate Safari," and "Six Feet of the Country," as well as her novel July's People.
Born in 1923 in the small mining town of Springs, South Africa, Gordimer grew up in a racially segregated society. Though her family was politically active, she understood that, as a white person, she was supposed to be a “master” over the Black members of her society. This racism caused her discomfort, which she began to explore over the course of her literary career. In the 1940s and 1950s, she became a prominent figure in the literary scene in South Africa. Her work often addressed the political and social issues of the time. In subsequent decades, her writing and activism became more explicitly political and anti-apartheid in nature. Her novels, including A World of Strangers (1958), The Conservationist (1974), and Burger’s Daughter (1979) all deal with apartheid in some form. By the time she passed away in 2014, Gordimer had long been regarded as one of the most important voices of her generation.
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