One's morals are can be broken like bones, where damage to, if not dealt with correctly, can lead to affliction and adversity. In Cry, the Beloved Country, Msimangu says, “The tragedy is not that things are broken. The tragedy is that things are not mended again,” alludes to that belief of morals (56). Alan Paton discusses that and how economic, racial, and social injustices lead to the corruption of someone’s morals, which was common in South Africa during the 1940’s. In order to connect with the reader about the problems dealing with morality, Paton utilizes the literary techniques of imagery, juxtaposition, and allusion to elicit sympathy.
As a novel dedicated to their struggling country, Paton employs the use of imagery to connect with
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Consequently, they are put to the test. In other words, people like James Jarvis, Absalom, and Gertrude Kumalo have juxtaposed decisions to be made, ones that can greatly affect theirs and others well-being. Situations arose with their family where a trip to Johannesburg had to be made since at that time and place, “All roads lead to Johannesburg,” ( 83). However, as they went to the city, Absalom and Gertrude Kumalo were negatively affected and had their morals altered in order to adapt to the very different environment of the city. Once finding out firsthand what happened to them, it sparks sympathy and hope that they can change. Although it was too late for Absalom, it wasn’t for Gertrude. She is faced with a decision that can greatly change her and her son’s lives for the better. Gertrude chooses the right decision, giving the reader hope to hold onto that she can mend herself, but later proves how the town corrupted her and will forever negatively influence her. Then with James Jarvis, father of the man murdered by Absalom, he has a choice to make, between that of revenge and that of being influenced by what his son’s interests were to make something good come out of it. Between the two, Jarvis luckily chooses the better one, with the actions from it resulting in donating to and helping out the town of Ndotsheni and its population to survive the …show more content…
Those biblical allusions are found in the characters’ names. The most notable ones are Stephen, Absalom, and Peter. The man Stephen Kumalo’s name is a reference to St. Stephen. Like Kumalo, he is a religious leader, whom his people count on. As a result, they are the ones that suffer to lessen the effects on those looking up to and depending on him. In the bible, St. Stephen says,“I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God,” which could very much be a saying Stephen Kumalo would say himself to his son as he is going through the moral effects of killing a man during a time of financial need(Acts 7:56). Absalom, much like the Absalom in the bible, had went against not only his father, but religion. He abandoned it, and by the time it was too late, decided to repent. Absalom wanting to name his son Peter can be taken as an act of contrition, as the Peter in the bible started as a sinful man, until given the opportunity by Jesus, he eventually follows him and his beliefs. Stephen, although through an awful situation, transformed his son from the criminal he turned into, back to the son he knew. He knew he had done that when he “took his son’s hands, and they were not lifeless any more, but clung to his, seeking some comfort, some assurance,”
The Bible, for many centuries, has impacted society, culture, and religion in innumerable ways. Included in the Bible’s impact, is fictional literature (Erickson, 2015). Biblical allusion, defined as an ancillary reference to Scripture ("Definition," 2015), can be a useful tool for fiction writers to draw the attention of the reader to certain biblical truths. Mixed in with the writer’s style and language, biblical allusion, assists in building plot lines, themes, and influence over the reader’s beliefs (Erickson, 2015). Nevertheless, the real magic of biblical allusion lies within the author’s creative genius and ability to infuse biblical themes, metaphors, images, and characters in with the story to allow the audience to reach certain
An individual's morals are rooted in their personal views which may be contradictory to the principles manifested by society. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, characters living on Himmel Street who neglect Nazi ideology experience love for each other and humanity, thereby living a contented life in harsh conditions. The different types of love which individuals on Himmel Street encounter from refusing to obey societal ideologies and expectations is formed by supporting those in need and developing relationships with those that society has degraded.
When there is any amount of accepted cruelty being enacted upon a people, change and development occurs immediately so that balance is restored or created. In the novel, the society had conformed to rules and beliefs regarding the value of an individual, “You did what you had to do [and you succeeded]” (Bradbury 145). The people had been forced to act and live in a way that is seen as cruel to us, but normal to them. However, the found order and internal stability of the novel’s setting is admirable to society today in the here and now. Certain examples of changing an entire civilization’s culture regarding the treatment of others in the real-world are able to glorify the statements proclaimed in Fahrenheit 451. In South Africa, there had been a primarily segregative ruling system, entitled Apartheid for the majority of its recent history. However, it was immediately changed and altered once the people of the nation began to experience and realize the identified cruelty that had been placed upon the indigenous South Africans. Immediate change and reorganization of South African society and government occurred. One can presume that change and development, of any society and culture, can be linked to the cruelty, pain, and suffering that is wanted to be stopped or changed. Yet, when there is a different idea of what is wanted, and what is considered to be cruel, a unique reality and set of situations occur, as presented in Ray Bradbury’s
Their sons, Absalom Kumalo and Arthur Jarvis's both leave their parents and set out to live in Johannesburg. However, both fathers are upset
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 1930’s and 1940’s South Africa, many people suffered through traumatic events, whether it be a robbery, a loss of livelihood, a beating, or the ultimate tragedy, the loss of a loved one. In his novel Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton makes sure that this is not left out of his true-to-life, albeit fictional, account of life in South Africa. James Jarvis is the recipient of this tragedy in the novel. His son, Arthur Jarvis, is murdered in his home by Absalom Kumalo during a botched robbery attempt. This sudden loss breaks Jarvis’ heart and sends him reeling. He goes to Johannesburg for the trial and ends up realizing that he really didn’t know his son at all. Reading his son’s writings causes him to have a moral conversion, and he begins his new life when he returns to Ndotsheni. Even though James Jarvis is a man of few words, he has much to say after his son’s death and he speaks through his actions.
The partied society in place when Paton wrote Cry the Beloved Country was one of extreme racial inequality and injustice. Paton wrote the first book of his story as a protest to this injustice. This book begins with the description of Ndotsheni and the land that surrounds it.
The most obvious Biblical references of this film are that of the five main characters; Neo, Morpheus, Trinity, Cypher and Agent Smith. These characters are intended to represent the roles of Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene, Judas Iscariot and Pontius Pilate respectively. All of these biblical characters had major roles in the biblical story of Jesus’ sacrifice for humanity. The Wachowski brothers have done excel...
In order to live their “perfect” lives, the citizens of Omelas must accept the suffering of the child. Making the right ethical decision is difficult, but necessary to end the injustice of the society. Failing to overcome the ethical issues in the city of Omelas is displayed through three different characters in the story. There are those who choose to ignore the situation, those who observe the child in misery, and those who feel that they must walk away. In the story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” characters fail to overcome the ethical issues in their society, and the reader is taught the importance of moral responsibility and the implications of the difficult task of making the right ethical decision.
Nour Ellisy 3/11/14 English 10H Ms.Metrakos Annotated Bibliography Entries. Annotated Bibliography Entry Source #1 Nelson Mandela taught us that the humanity all of us share can help us transcend the sins some of us commit. There is no better example of the transformative power of tolerance and reconciliation than Nelson Mandela and his inspiring work in overthrowing the apartheid government in South Africa. He understood the power of words to change minds and the power of peaceful deeds to open hearts. His life reminds us that justice and tolerance can overcome even the greatest cruelty.
...ificed for all the sins of mankind. Feeling ashamed and sad, he questions his own faith by saying that his son was too young to have scaped world s and flesh s rage (Lines8, 9). Finally, he uses a tender word like peace to signal that he has accepted his son s death, forgiven himself and God, and realizes that everything will be all right.
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.
J.M. Coetzee, a white South African writer, was strongly influenced by his personal experiences while he witnessed the social barriers during the apartheid. As the novel begins, Coetzee describes the sexual relationship between the protagonist David Lurie and Soraya, a prostitute that David routinely indulged in every Thursday. “For a man of his age, fifty- two, divorced, he has, to his mind, solved the problem of sex rather well” (Coetzee 1). In his mind, however, he did not put into perspective the thoughts of Soraya. He satisfied his desires at the expense of another’s emotional wellbeing. Despite Soraya’s acceptance of prostitution, her reaction towar...
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.