In South Africa there have been many injustices in the past years but the real tragedy is that people realize that these problems are there but has not tried to eliminate them. In Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton the tribe has been broken through the actions of mass amounts of people but when it comes to making the future better only a few individuals step up to the plate.
In all parts of South Africa people carry out there daily lives without faith, custom, or purpose. When Kumalo says “Cry the beloved country these things are not yet to an end” (105) he expresses his cry for the broken tribe, the law, and the traditions that are gone. The tribe has been ripped apart for so long that you need to weep, weep for the men that has dies and for how the women and children behave.
At the beginning of the novel Stephen had received a letter urging him to come to Johannesburg because his sister, Gertude was sick. Gertude had previously left Ndotsheni to find a husband but ended up becoming consumed by the lifestyle of Johannesburg. When arriving to Johannesburg, Stephen realized that Gertude wasn’t physically sick but morally corrupt. She sells liquor, lives with prostitutes, and has a child with no husband. Kumalo tries to help Gertude by letting her come back to Ndotsheni to live with him and his wife, even going as far as buying new clothes for her and her son representing a new start. While living with Mrs. Lithebe, Gertude confides in her by voicing her doubts and says that she’s a weak woman. Even with all the help Gertude slips back into her old ways leaving in the middle of the night but her son and “The red dress and the white turban was still there”(205).
As the tribe continues to stay broken, crime and racial tension ...
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... come back with James to Ndotsheni and gets Zulu lessons from Kumalo. In Africa there is a language barrier in which the whites can’t read Zulu and with the boys interest in Zulu shows hope for the future tribe. After a few lessons the boy tells Kumalo that he would be leaving in which he tells the boy “Something bright will go out of Ndotsheni” (283). The boy’s willingness to educate himself shows the hope for a better future.
Cry, the Beloved Country shows the broken down trotted tribe that rises to come together. During the transition, the weak mind would be left and not make it to the finish line such as Gertude and Absalom but others would. Men were afraid of each other, of salvation, but when the brains, the voice, and the heart come together in South Africa then the tribe can be mended. The book ends with a sunrise representing a new start to a new attitude.
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.
Cry, the Beloved Country is a moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son Absalom. They live in an Africa torn apart by racial tensions and hate. It is based on a work of love and hope, courage, and endurance, and deals with the dignity of man. The author lived and died (1992) in South Africa and was one of the greatest writers of that country. His other works include Too Late the Phalarope, Ah, but Your Land Is Beautiful, and Tales from a Troubled Land.
Cry, the Beloved Country, written by one of the greatest writers of South Africa, is the compelling story of how man-made evils in the city of Johannesburg affect the lives of each member of the Kumalo family. Stephen Kumalo, an old priest, has a major problem: he lost his brother, sister and son to the city. Losing them was one thing but later he is shocked to witness what his family has become. His brother, a politician and carpenter, has left the Church, his once decent sister has now moved on to become a prostitute and an alcoholic, but what he least expected was his own son committing crimes, such as robberies, and one going horribly bad. Naturalist writer, activist, and reformer Alan Paton has done an excellent job in showing the evils of the city. Not only has he done this, but in his writing Alan Paton uses Biblical references frequently. Throughout the novel we see characters changing and becoming more of a Christ or God figure. Through this style of writing, Paton has given South Africa a new, more modern Bible in which he teaches that one must love another in order for blacks and whites to live together.
The use of Biblical allusions and references is evident in Alan Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country. Against the backdrop of South Africa's racial and cultural problems, massive enforced segregation, similarly enforced economic inequality, Alan Paton uses these references as way to preserve his faith for the struggling country. By incorporating Biblical references into his novel, one can see that Alan Paton is a religious man and feels that faith will give hope to his beloved country. Throughout the entire novel, Alan Paton continuously uses references to the bible and while some are not very apparent, most of them are considerable evident. Four apparent references that he uses are seen in Stephen Kumalo's character, Absalom's decisions to name his unborn child Peter, Stephen Kumalo questioning the ways of God, and Stephen finding his son.
When Stephen goes to Johannesburg he has a childlike fear for "the great city" Johannesburg. Khumalo's fears of his family are exactly the same as every other black person in South Africa. In the train he is afraid of living in a world not made for him. He opens his bible and starts reading it, this is one of Khumalo's great sources of alleviation. Gertrude is frightened that her life will now be exposed to her brother who is a priest. She is redeemed from this fear when she prays with Stephen. Stephen experiences great pain and fear during his search for Absalom, Msimangu comforts him, he gains comfort when plays with Gertrude's son, when he thinks of Ndotsheni, his wife and of rebuilding his home it consoles him.
Would you believe that a theme in a book could relate to every single person in some way? The book Cry The Beloved Country by Alan Patton can be relatable to today’s society in numerous ways. The themes of the book can relate to people in other situations. One theme that relates to people in today’s society, is inequality. On page 1 with the prompt and document examples, there are different pieces of evidence to back this claim up. The theme inequality in Cry The Beloved Country shows universality and its relation to the world through quotes from the novel and its relation to documents B, D, and E.
Stephen has a brother, sister, and son that left him years ago, none of which writes to him. Yet, he still misses them and hopes for their return. One day, he receives a letter with news about his sister, Gertrude. After discussing the news with his wife, he leaves for Johannesburg at once to find his long gone sister. Stephen and his wife sacrifice their savings for Stephen to make the anxious trip. While in Johannesburg, he finds Gertrude, John, and eventually his only son, Absalom. With no bitterness, he resolves to bring them all back with him but in the end, none comes with him. However, he gained a nephew, the son of Gertrude, a daughter-in-law, Absalom’s newly wedded wife, and an unborn grandchild.
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
The society of the small urban town called Ndotsheni, from which both Stephan and Author come, is based largely on the native African tribal system. This town also suffers from a drought that drives away the young men to work in the mines of Johannesburg. Johannesburg directly contradicts Ndotsheni with no tribal system and the brake down of the moral fibers of its people. Yet in Johannesburg there is also hope for the future and ideas that help lead to the restoration of Ndotsheni. During the time the story is set in Johannesburg the reader is introduced to two exceptionally different characters. The first is John Kumalo, the brother of Stephen Kumalo. He is a corrupt politician with the voice of a “lion,” but a week hart, who spoke about the injustices of the whites to the blacks and their need to revolt. The other an enlightened priest, Msimangu, who prayed for loving and restoration through coming to amends. Their influences help to shape Kumalo into a new person. Furthermore, throughout his story Paton stresses the idea of irresponsibility contradicted by individual responsibility. Eventually the idea of unified responsibility is shown to be the only manor by which South Africa can be saved.
One great paradox of human life is the balance between security and independence. Many people would say that they are self-sustaining, that they can make it on their own. The question is not always whether or not they can make it, but what the cost of their security is. Some value their personal freedom more than their security, for others it is the opposite. In “Cry, the Beloved Country” characters often wrestle with this issue. Every character responds uniquely according to their situation. The results are meaningful and give information about who they really are and what they value.
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.
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.
Many debates have been sparked by Alan Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country. Even the essence of the book's title examines South Africa and declares the presence of the inner conflict of its citizens. The importance and meaning of the title of Cry, the Beloved Country is visible in Paton's efforts to link the reader to forthcoming ideas in the novel, Paton's description of South Africa's problems, and Paton's prayer for the solution of South Africa's difficulties with race and racial oppression.
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.
South Africa is a nation with a wonderful and varied culture. This country has been called “The Rainbow Nation”, a name that reflects the diversity of such amazing place. The different ethnic and cultural groups of the South Africa do, however, appreciate their own beliefs and customs. Many of these traditions, besides African culture, are influenced by European and Western heritage. The complex and diverse population of the country has made a strong impact to the various cultures. There are forty-five million people; about thirty million are black, five million white, three million coloured and one million Indians. The black population has a large number of rural people living in poverty. It is among these inhabitants that cultural customs are preserve the most.