Setting

“The Middle Children” by Rayda Jacobs was published in 1994. It is set during the apartheid regime in South Africa (1948-1991) as indicated by the references to middle children who were not supposed to have white ID cards and had to travel separately from white people. The way Sabah is dressed suggests that the events might take place during the 1960s or the 1970s: “Smartly dressed in knee-high boots, mini skirt, Beatles jacket, and black beret, Sabah got off the bus at Mowbray station, and walked down the step into the subway to the other side.” (p. 22, ll…

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Physical setting

The main events take place over a single day and the physical setting is comprised of various places: the street, the subway, Sabah’s office, the police …

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Social setting

The social setting is more important than the physical one as it conveys aspects about segregation and discrimination in South Africa, law enforcement, and interracial relationships.

Some of the characters (such as Stephanie and Sabah) in the short story are middle children—people of mixed race living in South Africa. To understand their position in society you should know that the apartheid regime was a system of state-instituted segregation. White and black people lived in different residential areas, went to different schools, and even had different areas reserved in public spaces and on public transportation. This regime was d…