Biblical Allusions in Cry, The Beloved Country People who experience hardship achieve personal growth. For instance, those who lose family members become more empathetic towards others who face loss. In the 20th century novel Cry, The Beloved Country, Alan Paton uses biblical allusions to reveal how through hardship people gain wisdom and strength, which helps them deal with future challenges of their lives in a better way. Afflictions come to test a person’s worldview. Paton illustrates how Kumalo struggles with his faith after the heavy weight of his son’s crime burdens him: When he turned back to look at her, she was smiling at him. He walked on like a man from whom a pain has lifted a little, not altogether, but a little. He remembered too that he had laughed, and that it had pained him physically, as it pains a man who is ill and should not laugh. And he remembered too, with sudden and devastating shock, that Father Vincent had said, I shall …show more content…
Troubles in life sometimes seem to go against everything a person knows about the world, and results in either a stronger or weaker worldview. Paton compares Kumalo’s life to the story of Job in the Bible to show how people can survive misfortunes with their worldviews still intact. Though troubles overtake people’s lives, they can overcome them through faith and love. To elaborate on how people can continue “to believe” even amidst trials, Paton writes, “But I have learned that kindness and love can pay for pain and suffering” (261). The positive actions of others can renew a person’s faith in humankind when one sees the darker parts of human character. To most, one small sign of goodness in a world of heartache and misery can give them hope to carry on. Consequently, Paton uses small acts of kindness throughout the novel to show how although people can doubt the humanity of the world in times of darkness, light always appears to restore
Through the knowledge gained from this book, the reader will grasp the moral being presented and where it came from. This allows authors to convey a deeper significance of their work without having to directly display those thoughts through
"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.
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.
“After seventy days… a little rain came.” (23) As many people know, throughout a person’s life, he or she faces hardships, but the one thing that they all look for in these times
“You know what I’ve found out about disappointments? I think that if we face them down, they can become our strengths.” (Bauer 113) In the novel Hope Was Here written by Joan Bauer, the main characters go through some difficult struggles. One of the main people, Braverman and Addie both had to overcome disconsolate times. Braverman chooses family over education. Addie goes through hard times when she losses her husband along with three unborn babies. This reminds me of the time where my mother’s friend, like Addie, lost a child, and had to overcome that. While people go through difficult struggles everyday, they learn to learn and grow from them. Like William J. H. Boetcker said, “The difficulties and struggles of today are but the price
Although not always recognizable, biblical allusions enhance the writing of novels, and connect specific themes to the Bible. Throughout Cry, The Beloved Country, Alan Paton has placed numerous biblical allusions, corresponding to the common theme of Man’s relationship with God. Some of these allusions pertain to actual verses from the Bible placed into the story. Others are abstract and are representations of themes from the Bible. Generally, Alan Paton has ingeniously placed biblical allusions to emphasize the relationship between man and God.
Universal among all journeys to destiny, tragic events test the perseverance and resolve of the one on his or her journey to destiny. In Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima, Antonio
Similar to a cactus’ bloom in the heat of the desert, through adversity humanity prospers and processes. Society, as a whole, has experienced, at least once, hardships in their lifetime, and through these trying situations people acquire compassion. Being familiar with challenges, people more readily accepts the distress of others and offer required assistance during times of difficulty. Although adversity is seen as the creator of contempt and hatred because of its negative effects on mentality, adversity fosters compassion through the creation of empathy, morality, and association in a person with others in a calamity.
It is what separates the strong from the weak. The weak are the people who choose not to do anything about it, and suffer for the rest of their life. The strong people are who choose to find ways of how to cope with dreadful events. One of the best things to when you are in a state of pain is to do something fun to keep your head straight, and yor mind sharp. Go do something that makes you laugh to help keep your mind off of that moment when things went bad. Many people can relieve stress just by laughing, or even just smiling once a day can change a person's thoughts tragic events.You could even just watch a funny movie that makes you laugh. Every little thing can help you overcome that pain, and you will be a very strong individual. The author uses metaphors to show us how much tragic events can bring people down.Althouhg these metaphors can be cruel like life itself, they can still be useful. That is why it is important to try to keep your head high so you are not one of the weak people. It is life's way of making joy and happyness in someones heart and soul. Laughing is a key to a person’s happiness because it makes the mind feel free from stress. Laughing is like a cure to sadness metaphorically. The author doesn't really talk about how the people of haiti coped with their pain, but this is what sounded like
In “A good man is hard to find”, revelations” and “Everything that rises must converge” by Flannery O’Connor clearly portray a theme of racism based on selfishness, pride and grace. All three main characters undergo a prophecy like moment that eventually leads to the loss of their dignity and selfish attitude and in turn they each achieve grace. This paper will provide a detailed analysis on how all three main characters go from being selfish to eventually self-analyzing themselves and in turn they mature and gain grace and change the way they view others. My investigation of these stories will show how each protagonist had to experience some form of tragedy in order to become self-aware of the way people perceive them. O’Connor presents in these stories how each main character and also in reality people in life need to be brought to a tragic like moment in life that causes them to not continue in the ways they are accustomed to.
When Kumalo talks to Arthur’s son, he says, “When you go, something bright will go out of Ndotsheni” (282). The brightness inside the young boy refers to his potential. He is curious, precocious, and understanding, yet he is only a child. By not naming the child, Alan Paton obscures the child’s identity, which suggests that anybody could be the bright child that Arthur’s son is. During Kumalo’s vigil at the summit of the Emoyeni mountain, he says, “Ndotsheni is still in darkness, but the light will come there also. For it is the dawn that has come, as it has come for a thousand centuries, never failing” (312). Paton claims that although change is not instantaneous, it is bound to occur and is simply a matter of time. Therefore, when readers experience injustice, they are encouraged to voice their indignation to improve the circumstances because while their voices may fall on deaf ears for a while, they cannot be ignored
Has anyone lived a life without misfortune? Doubtable; even the person with what could be described as the ideal life deals with some form of adversity. The novel, Speak, and the short story, The Third and Final Continent, both use plot as a way to convey themes of hardship. Moreover, these texts both use symbolism in order to develop their themes as well. The Art of Resilience and Speak utilize characterization as a method of developing their respective themes. Speak, The Third and Final Continent, and The Art of Resilience each deal with the theme that all people must learn to cope with adverse situations.
Everyone has had hardships in their life, but some people overcome them better than others, but Even though the hardships they always influence your life for the better in one way or another. Hardships can influence a person's life by making them stronger.
For example, he has a loving family who would always be there to support him. In conclusion, the conflicts in the story, person versus society and person versus self, show the need to be optimistic during tough times.
Characters compare to Biblical characters and experiences. When Kumalo tells his friend of Sibeko’s daughter’s death, his friend reminds him that “our Lord suffered… not to save us from suffering, but to teach us how to suffer” (262). Paton uses anaphora to emphasize that Jesus suffered not to eliminate it from life, but to provide an example of how to live with suffering. Christianity does not exist to increase health and wealth, but to provide a steadfast rock for your suffering. Anaphora repeats the motif of suffering and how Jesus endured it and teaches us