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Meaning of the novel cry the beloved country
Themes of cry, the beloved country essays
Themes of cry, the beloved country essays
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One who is afraid, regardless of the reason, or lack thereof, is often motivated to act irrationally. Such actions attempt but fail to alleviate the fear, inadvertently harming others in the process. Alan Paton makes this evident in the novel Cry, the Beloved Country, where the fear of losing power drives apartheid and renders pain upon the land. Through Stephen Kumalo’s frequent reflections of his journey and of the entire country, it is shown that those controlled by groundless fear and worry suffer abiding pain and severe devastation.
During a period of idleness in his search for Absalom, Kumalo reflects on how his worrying about Absalom has impacted him. Initially playing with his sister’s son, Kumalo shifts focus to his search for his
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Kumalo associates the loss of his son with the ravaged wasteland, his worries and fears causing him to immediately picturing this when the thought of his son arises. The phrase “deep melodious names” is juxtaposed against words such as “waste,” “desolate,” and “pitiless” to illustrate the destruction caused by fear: complexity and thoughtfulness replaced with chaos. The use of the word “pitiless” serves to emphasize the severity of the effects of fear. The streams are analogous to Kumalo: he has temporarily ceased his activities due to his worrying, just as “the streams ceased to run.” The earth is described as “rootless,” both to describe the barren land pictured, as well as a description of much of fear in general: it is often without logical reason. The entire description of the ruined land also serves to show how the entire country has suffered, …show more content…
Reflecting first on his losses, he then shifts his focus to the fear that is behind apartheid: “And now for all the people of Africa, the beloved country. Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika, God save Africa. But he would not see that salvation. It lay afar off, because men were afraid of it … what was there evil in [the actions feared]? Yet men were afraid, with a fear that was deep, deep in the heart, a fear so deep that they hid their kindness, or brought it out with fierceness and anger, and hid it behind fierce and frowning eyes” (Paton 310-311). The phrase “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika,” which refers to a hymn, is mentioned multiple times in the novel, but is left unsung, signifying that the novel’s conclusion does not coincide with the conclusion of fear and apartheid. By heading the reflection with mention to this hymn, Kumalo makes clear that the effects of fear are long-lasting and abiding. The passage begins with an incomplete thought, which reinforces the idea that the effects of fear mentioned have not ended. The use of the word “salvation” enforces this with the impression of a miracle needing to occur prior to the end of apartheid. The tone of the passage is one of despair, supported by the use of phrases such as “would not see,” “hid their kindness,” and “brought it out with … anger.” This despair affirms the idea of fear causing long-term devastation. Repetition of
In Yusef Komunyakaa’s essay “Dark Waters”, the sense of environmental injustice is highlighted, expressed by the conditions that communities with lower socioeconomic status endure. Komunyakaa indicates his disgust in returning with beginning his piece in a harsh tone, which implied reluctance within his return due to the discrimination within his environment, compared to Wordsworth, who felt a sense of nostalgia and inner happiness when returning to Tintern Abbey. This discrimination begins from the very beginning in the youth, where lower economic societies are condemned to “taste the chemicals in the air” (Komunyakaa 106). Compared to the typical pastoral environment that a Romantic poet such as Wordsworth was able to experience and write
The victims of judgment, although bold on the outside, face several obstacles others are ignorant of. Dunbar, a member of the African-American community, assesses how the surrounding groups force him and his people to smile with “torn and bleeding hearts” (Dunbar 4). Artificially smiling, they, consequently, decide to ignore the truth of their hardships to feel secure. The strong adjectives associated with “hearts” emphasize the impact of these challenges on their lives. By exhibiting synthetic strength and not addressing these hurdles in life, Dunbar reveals how society refuses to accept and embrace others’ problems. Moreover, by repeating the phrase “We smile,” he shows how a simple facial movement is so powerful and allows individuals to ignore situations they deem difficult (Dunbar 10). In an environment that judges by a glimpse and often does not take the time to listen to the difficulties of others, it is not possible to open up and share. As a way to protect their dignity and maintain a sense of strength, they escape reality. Through both of these works of literature, it is clear that in an environment that compels change, the population will adapt to better fit in and reveal other sides to
In Cry, The Beloved Country, Alan Paton uses Stephen Kumalo and James Jarvis to show that all human beings are complacent about critical issues until a momentous event occurs that forces them to change their minds. This message is very clear in Cry, The Beloved Country as it is in the world, today and historically. People tend to be optimistic about serious issues rather than confront them and solve them. Historical examples like the Holocaust greatly illustrate this point. Stephen Kumalo is complacent in his village of Ndotesheni and only realizes the extent of the destruction of the tribal structure after he returns from Johannesburg. James Jarvis also is complacent about the condition of the native people; he chooses to ignore the native question rather than to debate it like his son Arthur does. By characterizing Jarvis and Kumalo in this way, Paton is trying to make a very important point: human beings must not pretend problems are not there or assume that problems can fix themselves.
Eventually Kumalo goes home with his new daughter-in-law, and Jarvis gets involved helping him keep his village together; he helps with agricultural techniques and offers to build the congregation a new church. The novel ends as Kumalo weeps over his son’s death on the valley, awaiting his execution.
Fear and Redemption in Cry the Beloved Country & nbsp; Fear grips all black societies and is widespread not only among black people but also white people. An unborn child will inherit this fear and will be deprived of loving and relishing his country because the greater he loves his country, the greater will be his pain. Paton shows us this throughout this book, but at the same time he also offers deliverance from this pain. This, I believe, is the greater purpose of this book. & nbsp; When Stephen goes to Johannesburg, he has a childlike fear for "the great city" Johannesburg. Khumalo's fears about his family are exactly the same as every other black person in South Africa.
In today’s world, people can do limitless things and reach huge achievements in their lifetimes. However, there seems to be a constant hindrance to these doings, essentially keeping them in check and preventing limitless power. Fear works like disease, seemingly harmless at first until it consumes a body, preventing activity and happiness from the sick person. In most cases and given a severe enough sickness, the afflicted is not able to get better without outside intervention through medical aid from a hospital or doctor. Such is the same for fear, where it can grow to be unbeatable, consuming an entire person. Fear plays a large part as an oppressive and consistent force, shown in Alan Paton’s Cry, The Beloved Country, which can entirely
Fear is the fundamental basis for racial thought. ‘’Racism consists of ideologies and practices that seek to justify or cause the unequal distribution of privileges or rights among different racial groups.’’(www.soundvison.com). This fundamental flaw of fear in human nature has manifested itself in a historical context, in local and global connections with environmental consequences and could have disastrous ramifications for human kind without transformation.
Alan Paton who was a South African author and anti-apartheid activist wrote the novel Cry, the Beloved Country, The novel publication in 1948 was just before South Africa institutionalized racial segregation under Apartheid. Paton addresses the destruction of the tribal system in South Africa due to white colonization by using the novel as a medium to illustrate is damage. Throughout the novel we are exposed to the numerous problems resulting from the colonization. Communities are in collapse, the land is bare, people are starving, and families are broken. These fictional communities and people are based on the real problem Paton saw in South Africa. The concern of “native crime” by the whites is a result of changes in the social conditions. This change is the cause of the destruction of the tribal structure and the break from the traditional way of life. Colonization changes have lead to the problem of blacks leaving their communities to become a part of the whites’. The tribal system is destroyed by the lost of people to a white would, deterioration of morals and the lack of community.
Cry, the Beloved Country is such a controversial novel that people tend to forget the true meaning and message being presented. Paton’s aim in writing the novel was to present and create awareness of the ongoing conflict within South Africa through his unbiased and objective view. The importance of the story lies within the title, which sheds light on South Africa’s slowly crumbling society and land, for it is the citizens and the land itself which are “crying” for their beloved country as it collapses under the pressures of racism, broken tribes and native exploitation.
In Cry, the beloved country, Alan Paton tells the story of his journey across Africa, his experiences with the colonized Africa, and the destruction of the beautiful, pre-colonialism native land of Africa. Heart of Darkness also tells the story of a man and his experiences with colonialism, but a man who comes from a different time period and a very different background than Alan Paton’s Stephen Kumalo. Although, both Joseph Conrad and Alan Paton portray the colonized areas as very negative, death filled, and sinful places, it is when one analyzes the descriptions of the native lands of Africa that the authors reasons for their disapproval of colonialism are truly revealed. When comparing the writing styles of Alan Paton and Joseph Conrad, their descriptions of the land and the people in both works reveal their different attitudes and views towards colonialism. While Paton and Conrad ultimately oppose colonialism, Paton is concerned with the disappearance of African tribal tradition, whereas Conrad is concerned with the perceived corruption of the white colonists.
The first event occurs when Kumalo arrives in Johannesburg. afraid of the stories that he has heard, he puts his trust in another black. man who appears to be of good intentions, but in reality cheats Kumalo of his. money. I will be able to make it. This experience is unlike his time on the train, in which Kumalo had been treated with immense respect.
The consistent pattern of metrical stresses in this stanza, along with the orderly rhyme scheme, and standard verse structure, reflect the mood of serenity, of humankind in harmony with Nature. It is a fine, hot day, `clear as fire', when the speaker comes to drink at the creek. Birdsong punctuates the still air, like the tinkling of broken glass. However, the term `frail' also suggests vulnerability in the presence of danger, and there are other intimations in this stanza of the drama that is about to unfold. Slithery sibilants, as in the words `glass', `grass' and `moss', hint at the existence of a Serpent in the Garden of Eden. As in a Greek tragedy, the intensity of expression in the poem invokes a proleptic tenseness, as yet unexplained.
On the most superficial level, the verbal fragments in The Waste Land emphasize the fragmented condition of the world the poem describes. Partly because it was written in the aftermath of World War I, at a time when Europeans’ sense of security as well as the land itself was in shambles, the poem conveys a sense of disillusionment, confusion, and even despair. The poem’s disjointed structure expresses these emotions better than the rigidity and clarity of more orthodox writing. This is evinced by the following from the section "The Burial of the Dead":
The novel Tsotsi, by Athol Fugard, is a story of redemption and reconciliation, facing the past, and confronts the core elements of human nature. The character going through this journey, who the novel is named after, is a young man who is part of the lowest level of society in a poor shanty town in South Africa. Tsotsi is a thug, someone who kills for money and suffers no remorse. But he starts changing when circumstance finds him in possession of a baby, which acts as a catalyst in his life. A chain of events leads him to regain memories of his childhood and discover why he is the way he is. The novel sets parameters of being “human” and brings these to the consideration of the reader. The reader’s limits of redemption are challenged as Tsotsi comes from a life lacking what the novel suggests are base human emotions.
Bibliography w/4 sources Cry , the Beloved Country by Alan Paton is a perfect example of post-colonial literature. South Africa is a colonized country, which is, in many ways, still living under oppression. Though no longer living under apartheid, the indigenous Africans are treated as a minority, as they were when Paton wrote the book. This novel provides the political view of the author in both subtle and evident ways. Looking at the skeleton of the novel, it is extremely evident that relationship of the colonized vs. colonizers, in this case the blacks vs. the whites, rules the plot. Every character’s race is provided and has association with his/her place in life. A black man kills a white man, therefore that black man must die. A black umfundisi lives in a valley of desolation, while a white farmer dwells above on a rich plot of land. White men are even taken to court for the simple gesture of giving a black man a ride. This is not a subtle point, the reader is immediately stricken by the diversities in the lives of the South Africans.