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Jack Davis Pay Back

1031 Words5 Pages

Pay Back

Racial segregation and the mutual hate between two races can be a protracted and vicious circle that can have grievous consequences for both parts. One often knows that these types of conflicts never end well. Nevertheless, it does not discourage people from fighting among themselves and the abhorrence stays continuous and unending due to strong mistrust and ignorance in between the population groups. Jack Davis depicts this in the short story “Pay Back” from 1990, which portrays a typical situation between two groups of people who do not have enough information about each other and thus seek to fight against each other.

The short story begins in media res. In the initiation of the story, the plot is seen from Munda’s point of view. The reader gets an insight into his thoughts, as well as the events of the previous party. There is a flashback in …show more content…

As a result of this ending, the short story mainly thematises the relationship between the whites and blacks as well as racism, racial segregation and hatred between two population groups which is based on nothing more than ignorance, lack of knowledge and a strong mistrust. The title “Pay Back” shows the incident from the black people’s point of view, as the deaths of the white men is a result of their own work. The events contribute to the white men dying, which - seen from Munda’s and the black people’s point of view - is a pay back, ie. it serves them right. It was all a pay back, a plan made to get revenge.

In conclusion, this short story gives an insight into the racial segregation and the mutual hate between two races. The conflict continues in a vicious circle due to hatred and revengefulness. “Pay Back” shows an example of the consequences such a conflict can have, namely the three white men dying. It also illustrates that the hatred is primarily based on ignorance and lack of knowledge as a result of strong

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