It's because — at the age of seven — we had no idea about standing up to an adult that we let ourselves get trampled upon by a parent and then grew up as a target for bullies for much of our lives.
" He trampled on you and kicked you, and dashed you on the ground, " I whispered. " And his mouth watered to tear you with his teeth; because he's only half a man--not so much."
Their dignity had already been trampled by Bantu education, but then the government instituted a policy requiring that classes be taught in Afrikaans, the language of the white minority, the language of the oppressors.
The trampled acres of Tara were all that was left to her, now that Mother and Ashley were gone, now that Gerald was senile from shock, and money and darkies and security and position had vanished overnight.