Cry, the Beloved Country, written by Alan Patton, 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 of Ndotsheni, finds himself distraught over his distant relationships with his sister, brother and son. To fix this, he travels to Johannesburg in hopes to restore the connection he has between his family. However he is shocked to witness the evils in which they have all partaken in. His brother, a politician and carpenter, has left the Church; and his once decent sister has become a prostitute and an alcoholic. However this is the least to his worries for he learns of his son, a once honest and decent man, is involved in the murder …show more content…
John Kumalo’s approach to bring racial equality back to the people of South Africa was to balance the economic equality between the blacks and the whites. During this time, many of the black people worked the rigorous mines of South Africa by constantly digging for gold. It was Kumalo’s idea to “get a share in it. For it is the gold of the whole people, the white and the black and the colored and the Indian” (218). This was his approach to the solution of racial injustice; he wanted his people to receive the same wage of the whites so that they could be considered equal men to each other. However Msimangu did not approach the problem of racial inequality in terms of economics like Kumalo. Rather, he approached racial equality through the spiritual sense of seeing a human being as another equal human being. He believed in cooperation between the whites and the blacks so that either of them would care for each other in a time of need. This was made clear through Stephan Kumalo when he was interpreting the meaning behind Msimangu’s speak. “For while I wonder what we live and struggle and die, for while I wonder what keeps us living an struggling, men are sent to minister to the blind, white men are ministering to the black blind” (123). Both the white and blacks must minister to each other and to care for each …show more content…
Kumalo wanted to achieve economic equality for the blacks; however he also did this to achieve power for himself as well. “The industry is powerless without our labour. Let us cease to work and this industry will die. And I say it is better to cease to work than to work for such wages”(219) By not working, Kumalo wants to start a revolt against the government in hopes to retain power in the form of dictatorship. However Patton makes it clear that this type of belief would not succeed because of the immediate result from the revolt. “The police were called in to drive the black miners into the mine. There was fighting and three of the black miners were killed. But all is quiet they report all is quiet” (223) The revolt was quickly taken care of, implying the fact that this type of solution would not be
The plot of Cry, the Beloved Country is relatively simple to understand. Stephen Kumalo gets a letter saying his sister is sick, she’s spiritually sick, he travels to Johannesburg, finds Gertrude who is a prostitute and bootlegging. Then he searches for his son; soon he finds out his son got a girl pregnant and killed someone. Stephen’s son is tried and sentenced to death by hanging. In the end the family of the boy killed and Stephen's family hold no ill will towards each other. On occasion the plot allows readers to make inferences to their own lives or to the lives of people they
There is a line of thinking out there that would lead a person to believe that everything is always as it appears – everything is on a nice straight plane. Look at the surface of the ocean, and all that needs to be seen is seen. This admittedly shallow line of thinking can lead to multitudes of problems, especially in the case of this class when looking at something like literature. That especially rings true when observing a novel like Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Parton, where a deeper meaning seethes out of every word in what originally looks to be a straightforward tale. This is particularly true in the all-important intercalary chapters of the book, as they provide a break from the main plot and an aside into something different
Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther was an astounding book. Granted, it was a bit depressing, but it was a great book because I could relate so closely to the author. The trial of a loved one going through cancer is something I can relate to. Fortunately, my story turns out a little bit better than Johnny’s did.
The most effective and influential thing an author can do while writing about war, is in some way channeling the reader's emotions. By doing this, it should interest the reader further because it will make them feel more affiliated with the text. In pieces of writing about war that we have read this year, all of the different authors use different methods in their writing. The three most compelling examples out of all the pieces of literature that we have covered this year would be, a quote out of All Quiet on the Western Front, Fallen Angels, and “Why am I Opposed to the War in Vietnam” a speech by Martin Luther King Jr. These all channel the reader's emotions very effectively.
The diversity between Americans has always been evident, and not just by the skin tone or religion, but also by their backgrounds, as well as how their lives are like today. Especially in African Americans and those who wanted to change the ways of religion, and the prejudice against them continues to stick, even today.
Has America ever been great, of the 239 years this influential country has been a country has it ever been truly great and free? As Langston Hughes exclaimed, "America never was America to me”. Learned Hand and Langston Hughes had differences on their thought on the topic of Liberty and whether America is great. Hughes and Hands opinion of Liberty has changed the way the common man reacts to racism and the way we perceive America's greatness.
Symbols are often represented by an object but in Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People”, they hold a more superior meaning. Her use of symbols expresses the story boldly, and they make the characters who they really are. Without the use of such symbols, the story would be dull and lifeless. A writing should contain a sense of illustration, allowing the reader to connect to the words and what the author wants them to take from it. The words speak not only through the dialogue but within the descriptions used to build the story. The backbone of this selection relies on symbols such as: Hulga’s appearance, Manley Pointer’s brief case and all of the character’s names.
Around the time of the Harlem Renaissance, blacks still faced many adversities that prevented them from thriving as a people. As seen in the Reconstruction and Post-Reconstruction eras, blacks were often discriminated against and even attacked by whites all across the nation. These attacks all culminated in the infamous "Red Summer of 1919," when hundreds of African Americans were slaughtered in race riots in dozens of cities, including Chicago, Washington D.C., and Elaine, Arkansas. While many blacks were extremely fearful of this impending danger, the esteemed poet Claude McKay boldly spoke out against the cruelty shown towards his people. In his poem "If We Must Die," McKay encourages blacks and commands them to stand and fight against the misdeeds committed by whites. Instead of asking blacks to accept their fate or to uselessly flee from the threat of death, McKay dares them to stare death in the face and to fight against the power that whites try to hold over them. In his sonnet "If We Must Die," McKay uses bestial imagery, biblical allusions and first person perspectives to motivate African Americans to defy the violent tyranny of white Americans.
Kumalo finds that his family members have had to resort to crime and sinful ways in order to survive in the big city. They do this because the white people have stacked the deck against them in order to keep themselves prosperous and living comfortably. In addition to this, the white people have torn apart the blacks culture and tribal unit as they think the white beliefs would be more beneficial to them. Racism is seen throughout the novel and plays an important role in the lives of the
“What is equality?” one might ask. We all have different views on specific topics and can describe what something truly means to one’s self like in the 3 text, “I have a dream,” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr (published; 8/28/1963, genre; narrative and argumentative), “If we must die,” by Claude Mckay (published; 1919, genre; narrative and lyric), & “Harrison Bergeron,” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (published; October 1961, genre; satirical & dystopian science-fiction short story). In all 3 texts the authors are giving their touch on equality. Equality can convey being treated the same when a colored and a white man/woman are next to each other as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr says. You can also see equality as Mckay who thinks it’s being on the same level of strength and worth as a white man being in the shoes of a colored man. Or equality can be being exactly the same in every way as anyone around you in every exact way in Vonnegut’s eyes. All these 3 authors have a particular view on how to answer “What is equality?” and we can compare their ideas.
This essay will attempt to describe the modalities and consequences of the abolition of the slave trade in early nineteenth century West Africa. We now live in a world where slavery is considered not to be morale since it was abolished however cases of slavery still exist today but are hidden from the public eye so well that no one even knows the exist. Forcing someone to perform various duties like cleaning without any form of payment against their will is considered to be a form of slavery and anyone found to be having slaves or holding anyone against their will these days is punished and possibly sentenced to jail for a very long period of time. We are in the 21st century and slavery is something that is not accepted by
Perry Wilson is a Professor of Modern European history and research co-ordinator for history at the University of Dundee. She was Chair of the Association for the Study of Modern Italy from 2006-09 and is currently Vice-Convenor of Women's History Scotland. In her article, The Nation in Uniform, she explains aspects of how uniforms were used in fascist Italy. Wilson argues that uniforms were an important element in establishing Fascist rule in Italy, and thus changing the ways Italians think and behave. Wilson goes on to support her thesis with two main arguments and a counter-argument.
Power, religion, frustration, and family all are aspects of man’s relationship with man. These things bring people together and tear them apart. Throughout Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton utilizes anaphora to develop this theme of man’s relationship with man. The anaphora emphasizes these aspects and highlights their importance.
“Us Vs. Them” Two different tales can have the same journey, but end up with a different outcome. In one story, Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton, a black minister named Stephen Kumalo is sent a missive, calling him to Johannesburg because his sister has become affiliated with an illness. He is naive and a novice, as it is his first time there.
The aborigines had small farmlands which are arid and dry making it difficult for them to