A Sickness of the People

Samantha Keller

WLH - Tompkins

March 9, 2015

Period 1

A Sickness of the People

Research pertaining to HIV and AIDS has come a long way since the disease was first recognized in the early 1980s. Medical advancements have led us to the creation of prevention methods and treatments for infected populations everywhere. Unfortunately, medicine cannot cure the social illness that lies beneath the surface of South Africa, contributing to the epidemic. South Africa has the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS compared to any other country in the world. An estimated 18 percent of the population is infected, with a ratio of three infected women for every infected man (AIDS Foundation of South Africa). The most prevalent cause of this imbalance is gender based violence and discrimination.

Like many other places in the world, South Africa is still overrun with misogynistic mindsets in both men and women. Young girls are raised to believe that they are inferior, that they must submit to a man’s will. A study in Zambia found that less than 25 percent of married women believed that they had the right to refuse sex with their husbands and a mere 11 percent felt that they had the right to ask their husband to use a condom (Kata Fustos). This exacerbates female HIV rates due to women’s biological susceptibility to infection, as well as the fact that most men are far more sexually experienced than their partners. However, unlike women, men are able to openly seek treatment without fear of repercussion.

Women facing a diagnosis of being HIV positive face more challenges than the disease itself. They must also endure harsh rejection and discrimination from the people around them. “Stigma and denial related to suspected infection cause many people to delay or refuse testing; fear and despair often follow diagnosis, due to poor quality counselling and lack of support” (AIDS Foundations of South Africa). The lack of testing means that many women will not seek treatment or have enough knowledge to warn their future partners of this risks. For those brave enough to own their status, the consequences can be intense. One South African woman diagnosed with AIDS says how most of her family refuses to recognize her as a human being. She recalls an argument where her sister shouts, “Do you think you are a human being? You've got AIDS! You are going to die!” (Gloria Raletsemo) While this woman is able to rise up against others’ harsh actions in favor of her own health, many are not so strong, and succumb to the social pressures placed on them.

While there are many organizations dedicated to helping the South African people in their fight against HIV and AIDS, the only people that can change communities are the people within them. Medical advances may help combat the spread of HIV/AIDS, but as long as gender based discrimination against the nations women run rampant in South Africa, so too will the disease.

Works Cited

Fustos, Kata. "Gender-Based Violence Increases Risk of HIV/AIDS for Women in Sub-Saharan Africa." Gender-Based Violence Increases Risk of HIV/AIDS for Women in Sub-Saharan Africa. Population Reference Bureau, n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.

"HIV/AIDS in South Africa." AIDS Foundation of South Africa. AIDS Foundation of South Africa, n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.

Raletsemo, Gloria. "Living in South Africa With AIDS A Personal Story." TheBody.com. The Body, n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.

Msimangu: A Humble Man

Msimangu’s actions are driven by his pure, humble, intentions as he acts as a guide to the inexperienced Kumalo.

“I shall do it gladly. My brother, I have of course my work to do, but so long as you are here, my hands are yours” (24).

“I am not kind. I am a selfish and sinful man, but God has put his hands on me, that is all” (25).

“My friend, I am a Christian. It is not in my heart to hate a white man...But you will pardon me if I talk frankly to you...The white man has broken the tribe. And it is my belief- and again I ask your pardon- that it cannot be mended again” (25).

This represents purity and shows that he is willing to help anything, no matter how small the cause or benefit is.

The Bloody Truth

“I noticed three blood spots in his left eye, one large and two small, all the same shade of bright red.”(3)

“Was it a ploy to get rid of the Red Guards, who were slipping out of his grasp? Or was it the fantasy of a great revolutionary dreamer, wishing to create a new generation?” (7)

Analysis: The three blood spots represent three stages of life; childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Also, there are three main people, whether it is Luo, the Narrator, and the Seamstress, or Luo, the narrator, and Four-Eyes. The Red Guards consisted mainly of teenagers who banded together to support Mao, they left their childhood behind because it was of fashion then to forget about past civilization and embrace Mao’s new form of life.

Before:  “‘They’re waiting for the blood to congeal,’ he replied. “It’s a remedy against cowardice. To gain courage, you must swallow it when it’s still lukewarm and frothy.’ ... When he had finished he sucked his fingers one by one, to make sure not a drop was wasted.” (94)

After: “A few minutes later, while he was making a knot in the rope, I heard Four-Eyes exclaim: ‘Shit!’ ‘Mind your language now, my son.’ ‘I’ve got the runs,’ Four-Eyes wailed. ‘Use the bucket in the bedroom!’ To our immense relief we heard Four-Eyes running out of the house. ‘Where are you off to?’ the mother cried. ‘To the maize field.’ ‘Have you got some paper?’ ‘No,’ replied the son from afar. ‘I’ll get you some!’ the mother called.” (104)

Analysis: Four-eyes drank buffalo blood for a rite-of-passage kind of event. The blood was supposed to give him more courage and make him more manly. However, the graphic description of his “disposal” had an air of a little baby getting diarrhea- vulnerability. I think this speaks to the idea of the fact that trying to grow up too fast does not work, because, as this happened, it led to a gross situation. He was so excited to grow up and lose his old ways that he forgot that he needed to step back and let things happen. Also, his mother was a big shadow over him meaning that he just still needed to be in her nest. A lot of the coming-of age quotes speak to the role of family in growing up.

The color Red & Three Blood Spots in Headman’s eye and Drinking Buffalo Blood are symbols in Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress that emphasize the coming of age in the main characters of the novel through other themes throughout the plot. For the color red and blood spots, it shows how events mark life and that life has different components and different stages of life. For the blood-drinking, there was a negative consequence showing if you are too vulnerable you will not grow up and have courage. Together, they represent the negative parts of blood.

Red Eye

My Own Path

Others are not me.

They have not seen what my eyes have seen,

Have not done what I have done.

Others experiences are not my own.

Their knowledge is not mine.

Why would our paths,

Be the same?

I am unique,

I am my own.

Only I can claim my truth.

Every person must follow

Their own path.

Each path must follow

The Tao.

To Justify Our Own Beliefs