White at face but dark at heart

At the beginning of 17th century, European countries began exploring and colonizing many different areas of the world. The last half of the 19th century saw the height of European colonial power around the globe. France, Belgium, Germany, and especially Great Britain, controlled over half the world. Along with this achievement came a notable sense of pride and confident belief that European civilization was the best on earth.

The color of a person’s soul is often contrasted to the color of their skin. A black-souled, white-skinned person is thought to be evil and dishonest. Black skinned was considered slaves. White men considered superior and civilized while on the other hand black were considered slaves, inferior who had a need to be civilized.

But these white men are outwardly civilized but inwardly they are inferior, cheap, savage, cruel, tyrant, prejudice, who themselves had a need to be civilized.

Alice Walker is a female writer of USA. She has written a lot on the rights of black people in USA because she herself was a black woman even her heroines are black women struggling to emerge from a history of oppression in the society of white people and abused by Black males who have failed women and themselves.

Alice wrote a short story named as STRONG HORSE TEA. Story is basically about a black female Rannie Toomer who becomes the victim of white man’s exploitation as she is unmarried but her child Snooks is all for her. She is shown in the helpless situation because her only child Snooks is dying of double Pneumonia and whooping cough, she wants to call a real Dr for her medical check up but Dr would not come to check Black lady’s child. But she does not realize her position and hopes that Dr will come.

Then there comes a neighboring lady Sara who is considered to be a witch and knows the treatment of pneumonia by herbs and magic, she advised Rannie to try some home remedies but Rannie scornfully rejects because she does not believe in that swap magic that Sara practices.

Rannie goes again and again to the Dr but that white Dr does nothing infact he is constantly repulsed with her bad breath and unwashed appearance. At the end defeated and hopeless Rannie allows Sara to do something. After examining Snooks Sara announces that only one thing that can save his life is STRONG HORSE TEA (horse urine). Rannie goes outside into the rain, chases down the horse and uses her shoe as container to catch the tea and we see that while she is collecting a horse kicks her down. And the feelings of pity aroused as we see that Rannie is collecting tea on the one hand while on the other her son has just passed away in the hands of Sara.

It was the disaster and end of the mother to lose her only child only because of the ignorance of the white Dr. and it shows not only injustice, cruelty, savagery, exploitation of the white but the darker aspect of the society of white where success worship is its religion.

Infact they are:

“White at face but dark at heart”