Theme Of Language In Cry The Beloved Country And Ways Of Dying

Throughout both Cry, The Beloved Country and Ways of Dying there are different uses of language to describe the landscape. While these works are set in separate time periods, the language used is similar and is not only due to the ideologies of South Africa but also due to the background of the authors. The language used to describe the landscape explains the differences in the way the tribal village’s lives compared to the city’s lives, as in Cry, The Beloved Country and Ways of Dying.

Part Eighteen, Environment, of The Post-Colonial Studies Reader frames this discussion. In Val Plumwood’s chapter, “Decolonizing Relationships with Nature,” it is argued that the sphere of “nature” includes “what are thought of as less ideal or more primitive

The home of Jarvis is described as there being “no sign of drought there, for the grass was fed by the mists, and the breeze blew coolingly on his sweating face” (Paton, 162). However, Paton doesn 't write much concerning the lifestyle of the white community. He writes that Arthur Jarvis ' office contained many books, which can be construed as a sign of wealth compared to the black community. The books imply that Arthur was not only literate but also that he had time to read the books he owned. Through what is known of Apartheid South Africa, it can be understood that Paton wrote the book to bring to light issues concerning blacks in South Africa, rather than the whites. Readers can assume that the whites were better off than the blacks due to their privilege. Ways of Dying was written in 1995 and is set in South Africa during the time when two movements against Apartheid were created and “killed.” Zakes Mda, the author, is a black South African who was born the same year Cry, The Beloved Country was published. The novel contains a narrative about Toloki and Noria, two black South Africans who lived in tribal villages and moved to the city during different times in their lives. Noria contributes a perspective to the novel that includes life in the squatter settlement and the movements against