Characterization of Karlie

Outer characterization

Karlie is the main character of the short story “The Bench” by Richard Rive. His outer characterization reveals that he is a black South African who describes himself as a brown man (p. 214, l. 27). He comes from a village called Bietjiesvlei and has moved to Cape Town (p. 215, l. 13) to “learn the ways of the world” (p. 215, ll. 16-17). Karlie is also a smoker.

Inner characterization

Karlie is defined by his conflicting views on the equality between white and black people. After he hears the speeches delivered in Johannesburg, Karlie begins to think that he is “as good as any other man, even a white man” (p. 213, ll. 33-34). However, he also thinks that “these are dangerous ideas and need much thinking” (p. 213, ll. 38-39). While he listens to the speeches, and even after, Karlie compares the ideas presented by the speakers with the ideas shared by the people in his village: “Ou Klaas said that God...