A Matter of Taste

Setting of the story.
The spatial setting of the story is a camped out space probably next to the railway line. The camp is few
yards away from the embankment, there is an old corrugated iron office covered with rust and cobwebs.
The platform is roofless and crumbled in places with overgrown weed. The setting of the story does
contribute to the events in the story because typical of camping habits, the characters built the fire
carefully and place the tin “precariously balancing it on two half-bricks and a smooth stone” (La Guma,
1962: 428) in order to brew some coffee. The characters use the “scoured condensed-milk” tins as cups
(La Guma, 1962: 428). The narrator mentions of using an old sleeper to sit on while waiting for the
ceremony of pouring the coffee to commence. It is likely that the embedded story is set in the early
post-apartheid or post-colonial times. At this time, African people especially blacks and coloured are still
sceptical that they can meet and coexist with a white person especially a poor white man. This is evident
given that in the story, Whitey comes out of the plantation where the other two characters are camping,
he is dirty with creases around his face and he is wearing old pair of jeans and torn leather coat,
Chinaboy is surprised to see Whitey the young poor boy “Well” … “Seeing you’s here” and he asked him
if he could join them for supper “You think we can take in a table boarder, Pal?” (La Guma, 1962: 429).
The word “boarder” carries a connotation of the racial division caused by the apartheid at the time.
Narration of the story.
The first-person narration is used in this short story. Examples of this can be seen when the narrator
uses the words such as “I” and “we” throughout the story. These words indicate that the narrator is part
of the story to a greater or lesser extent. This narration influences our perception of the three main
characters particularly because the story is told from the narrator’s perspective. As we only have access
to the narrator’s feelings and thoughts, this narration is not neutral. The first-person narration also
allows us to gain insight into the narrator’s perception and emotions. This can be determined by the
language the narrator uses in the story.
The language that the narrator uses to speak about the other two characters frames them in positive
terms. Example of this can be seen when the narrator says that Chinaboy is used “accustomed” to doing
things “carefully and correctly” (La Guma, 1962: 428). However, the narrator also uses the negative
terms when describing the hardship and physical appearance of the other two characters Chinaboy
“short man with grey-flecked kinky hair … his eyes were dark oriental ovals” (La Guma, 1962: 428) and
Whitey “thin and short and had pale white face covered with a fine golden stubble” (La Guma, 1962:
428). With these description and details readers should be able to paint a clear picture of what the
narrator sees when he is looking at the other two characters.
Characterization.
The characterization of Chinaboy and Whitey in the story “A Matter of Taste” highlights how the shared
experience of social injustice and poverty can create a common harmonious social interaction which
overcomes, without obliterating the racial differences and contributes to our overall understanding of
the meaning of the short story. The role of poverty is one of the main examples that is prominent in the
characterization of this short story. The most obvious clues that all these men are poor are the
descriptions of their physical appearance.
The character of Chinaboy is established by the primary narrator when describing Chinaboy as “short
man with grey-flecked kinky hair’’ and his eyes are “dark oriental ovals” (La Guma, 1962: 482). Chinaboy
is a railway worker who can be classified as a dynamic character that has an ironic interpretation of the
same lifestyle. While sitting in a dirt forest and having some coffee, he reminds himself of an image of
fancy food from an American book and shares his experience of the time when he served as a waiter in
one of the big cafés “worked as a waiter one time when I was a young star. In one of that big caffie” (La
Guma, 1962, 439) and explaining the hardship he had to go through.
On the other hand, Whitey is described as white boy “thin and short… his hair is ragged, thick and uncut
‘stubble’… he wore an old pair of jeans, faded and dirty and turned up at the bottoms and torn leather
coat” (La Guma, 1962: 429). Whitey can be categorized as a flat character that has a very optimistic yet
uncritical thinking of the American dream. He simply just wishes to get a job on a ship and maybe go to
the United States because he is convinced that in the States everything is ‘smart’ “Cape town, maybe
get a job on a ship an’ make the States” (La Guma, 1962,429).
The characterization of this story contributes to our overall understanding of the meaning of the story
because, using these context clues, we can be able to determine that Chinaboy is of some kind of
“Coloured” in race and Whitey is “Caucasian” and they are individuals who are at lowest in society.
Throughout the short story, various examples of characterizations and contrasting imagery suggest that
Chinaboy and Whitey are both victims of apartheid and they share a common despair irrespective of
their racial differences. Chinaboy and Whitey are strangers at first but they become friends “Chinaboy
nodded at the stranger. ‘Sit, pally” (La Guma, 1962, 429). Regardless of their racial differences they
spend some time together, share their food, sentiments and Chinaboy eventually helps Whitey to
boarder the train that will help him acquire his dream.
Main conflict, Internal, external conflicts and resolution.
The main conflict in the story is brought about the conversation between Chinaboy and Whitey. The
conversation starts while they are drinking coffee when Chinaboy asks Whitey if he is going somewhere
“You going somewhere, Whitey?” (La Guma, 1962: 429), Whitey then replies that he is going to Cape
town maybe get a job in a ship and make it to the States. They continue their conversation and talk
about a picture of fancy food that Chinaboy saw in a book and he then shares his experience of the time
when he served as a waiter “in one of the big caffies” (La Guma, 1962: 429) he also explains the hardship
he had to go through. The internal conflict is evident when Chinaboy “whimsically” expresses a wistful
longing for sitting down in a “smart caffie” one day and eat his way right out (La Guma, 1962, 430) but
realise that his dream is merely representation of reality. While talking about his experiences in the past,
Chinaboy hinted it to Whitey that running after the American dream is not as easy as he is taking it

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Setting of the story.

Narration of the story.

Main conflict, Internal, external conflicts and resolution.

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