A Comparison of Country and City Life in Alan Paton's Cry the Beloved Country

The setting of the novel is Harlem, a neighborhood largely populated by african- americans. Specifically we can say that it takes place on 145th Street, right outside Big Joe’s house which seems to the characters primary hangout place. We know this because when questioned about how long they’ve been there one of them says “Two hours, maybe three” which could also imply that they don´t have a job nor a family to care for. The neighborhood the story takes place in seems like a place where crime isn’t unusual.The setting in which the story is told

He seeks to imply that judgement of a person should be based more on the content

Chapter 1, “Intimate Apartheid”, introduces one to the group of homeless people living on Edgewater Blvd. It dives into the racialized micro-geography of homeless encampments and how segregation plays a key role within the lumpen. However, the authors do reveal moments where the racial hierarchy is trumped by the “moral economy” of street life.

“Being Country” by Bobby Anne Mason is a recollection of childhood memories that are told by a young girl who wants something more out of her life. Throughout her story she mentions how she does not want to stay living the way her family does. She disagrees with the way her mother and grandmother have lived considering she hated depending on life of farming. She repeatedly expressed how much she thought her life at home was plain in comparison to the ways of the town people. Bobby was often immersed by the way she thought the people in town would live; how even the food and writing in the stores were fancy and tastier than the food from home. This essay reminded me of how society infers affairs of people they do not

Stick to the basic script, right? Or maybe, instead of sticking to it, veering off the main script is able to strengthen the piece of writing as a whole. It can breathe fresh air into a work and give it that extra boost that satisfies every writer’s goal of leaving an impact on their reader. Cry, the Beloved Country does this through its intercalary chapters by giving Paton a chance to try out different writing conventions not seen in the rest of the book, setting a space for Paton to really go full throttle in writing directly about an issue or idea, and building a deeper relationship between the reader and setting of the novel. From the outside, this book can look incredibly simple, and in some ways it is – a short novel with simple language and a simple message about the pitfalls of discrimination. But take a moment to look under the surface, and things like the intercalary chapters begin to jump out. There is something more there to this book, and there is meaning buried throughout. The intercalary sections only help to strengthen that meaning, a meaning that would be much more diluted without them. For while Paton preaches all these great things throughout the novel, what greatness would they really hold, if not for the meaning behind them? In the end, it is the meaning that breathes them life, and it is the whole book, intercalary and main plot combined, that make it

| Relevant Biographical Information About the Author: * White * Born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa in 1903 * Father was Scottish and mother was South African of English heritage * Worked at a reformatory with black youths

“She came here to look for her husband who was recruited for the mines… She lives in Claremont, not far from here. It is one of the worst places in Johannesburg… … that is her work, she makes and sells it… These women sleep with any man for their price… She has been in prison, more than once.” (53)

The classic production of Our Town written by Thornton Wilder was performed by the students of South Milwaukee High School at their own Performing Arts Center. Overall the performance was good, but there were times where the performance went in and out of spouts of boredom. I personally felt the story was really intrequing and thought provoking which made it all more dissapointing when I felt I was being left behind by the acting effort and technical aspect. The production was bursting with a lot of tapped talent, but lacked untapped potential. In general it was a nice time seeing it and enjoying the story with the cast.

Cry, The Beloved Country is the first movie about racial relations in South Africa I personally have seen which trusts the viewer’s intelligence enough not to set up one or more characters as a straw man to represent everything evil about apartheid. Technically, the time period of the movie predates the formal institutionalization of apartheid, but I still think the point’s valid. Based on Alan Paton’s 1946 novel, this film gives us a loving but painful look at a society headed toward increasing division and violence. James Earl Jones and Richard Harris give great performances as fathers who are tested by the unhappy fates of their respective sons. When these two have their first major scene together, we can’t help but feel compassion over the emotion involved. And later, when they eye each other while taking refuge from a storm in a leaky church, they become an picture for two different and wary tribes sharing a common home. The meat of Cry, the Beloved Country concerns how events in the wake of the shooting transform the lives of Stephen Kumalo and James Jarvis. Each is forced to abandon their

The time of the 1940’s in South Africa was defined by racial oppression of the native inhabitants of the country by the Dutch Boers, also known as the Afrikaners. These people were the demographic minority yet also the political majority. They executed almost complete control over the lives of the natives through asinine rules and harsh punishments. The highly esteemed novel Cry, the Beloved Country tells a story of Stephen Kumalo, a black priest dealing with the struggles of living in the South Africa during this time. His son killed a white man and on the day his son is to be hanged for this crime, Kumalo climbs a mountain in order to reflect on the current situation both in his family and in his country. In chapter 36 of Cry, the

"I will make darkness light before them and crooked things straight. These things I will do unto them and not forsake them” Isaiah 42:16. God promises to be there for His people as long as one believes in Him. The Kumalo family lives in a poor colored city in South Africa where they are constantly surrounded by the brokenness of the world. Knowing God will not forsake them helps one with building a strong connection with him. It is through this faith that Stephen, a priest, and devoted father, is able to find hope in the dark world he faces. Throughout the book Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton the flawed main character, Stephen Kumalo is able to go through the redemption cycle because of his relationship with God.

Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton, is the timeless novel about South Africa in the 1940’s. As powerful white men use the land for their own benefit, the tribal system of the African natives is broken down and replaced by poverty, homelessness, fear, and violence. A black priest, Stephen Kumalo, ventures to the great city of Johannesburg in search of his lost sister and son. His journey demonstrates the unhealthy lifestyle and mutinous atmosphere of the black people; yet he is the beholder of forgiveness, love, hope, and the restoration of a country overwhelmed with problems.

The purpose of their education was to train them to be Black labourers or servants as it was considered all they were good for. In addition, whole communities were transported by the police to new areas far away from their old homes, which were often bulldozed to the ground. One of these communities were Sophiatown, and here is a inhabitant describing what it was that happened: "We had to take everything and throw it outside.

Next, I’d like to discuss the ways in which the conditions of “Living, Loving, and Lying Awake at Night,” and the roles that were plagued amongst the women in South Africa and how forced migrations affected their situations. Due to the Apartheid era, and men's non existence in their families life because of forced migration, women began to feel as though they could only do for themselves causing for their acceptance without man's presence. In an early reference to the chapter, leaving, the author shows the ways that apartheid affected the women. For instance, “As year went from the woman had come to

          The city I propose as a perfect city, would be as close to an ecocity as possible, although have some differences. For example, for electrical needs, I would suggest the city have a solar power plant, but on those desperate times, energy would be bought from other electrical plants from nearby towns or states.