Essay on "The Bench" by Richard Rive Richard Rive was born in District Six of Cape Town. “The Bench” is based on his short story collection, “Advance, Retreat,” influenced by events during the Defiance of Unjust Laws campaign from 1952 to 1953. The story begins with a speech from a speech given in Cape Town, South Africa . . It is clearly part of a demonstration against the apartheid system. A large black man with a resounding voice says, “It is up to each of us to challenge the right of any law that willfully condemns any person to an inferior position.” The conference is held outdoors and the majority of the audience is black. The main character of the story, Karlie, a black man, follows every word the speaker says. He doesn't fully understand their meaning, but he realizes that they are real words. The speaker tells Karlie that she has certain rights. The image of himself living as a white man scares him, but at the same time fascinates him. All they were taught was that God made the white man white, the brown man, and the black man black and that they must know their place. People on the platform act as if there is no color difference. It makes sense, but still only vaguely. Karlie continually compares what is happening on the platform to her situation at home. There, people of different colors could never offer each other a cigarette like a white woman does to a black man, on stage. The idea makes him laugh, getting a couple of people to notice him. This shows that Karlie isn't completely comfortable with all this new information. His upbringing is strongly ingrained in him. Playing with the thought that he is as good as any other man, he recalls black opponents of apartheid going to prison, smiling. It confuses him. As one white woman speaker says, “All discriminatory laws must be challenged,” Karlie becomes more confident, fear and passivity replaced by determination to take action for equality. A white woman who puts all her advantages on the line to say what she believes. saw something similar in his hometown. A determination begins to creep into its vagueness. Now he wants to challenge, whatever the consequences. He wants to appear smiling in the newspaper. This is a turning point in his life. After the meeting, on the way to the station, Karlie receives a nasty, racist comment from an oncoming car. “Karlie looked at her dazedly, momentarily too stunned to speak.” By reacting, he shows that he now questions this type of treatment. To "challenge," as the white woman speaking said, she sits on a "whites only" bench at the train station. Although this story takes place in a limited time period, Karlie has gone through an extreme change in her life. Now he is determined to fight for his freedom as a human being. He rebels against his previous education imprinted on him and wants to find a new place for himself in society. This short story was written during the apartheid system. The bench at the train station symbolizes the South African society of the time. Karlie refuses to move from the "whites alone" bench and is then taken away by the police. Under apartheid, even mixed marriages were not allowed. Schools, restaurants and hotels were segregated. “Bantu education” was imposed on blacks in South Africa in 1953. Blacks were taught that they were less intelligent than other races. Karlie's initial confusion while listening to the speech may be linked to this form of brainwashing. Many opposed this oppressive system. Karlie is obviously the only one to disobey the police, but he represents all black opponents of apartheid and.