Biblical Allusion in Cry, the Beloved Country Essays

Abraham Lincoln once stated that, “If you look for the bad in people and expect to find it, you surely will.” Stephen struggles with detecting the faults in other people's lives throughout the book Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. Anticipating people to embody a bad reputation could ruin his relationships with the people he meets. When Stephen, a father and Umfundisi looking for his family, visits his son’s girlfriend and his sister in the city of Johannesburg, the conditions they live in shock him and he immediately judges them because he expected to discover something bad and he did. Stephen evinces the redemption cycle through his interactions with Absalom's girlfriend and his sister Gertrude.

“He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have” (Socrates). Humans are selfish, they wish for more even when there is no more to give. This is shown in many books through parallels between texts. These parallels allow readers to become connected with the text on a deeper level. People must read in between the lines to get a clear understanding of the author's message. John Knowles, author of A Separate Peace, has woven an intelligent story which at a glance seems like the story of two boys friendship, but underneath explains the reason behind why people are ever jealous. Through the use of biblical allegories and character parallels, A Separate Peace, meticulously portrays the human impulse

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

Paton uses a well known Bible verse from Isaiah as is well fits the theme of man’s relationship with God and how man’s morals have been destroyed in Johannesburg. The narrator hopes that God will “open the blind eyes, [and] bring out the prisoners from prison”(Paton.122). He may very well be referring to literal prison, where people are held due to wrong-doings, or, this may correspond with the African Americans who do not have the rights they deserve. God has “called [Kumalo] in righteousness and will hold [his] hand”(Paton.122). Paton is trying to show that Kumalo has fear about Johannesburg, but God will be with him and will not leave his side. Regardless of which interpretation of this quote is used, both symbolize important elements of the story in order to enhance the book, and engage the readers.

It’s everywhere, on T.V, in movies, on billboards, it’s so well-known that even children are pretty familiar with it. Politicians, also, take this into consideration when disusing new polices and laws. So what is “it”, well it defiantly isn’t Stephen Kings book, even though it’s now widely well spread due to the new movie; “it” is actually the Bible. Writers tend to feature Biblical imagery quite often, though this doesn’t necessarily mean it holds a religious meaning. As well as “borrow” stories from the Bible, Thomas F. Foster goes in depth to into these matters in his book How to Read like a Professor.

Over many years names have been used as strong representations of character. Alan Paton’s Cry the Beloved Country uses names with biblical references to highlight the strong characteristics of his cast. The biblical names in this novel follow the bloodline of Stephen Kumalo. Kumalo, being Paton’s main character, adds to the emphasis of the biblical allusions.

"Keep it, guard it, care for it, for it keeps men, guards men, cares for men. Destroy it and man is destroyed" (Paton 33). In Cry, the Beloved Country, this bold statement reflects both the beauty of the land of South Africa and the peace and harmony of men. Both of their relations are solely dependent on the care that they receive and as of now, these relations are strained. Although Alan Paton never directly declares the importance of the land, the repetition of, "There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into

Theoretically, the Bible states that God is always present alongside his people. “Teach them to obey everything that I have taught you, and I will be with you always, even until the end of this age.” Matthew 28:20. In the novel, Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton, conveys a message that God’s presence is both acknowledged and ignored by the characters and a message to “love thy brother as yourself” (Matthew 19:19) through forgiveness in spite of of skin color.

Beloved Biblical Allusions to the Exodus in Beloved A community is a valuable resource that can help several types of situations and needs. However, while communities are useful, they require leaders to make it a productive, helpful unit to one another. The Bible’s story of Moses and the Exodus recognize how a leader can unite a divided and hurting community to overcome great obstacles. Several characters within Tony Morrison’s Beloved parallel those in the Exodus, such as: Sethe being the enslaved Hebrews, Ella being Moses, and Beloved portraying the act of slavery as well as the Pharaoh himself.

Absalom's authorship is not identified but is most likely written by prophets Nathan and Gad and occurs around 1011- 971 BC in Israel. The historical purpose is to record the history of David’s reign as king of Israel and to demonstrate the reasons for the fall of the northern kingdom. “One of the purposes of 2 Samuel 13 is to help the reader prevent this type of sin, rather than to help us to recover from it, having fallen. It is a strong warning against letting our passions lead us, because of the consequences that will follow.” Says Dr. Thomas L. Constable.

In his last conversation with his father, he makes a request to name his unborn child Peter if it was born a boy. In the Bible, Peter was an apostle of Jesus Christ. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead," (I Peter 3). Absalom knows that his time on earth is ending, and he feels that his unborn child is his only chance and opportunity to be vindicated of his sins. He wants his son to grow up in his hometown and live the life that he took away from himself by leaving Ndotsheni. Absalom wants his child not to follow in his footsteps. For these reasons, Absalom wants to name his unborn child Peter with reference to the Peter in the Bible.

Kingdom of Heaven what's True from False The movie Kingdom of Heaven took place during medieval times. The movie is some what factual but certain parts of the movie are based on false elements. The movie’s factual elements began with the first crusades, which began in 1144 and ended in 1149. The fight between the Muslims and Christians over the Holy land Jerusalem ended with the Christians giving the Holy Land to the Muslims.

Jesus often called Peter “Rock” because he knew Peter was the one, on which he could fund his church on after he left Earth.

This biblical passage reflects my understanding of how ethics and morals have become a dilemma towards humanity. Ethics and morals dilemmas have become part of the world system of greed and selfishness that has taken advantage of the vulnerable and the needy. Benefited from the vulnerable and the needy has been going on for many years, since the time in the Old Testament to the New. I believe greed and selfishness has a lot to do with people ethics and morals dilemmas which cause poverty all over the world. Evidently, with no doubt, poverty's will always exist (John 12:8). God has given Christians the responsibility to take care of the poor and the needy, which is God's expression of His ethics and morals of love for the world to see and to

Human nature compels everyone to quest after things they have lost. In Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country Stephen Kumalo goes out in search of his family when his tribe is being torn apart by family members leaving and never coming back. He leaves Ndotsheni in search for his sister and his son, prompted by a letter from Reverend Msimangu in Johannesburg. Upon arrival in the great city, Kumalo meets Msimangu who leads him to to Gertrude. Kumalo reconciles with her after she took on a sinful lifestyle. Kumalo and Msimangu go in search of his son Absalom, and finally catch up with him after he killed a white man named Arthur Jarvis just a few days prior. Absalom was tried and sentenced to death.