Lemon Orchard

Summary:The Lemon Orchard by Alex la Guma is a short story set during the apartheid to show the harshness and cruelty of racism. This story is about a black man being captured and hidden in the lemon orchard by five white men. The reason for this violence is described to be because the black teacher had been “cheeky”, possibly just politely argumentative with the minister of the church of that area. Now he is going to suffer.

Characters	Language Pointers	Evidence
Black Man – captor	Preposition – but – singles outAdjective – only – describes the captiveAdjective – loose / raincoat – flimsy and thinHarsh verb, imperative – highlights his strong moralityPreposition – behind – highlights vulnerabilityAdverb – forcefully, hard – reluctance portrayed Began – past tense of verb begin – suspense as action goes onDeterminer – no – highlights determination and his strengthMixture – noun – encompassing his feelingsJuxtaposes his dignified personality – hubris	“All of the men but one wore thick clothes”“Only one not warmly dressed”“Loose raincoat”“fear was mixed with stubborness which forbade him from answering”“Wrist tied behind him”“Clenched his teeth”“Mistaken for cowardice”“Sweat began to form” “He had no wish to die” “Mixture of dignity and contempt”“prisoner”
Leader	Adjective – bigAdjective – shooting – gives purposeAdjective – already loaded – violence to comeTrepidation and fear is aroused – muzzle – point blank from the captive Metaphor – eyes are windows to the soul – cleverly establishes there is not kindness in his being	“Big man”“Old shooting jacket”“Loaded shotgun”“Muzzle of the gun down” his back “Eyes were hard and blue like two frozen lakes
Other captors (TOTAL 5)	Past participle – verb – marked Outnumbered – indicated by ‘fifth’Adverb – highlights trepidationNoun – weapon – whipAdjective connotes anger and uncontrolled furyVerb shoot – imminent danger – noun anger highlights the uncontrolled and unpredictably dangerous nature of the men	“Ridged foot prints”“Fifth man of the party”“Nervously – don’t want any murder”“Carried sjambok”“Clenched fists”“Would shoot him in anger”

Theme	Language Analysis	Evidence
Racism	Simile – black connotes uncleanlinessVerb “to damn” verdomte / offensive term Offensive term of the timeAdverb – in addition to – degrading on raceContradicting – implying he is educated but not worthy of being respected on his skin colorOxymoronDeterminer – no / conjuction – while – highlights this is a lifelong problem in that societyNative term – oppressing the black man as he is raising issuesIronic – means friend but he hits the man followingIn this case adjective hotnot is first – he’s derogatory addressed then by noun bastard. Implying he is a bastard because of his coloured skinMocking him by calling him “lighting” translated because he is strongly opinionatedJuxtaposing ideasVery naive and immature characterisation – highlights the white men’s uneducation	“Black as a kaffir’s soul here at the back”“Verdomte hotnot“Hotnot”“He is dumb also”“Slim hotnot” “Educated bushmen”“No hotnot will be cheeky to a white man while i live” “Demand respect from donders” “Jong”“Hotnot bastard” “Bliksem” “Educated hottentots”“Black englishmen”
Discrimination	Veiled in anonymityMetaphor for the protest of colored man, stopped when the white men approached.Imperative verb – demandedConnotes that he is held him by forceThreatening – contraction won’t // we – plural highlights how is outnumbered and at their mercySegregating, pressuring him to leaveWorth is lessened – noun dignity	“Could not be seen in the dark”“Crickets stopped their small noises” “Darkness demanded silence”“Prisoner”“He won’t demand damages when we’re done with him”“Go and live in the city”Compromised the “dignity of the volk”
Cowardice	Definitive auxiliary verb not – anonymity is confirmedAdverb – silently The noun mans face – was – adjective invisibleTook the man when was unguarded in the dead of the nightdefenceless man is being threatened – harshness and the threat evokes sympathy and fury from readers	“They could not be seen in the dark”“Called softly” – leader“Man’s face was invisible”“Taken him from his lodgings” in his “pjs” “Shoot a hole through your spine”
Violence to come	Threatening – contraction won’t // we – plural highlights how is outnumbered and at their mercyClung – adverb desperately to hope – moon symbolic of hopeAngled – sharp – adjectiveVisual image – sharp – knifes – sjambokTactile image and auditory image – screams from whips are foreshadowedAdjective – trembling rapidly – pain, sufferance	“He won’t demand damages” after “we’re done with him”“Moonlight clung to leaves” “Angled branches”“Tips and edges”“Solid strips of high- pitched sounds” “Quivering shine of scattered quicksilver”

Settings	Language Analysis	Evidence
The night	Noun  unpleasant feeling of coldness in the atmosphereAdjective – describes moons state – blind eye to racism / allegory for society, pure and white hidden behind dirty woolCourched – verb – vulnerable, defensive, acceptingGradual violence increasing – verb – unpleasant	“Chill in the air”“Moon was hidden”“Like dirty cotton wool in the sky”“Blackness of the night crouched over”“‘Chill increased”
The Orchard	Metaphor for narrow mindedness of the white menOxymoron – nature is conflicted, condemning the men’s actionJuxtaposing the cruelty and violence with auditory image of pleasing lemon scentsAuditory imageKinesthetic and auditory image of whip and screamsSharp auditory smell evoked – hint escalated violence comingCruel act in a auditorily calm and pleasing area in a garden	“Two long, regular row of trees”“Harsh whispering” of the leaves“Inconsistent  with the pleasant scent of the lemons”“Creek-creek-creek of the crickets”“Solid strips of high-pitched sound”“Juice crushed from them”“Wide gap” with “fragrant growth”
Year of writing	The allegory here is that the leaders description represents a whole country, a nation that has been deeply corrupted by racism. The visual metaphors bring this out.	“Tiny wrinkle and deep creases”“Red-clay complexion of his face”“Like the myriad of lines ‘’ ‘’ on a map”“Sharp range and peaks of his chin and cheekbones”