Van der Vyer is repulsed by the idea of living in close proximity to blacks, as is reflected in Gordimer's physical description of his home. He is angered by the calls for freedom of blacks such as Nelson Mandela, protesting in the townships. He is also angry at himself that his accident has given anti-apartheid activists more 'ammunition' in the fight to end state-imposed segregation. He feels sad for Lucas, but it does not occur to him that Lucas may have wanted more in life than merely serving Van der Vyer. Lucas' life is a tragedy, not simply because it has ended but because it never really began, due to the fact he was denied an appropriate education and opportunities.

It is interesting that the story is entitled "The Moment Before the Gun Went Off:" surely the story is about what occurs afterwards, the reader might initially suspect. However, Gordimer's point is that the murder occurs before the accidental gunshot. The...

The shocking part of the story, the gunshot for the reader, is how the advocate of apartheid Van der Vyer sees Lucas: as his son. He feels affection for this young man he spent so much time with in his daily business, more so than his cold wife. He sees Lucas as separate from the blacks who call for equality, so he can love him.
Van der Vyer feels affection for a man whom he can control, who is at his mercy, unlike his wife. The frustrations of Van der Vyer at a larger world that attempts to make him morally accountable for Lucas' death and apartheid in general reveal his moral as well as his political failings. Gordimer's excellence as a writer is demonstrated by how she enables the reader to feel as certain amount of sympathy for the narrator because of his limited imagination and lack of self-knowledge, even though the reader is called to be repulsed by his worldview.