Intention

Michelle Faul’s intention with the article “What Life Was Like In South Africa During Apartheid” is, as the title suggests, to raise awareness about racial discrimination during the apartheid regime and remind the audience of the consequences of racism and racial segregation. Moreover, considering Nelson Mandela died the same year, Faul’s intention is also to pay tribute to …

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Raise awareness about racial discrimination

To raise awareness about racial discrimination, the writer combines her experiences with the apartheid regime with general facts about the situation then, which often appeal to readers’ emotions: “My experience was more the absurd pettiness of apartheid, rather than the brutal, state-sponsored violence used to maintain it.” (p. 12, ll. 10-11);

As the writer wants to criticize the apartheid regime, a predominantly negative words are used to describe the hardships of the black population: “ru…

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Highlight the consequences of racial segregation and honor Nelson Mandela

To show readers the consequences of racial segregation, the writer gives both personal and general examples. Appealing to readers’ emotions, the writer talks about how separation traumatized her as a child and how families were separated against their will: “We lowered our shorts, but I was so traumatized that I simply could not go.” (p. 10, l. 9); “Sometimes it was not voluntary and led to families being forcibly separated — even children from their parents — if one …