In our society, many people are faced with disadvantages and cruel treatment due to the color of their skin. Although this is the case, many people still don’t seem to mind or even care because it gives them an advantage in life, and an edge over others with things such as jobs, housing, and other material luxuries, including quality education. Nadine Gordimer created this story to express the real life effects of racial discrimination and fear. In “Once Upon A Time”, Nadine Gordimer utilizes imagery and symbolism to reveal the complexity of racial discrimination, and to illustrate the idea that people are looked upon differently based on race.
Gordimer uses imagery to reveal the idea that people treat others differently based on the color of their skin. “ Yet she was afraid that some day such people might come up the street and tear off the plaque YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED and open the gates and stream in…” In this
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“Anyone who pulled off the sign YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED and tried to open the gates would have to announce his intentions by pressing a button and speaking into a receiver relayed to the house.” In this quote, Gordimer indirectly uses the community gate to represent the concept that the fence protects whites from the rest of society, which are all other races, to stay safe. This notion is driven by the belief that other races tend to get very violent and aggressive whenever they are trying to get something they want. This quote is significant because it expresses how fearful and dreadful whites become whenever another race is trying to revolt. This fear and dread exist because whites know they are now the minority, and we, which are all the other races, now have the willpower to take back what belonged to us, since we couldn’t do it years ago when whites first started to take