Although set in South Africa, Cry the Beloved Country has themes that have permanent and universal interests. These are themes of crime and punishment, the human cost of power and wealth, and division and reconciliation. The underlying cause of crime in Johannesburg is rural-urban migration. The aborigines had small farmlands which are arid and dry making it difficult for them to cultivate any food crop the popular one being maize. The white farmers on the other hand, had large acres and fertile farmlands making it possible for them to grow different kinds of crops. They had farming equipments such as the tractor which the black folks lacked or haven't even seen one before. In the harsh conditions of the weather, where there is little or no rain, their state of affairs worsens. The white farmers really do not suffer since their scale of production was high; they were able to survive during unfavorable weather conditions. With this, they were able to export their produce to the outside world and also to neighboring towns and cities making them rich while the black farmers lived in adverse poverty. Hearing the trumpet sound of Johannesburg they set out from their farmlands one after the other. Like the story in Aesop's fables The Pied Piper of Hamelin where we find children following the sweet sounds of a bagpipe from the Pied Piper only to find themselves trapped in a cage. Over a long period of time the long full dangers were not seen, but fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters went to work in Johannesburg and never came back. In time, black folks tried to set up new homes and began to experience with bewilderment and shame the shocks of disobedient chi... ... middle of paper ... ...d sites of his priestly function, he had remained faithful to his calling. He never held Absalom's wrongdoing and reports against him rather, he forgave him and that's the biggest reconciliation a parent can give to a child. Rather than waiting for time or governments to bring about change, each of these characters set about whatever good is within his power; for each has come to recognize how individual fear and indifference infects society with moral paralysis, and each also realizes that the antidote to moral paralysis is individual courage and the willingness to go forward in faith. They do not wait for some miraculous healing of this paralysis to be brought about by the direct intervention of God, or through the implementation of some theoretical scheme for a final solution, or through the flowering of some political manifesto.
courage as manifested in ways others act; and (4) respect for individuality of the human
...19, 146-148). Houses that African Americans moved into were bombed some of the time, so moving into the white neighborhoods was a tough decision to make (Hirsch).
the Cherokee Nation. While men hunt for meat the women cultivated the crop especially corn.
...s. These lands were “usually in less desirable locations and discouraged any successful transition to agriculture”.24
This time in the post World War II era, many African Americans had began to become a more urbanized center of population, around 1970. (Inmotionaame, pg. 1) The regular population included about 70 percent of just the natural population to live in more urbanized cities. (Inmotionaame, pg. 1) Soon African Americans dominated, having 80 percent of their community to live and take the same benefits in more urbanized centers of the Unites States. (Inmotionaame, pg. 2) Only about 53 percent of African Americans and others who seemed to migrate stayed in the same area around the South. (Inmotionaame, pg. 2)
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.
The last major deterrent of the Negro community from a successful societal presence in America is the sad state of segregated housing. About fifty percent of Negro Americans are in the middle class, however many members of that middle class are living right in the ghettos next to the Negro Americans who are in a perpetual state of deterioration. The reason for this confinement is because white families did not accept Negro families living next to them, across them, or even in the same vicinity as them. Negro housing communities are miles away from white communities and were undersized compared to white communities, so even when middle class Negro Americans have the means to leave certain Negro communities, they do not have the power, the are stuck between a white community and a hard place.
Racism Exposed in Cry, the Beloved Country. The purpose of Cry, the Beloved Country, is to awaken the population of South Africa to the racism that is slowly disintegrating the society and its people. The. Alan Paton designs his work to express his views on the injustices and racial hatred that plagues South Africa, in an attempt to bring about change and.
Rice was another cash crop that required a substantial investment in land, labor, and equipment. It was among the most intensive and extensive crops developed in colonial North America. Its cultivation helped shape the development of societies in South...
After the American Civil War ended in 1865 more jobs and education became available for black. The blacks had finally created a middle class in America. Those blacks were expecting to be treated and have the same life as white Americans. In 1896 equal rights for all races came to a halt when the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court ruled racial segregations acceptable. Separate, but ‘equal’ was their motto. African-Americans in the south were met with harsh conditions for whites as labor needed was reduced. Because of this, more blacks started moving to the north because it was considered less vicious. The north allowed all adult men voting rights and provided better education for African-Americans. More jobs became available thanks to World War 1 and the industrial revolution. This became known as the Great Migration and brought more than seven million African-Americans to the North. What was housing like in Harlem? Housing in Harlem was originally intended for white workers to commute to the city, but developers built houses faster than enough transportation causing middle-class white people to leave. White landlords sold their properties to black estate agents like Philip A Payton and Henry C Parker. Development of midtown cause many blacks to move to Harlem; by 1920 the amount of blacks had doubled. When subways and roadways came to Harlem, most of the country’s best black artist, ...
In Alan Paton's novel Cry, the Beloved Country two characters, Absalom's girl and Gertrude, show the how society in Johannesburg is as a whole. Absalom's girl symbolizes how girls her age are mothers and have even become divorced several times before. On the other hand Gertrude, Kumalo's sister, illustrates the qualities of a young woman who becomes corrupt from Johannesburg's filthy system of stealing, lying, and prostitution. Both of them show the ways of Johannesburg as a whole.
Hope is the strong feeling of desire for something good to happen. Hope is a driving force in the progression of life. The idea of hope is powerful because it can lead to patience, courage, and happiness. Hope is an important concept in Cry, the Beloved Country. Hope is what the main character Stephen Kumalo must use to keep fighting for his beliefs, for his son, and for his tribe. The power of hope is one of the only things that people had to overcome apartheid in South Africa. If hope were not present, Stephen Kumalo may have gave up on restoring himself, his son, and his tribe. Hope is the concept that helps Stephen Kumalo and other characters develop during the span of the novel. Hope is found in the characters, the tribe, and the land.
...in their hunting lands in the condition their prey species preferred, they are also thought to be possibly, at least partially, responsible for the spread of dry eucalypt forests after their arrival, because this type of vegetation is fire-resistant.” The use of this type of farming not only helped the Aborigine survive for tens of thousands of years but, it was also a key method in changing the Australian landscape and agricultural practices of the entire world. While the Aborigines can be praised for their sustainable practices and deep spirituality, this is not always the treatment they receive. Over the past century, the aborigines have been met with much criticism and racism from the developing and modern world.
Every society has segregations: segregations according to race, according to wealth, according to level of education, and others. Alan Paton in Cry, The Beloved Country uses tone to highlight the racial segregation in South Africa. Racial segregation leads to social inequality.
Agriculture is quite possibly the most important advancement and discovery that humanity has made. It produces the one thing that we need the most: food. It has been around since 9500 BC, and can be the oldest sign of mankind’s acumen and the development and evolving of our minds and creations. Agriculture has been mastered throughout hundreds of years and is one of our most important resources on Earth, along with water and fossil fuels. Although the older farming methods from ancient times seem somewhat mediocre and barbaric, they were very ingenious and advanced for that time period. Over thousands of years, we have improved the way agriculture is used, how land is cultivated, the various techniques of farming and irrigation, and the tools and mechanics used. Numerous things that we see as aboriginal today, such as using a hand plow, were extremely contemporary in ancient times, and played key roles in the development of man and society, since quick labor was not abundant before this time. We are now extremely advanced in agriculture and irrigation and the tools used to farm and grow and harvest crops. We have learned from our past and ancestors how to grow and evolve in our methods and have advanced forward greatly.