Do you have anyone who you share common ground with? Although it might not be the feeling of hatred, but in this case it is. The two texts “Once Upon A Time”, by Nadine Gordimer, and “Oklahoma Bombing Memorial Address”, speech by Bill Clinton both share a common ground of hatred, but each text illustrates it differently. In “Once Upon A Time”, by Nadine Gordimer the “perfect” family tried to prevent a tragedy from happening and in the meantime they let the evil and hatred consume them.
While in “Oklahoma Bombing Memorial Address” speech by Bill Clinton is given to the American people. The speech is given to influence the American people to stand up and talk against hatred following the tragic event that led to many lost lives. First, in the short story, “Once Upon A Time”, written by Nadine Gordimer, a family is in fear and hatred of people of another color breaking into their “perfect” home.
It states, “Yet she was afraid that someday such people might come up to the street and tear off the plaque YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED and open the gates and stream in” (Lines 71-73). This illustrates that the mom is in fear that outsiders would come up to their home and rip off the plaque and barge into their home. In addition, there are police, soldiers, tear gas and guns to keep the people of another color away, but the mom is still scared.
Also, according to the text it states, “the husband and wife found themselves comparing the possible effectiveness of each style against its appearance; and after several weeks when they paused before this barricade of that without needing to speak, both came out with the conclusion that only one was worth considering” (Lines 166-170). This illustrates that the parent’s hatred for people of another color drove them to set up a better and improved defensive wall in front of their home to ensure them that they were safe from the people of another color.
The family kept adding more to their wall to ensure their safety, but in the long run their son passed away. He did not pass away by the people of another color, but the wall they built to prevent that from happening. On the other, hand in the speech “Oklahoma Bombing Memorial Address” by Bill Clinton interprets hatred in a different way. Secondly, in the speech by Bill Clinton, “Oklahoma Bombing Memorial Address” a speech is given to the American people to show support for the grieving and to calm those who have feelings of hatred towards the people who were behind the tragedy.
According to “Oklahoma Bombing Memorial Address” it states, “The hurt you feel must not be allowed to turn into hate, but instead into the search for justice. The loss you feel must not paralyze your own lives. Instead, you must try to pay tribute to your loved ones by continuing to do all things they left undone, thus ensuring they did not die in vain. “(Lines 36-40). This was a letter from a widow whose husband was murdered when Pan Am 103 was shot down. She is acknowledging that she has felt the pain that the people are feeling right now over the loss of a loved one.
She is implying that you shouldn’t let the hurt you feel be turned into hatred and your life shouldn’t be consumed by the feeling of hatred you feel right now. Clinton puts this in his speech to show a person who went through the feeling of hatred that have overcome it and look at the positive side of the situation. In addition, Clinton is influencing the American people’s actions when you have lost a loved one to pay tribute in their memory. Hatred is the common ground that both of the two texts are conveying.
In “Once Upon A Time”, the family enforces a wall to protect them from people of the outside, the hatred they have inside of them led them to enforce the wall even more thinking with the wall to protect them that they would be living happily ever after. Meanwhile in “Oklahoma Bombing Memorial Address”, Bill Clinton gives an address to the American people that have lost a loved one during the bombing to show his support for the grieving, to influence people’s actions, to influence love and peace instead of hatred, evil and violence.