The Promise

While pages 130-151 do not move the novel’s plot forward in any major ways, they reveal an important contradiction between the way some of the characters see themselves and the way they behave.

As the Swarts gather around the television to watch the rugby World Cup finals and see Nelson Mandela come out to shake hands with the white coach after South Africa wins the match, they feel optimism and pride; maybe the country really can enact the vibrant, multiracial democracy toward which it is striving. Moreover, they feel a sense of pride in their own contribution to this mission: The narrator says, “We are all as amazing as this moment” (145). Because of the novel’s complex point of view, the reader cannot know for certain whether the “we” refers to the people in the Swart household watching the game or to a larger unidentified chorus of voices. Either way, the Swarts seem to be included within the pronoun. This reveals their misplaced sense of their own importance, which is a symptom of white supremacy. They did not play a role in helping the country achieve equality. On the contrary, they enjoyed their privileges under apartheid without much thought about the surrounding society. South Africa is and was at the time roughly 90% Black and non-white and 10% white, but society was so segregated by race and class that it was possible for families like the Swarts to not see or interact with Black South Africans, except for those in support roles. The capital city where they live, Pretoria, was especially wealthy and segregated, highlighting The Difficulty of Addressing Past Injustices.

With so little context for the lives and struggles of Black South Africans, the family has no real understanding of what Black South Africans might want the new country to look like. Anton and Lukas, for instance, have always resided on the same farm, but Anton has never made any effort to get to know the young man who works for his family. He did not even know that Lukas was expelled from school and currently works on the farm instead of attending university. Yet he cannot understand why Lukas does not want to spend a long car ride with him. This misunderstanding points to the theme of The Inherent Worth and Complexity of All People, which Anton fails to see due to his inherited bias.

Similarly, when Amor and Anton discuss the promise, Anton insists that he will always take care of Salome financially. He does not understand that ownership of property, even a house as worn-down as Salome’s, would offer her more autonomy and the opportunity to control her financial life in some small way. While the Swarts may watch the World Cup with tears of pride glistening in their eyes, most of them still expect gratitude from their Black workers for anything they deign to give them, even if the workers want something else entirely.