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Allusions In Cry The Beloved Country

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Cry, the Beloved Country is a novel written by Alan Paton; the novel is filled with biblical allusions referring to II Samuel. Cry, the Beloved Country was first published in 1948 and stands as the single most important novel in twentieth-century South African literature. Cry, the Beloved Country; a work of blazing artistry, is the intensely moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son Absalom, and how they were set against the background of a land and a people divided by racial injustice. Cry, the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope, courage and endurance, born of the dignity of man. The author, Alan Paton parallels II Samuel and Cry, the Beloved Country which heightens the understanding of the novel. In the paralleled biblical story Absalom is described as handsome, therefore not a single blemish appears on his skin; he wears his hair short and altogether it weighs more than two pounds. Tamar, who is the parallel of Gertrude is described as very attractive and she wears a long-sleeved gown; as often worn by virgin princesses. “Now Absalom, David’s son, had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar.” ( 2 Samuel 13 N.P.) Nevertheless, their attractiveness does not impede their crimes.
In the novel Absalom’s crimes consist of choosing crime …show more content…

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

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