“Conflict in Mine Boy: A Deep Analysis of Racism, Identity and Apartheid Struggles”

CONFLICT AS SEEN IN THE NOVEL

In 1946,before apartheid was officially established in South Africa,Peter Abrahams wrote a novel that served as a disturbing prediction about the future. Mine boy is not just a work of historical narrative,it was an unvarnished portrait of a world locked in a silent war of its soul.Rooted below the soil of Johannesburg,lies a gold mine.But in Abrahams’ novel,it is more than just an art piece,it echos frailty of mankind.Conjure this vision,a young black man named xuma,filled with optimism and hope arrives at Johannesburg,seeking a new life. He steps onto the platform with one driving force but soon finds himself in a city riven by racial and social injustice where he faces the harsh realities of poverty,oppression,discrimination,trauma and dehumanization.

My write up will descend on the conflicts captured by Abraham and analyze the definition of an apartheid life both within and outside the mine.Conflict is a disagreement that occurs between two or more people,a meeting of opposites and at times between one’s own mind,often involving opposite desires. In MINE BOY,conflict appears in various forms;social,racial,economic and psychological,reflecting the harsh reality of apathy and segregation.The central conflict in MINE BOY isn’t just a meeting of shadows and light or the collision of two worlds but it is the conflict thundered through Xuma himself as he is also torn between two worlds,traditions of his past and his current situation in Malay camp.

From the first spark of an idea,Abraham highlights a form of conflict between man and his society.MINE BOY shows Xuma’s struggle against the racial and social discrimination experienced in a South Africa society dominated by the white. Society is segregated by race. Malay camp is a dirty,overcrowded slum where the black people reside while the whites who are considered as lights live in a clean and organized city. The Blacks aren’t allowed to move freely or work in specific places.The law requires them to take passes along with them. This is evident when Xuma arrives at the city and the rules confuses him. People warn him about the police raids as a result he learns he’s required to carry his pass to avoid being arrested “BE CAREFUL,XUMA” leah says,”DO NOT GO OUT WITHOUT YOUR PASS,THE POLICE ARE EVERYWHERE…” Another instance is Leah who sells beer illegally and is often harassed by police,”THE POLICE BURST INTO THE ROOM SHOUTING,PASSES! PASSES!AND PEOPLE RAN IN FEAR” Through this, Abraham shows how the black’s daily movement is controlled and how the law is based on control.

In the same breath, Abraham exposes a common form of conflict which exists between men. He uses the man vs man conflict to expose racism between the shadows and lights, the moral and emotional clashes between people and the struggle for love,purpose,identity and justice. There’s a man vs man conflict between Xuma and the white oppressors which symbolizes racial injustice. Xuma, who is known to be hardworking and diligent,frequently gets humiliated and exploited by the police and supervisors. They control every aspect of the black’s life and treat them as voiceless. Man vs man conflict also occurs between Xuma and Paddy,the mine foreman. At first,there is a huge tension existing between them because of the walls that separate labour and colour. Paddy compels silence and surrender while Xuma stands tall in dignity. However, when mine collapses and Xuam risks his lie to save others. Paddy realizes Xuma’s bravery which makes them learn to respect each other through courage. A deeply emotional conflict is found between Xuma and Eliza. He finds himself living as a woman torn between love and her desire for freedom.

To weave another thread,there’s conflict between man and its soul;psychological conflict. Abrahams uses this to show that racism not only affects people’s lives but their emotions. At the center of the novel is Xuma’s inner conflict. As a young man, he comes to Johannesburg, expecting a better life for himself,just to face dehumanization and humiliation which makes him angry and unsure. He believes that despite his good qualities,he feels trapped in his own situation,’HE HATED THE WHITE MEN YET HE FEARED THEM,HE WANTED TO FIGHT THEM YET HE DIDN”T KNOW HOW TO” This shows his psychological conflict between courage and helplessness,anger and fear- the mirror of a wounded soul. This conflict also exists within Eliza’s whole life which depicts a battle ground of thought and feelings(the storm of the mind). Eliza is a black woman dreaming in the colours of another world. Her heart yarns for the life desired by her,the polished life of the white world. She hates her own race because society impacted her with the knowledge that being black means being under the shadows.Still,she feels drawn to Xuma who is the embodiment of what she strives to resist. She is torn between two worlds,belonging fully to neither but wounded by both. She is between what is and what should be.This conflict is also found within Leah’s hidden conflict. She wears bravery like armor,forged from her own pain. Her strength is her struggle, her boldness is born of pain and her language is the language of her burden. Maizy’s psychological conflict is found between hope and reality. She loves Xumaa but she’s also aware that the world around is unfair.

As the story deepens,there’s a form of conflict where the character or person struggles against forces beyond their control. This conflict depicts how fate and circumstances cannot be easily changed and how they shape the people’s lives,no matter what effort is added. This conflict is the battle between man and destiny. Abrahams makes it known that during apartheid,the black South Africans were often trapped by fate. They were either born into poverty,oppression,racism or injustice that seemed impossible to scale through. In the novel MINE BOY,each major character is defying the script of fate;trying to re-write what the heavens decreed. It appears in the case of Xuma,he battles his fate as a poor black man. When Xuma leaves Johannesburg,his heart craves for a life the world has denied him,he lives on hope,whispering of a gentler tomorrow. Unknown to him that the world he desires measures freedom by the shade of a man’s skin. No matter how honest,diligent,and hardworking he is,he is still judged by the tone of his skin because destiny wearing the mask of apartheid has already chosen his place.

The man vs faith conflict is also experienced by Eliza against her faith as a black woman. Eliza’s faith is psychological and emotional. She is born black in a society where she is taught to despise herself. Her desire to live the life of the white is impossible yet she is unable to end the desire. She tries really hard to flee from those said to live under their shadows but destiny pulls her back with the natural forces of love(Xuma) and her identity itself. Eliza’s tragic end is that destiny places her in a world that blinds her from seeing the beauty and humanity in the blacks. She knows it is impossible to change her colour,however, her struggle against destiny ruins her peace of mind.

To carry the thought further. There is a struggle between man and morality. Moral conflict is when one struggles to distinguish between what’s right and wrong or duty and desire. It is a morality battle. Xuma arrives at Johannesburg with the aim of living an honest life,to work hard and to stay humble,just to find himself in a surrounding that’s corrupt,lawless and decayed. He struggles between what he knows is right and what is brought to him by society. By the novel’s ending,Xua is no longer innocent but wiser. His morality has changed from what was once pure and innocent to what is now just and sacrificial. He arrives with the hope of following the rules but torn by love,racism and pain,he understands that real morality means justice. Xuma’s morality isn’t destroyed but transformed. He becomes a soldier of truth and a defender of the unseen right. Abraham uses this to suggest the need to fight for humanity even among the cruel.

To crown it all, the conflict in mine boy is not resolved with a graceful quiet after the chaos because the readers are left haunted by a single burning image; Xuma ready to be imprisoned yet finally at peace with his achievement. This ending by Abrahams is to remind the readers that a meaningful ending does not bloom from joy but from the ashes of what was lost. Abraham ends his novel with Xuma’s awareness not a solution but a path forward. He has seen what darkness exists beneath and the world must see it to understand.  Remember,within the mind rages a silent war, where pride meets fear,love meets loss,duty clashes with desire and only those who heal the wounds within can rise with the sun.