Dystopia Vs Reality

Dystopia and reality do not sound like even remotely similar ideas, but is reality truly the utopia we make it out to be? On the surface, “Once Upon a Time” by Nadine Gordimer and “Rituals of Memory” by Kimberly M. Blaser seem like two completely separate themes, as “Once Upon a Time” is about privileged white families separating themselves from the colors while “Rituals of Memory” is about different races coming together. But, with a more in depth view, one would realize that is not the case. The two articles wildly differ in how their communities are assembled, yet ultimately these communities, in the end, are still built upon their pre-determined racial boundaries.
First, come the differences that seemingly separate the two articles.

In “Once Upon a Time”, Gordimer depicts a society that does not function at all; for example, “there were riots… outside the city, where people of color were quartered” and people lock themselves in their houses out of fear. But on the other hand, “rituals of Memory” shows people of different background coming together to pay tribute to fallen veterans. Next, Blaeser’s society may show division, but there is no evidence of blatant bigotry like there is in Gordimer’s society. The people of color were “quartered”, which is just a nice way of saying segregated. This shows the community’s fear and racist views toward that ethnicity. Lastly, the people in “Rituals of Memory” use the past division of the Indian tribes to bring together people of many cultures, while something like that would be impossible in “Once Upon a Time”. These three central differences show the contrast between the two passages.
The similarities between the two passages are not as striking. “Once Upon a Time” is clever in the fact that its title implies the story will have a happy ending like a fairytale, but it actuality it does not. The home owners have plaques warning intruders not to come in. On these plaques is a silhouette with a mask on; this supposedly shows the homeowner is not a racist. Something so superficial does not make someone inherently not a racist, as shown by the segregation of the colored people. Next, in “Rituals of Memory” the community comes together, but when the omniscient narrator says, “...people would disperse again - to their own families,” one could get the feeling that they end up going back to their comfort zone; staying with people of the same race. Also, the narrator says, “We stood… together in a moment out of ordinary time… oblivious as well to the more trivial tensions of contemporary politics”. This shows that in their societies problems do arise between the Indians and European descendants. These two points, although more subtle, prove that in both passages the communities are being built on their racial and cultural differences.
Although seemingly different, the foundation for both communities is the all too copious human trait of racial bigotry. Blaeser’s society may function, but there are hints of segregation, so eventually it will morph into something like Gordimer’s catastrophe. Ultimately, communities built on the human need to separate themselves from those of another race will fail.