Change In Cry The Beloved Country

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

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

Cry, the Beloved Country In a country torn by segregation and hatred, one man seeks to rebuild his family and his tribe. Cry, the beloved country is a tale of forgiveness, generosity, and endurance. In the story, the main protagonist is helped by a number of characters. A South African man Stephen Kumalo loses his young son, but is still determined to improve the life of his people.

“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)

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 Cry, the Beloved Country, the city of Johannesburg enables Gertrude’s desires to control her life, yet the desires that govern her are shamefully careless. Before Gertrude left Ndosheni, she had been surrounded by villagers who essentially knew many or all of their community’s people, including her. With the fear that several people would know of or observe her actions, Gertrude was encouraged to act upon the ethical desires widely accepted by her people. On the other hand, Johannesburg has little to no sense of community—being a heavily populated city and the majority of its inhabitants strangers to one another—which allows Gertrude to pursue the amoral desires within her, and for them to occur unnoticed by relatives. When Stephen Kumalo, her brother, finally receives word of Gertrude’s illness, he leaves for Johannesburg and finds her in a shabby, dirty house, crammed between similar buildings. Anxiously standing in front of his sister’s door, awaiting what would be their first encounter after several months, Kumalo overhears a “laughter in the house, the kind of laughter of which one is afraid… perhaps because it is in truth bad laughter,” (Paton 59 emphasis added). The bad laughter he hears is a product of Gertrude’s careless desires; her undisciplined lust for men. The context in which this laughter comes from is what makes it bad, especially in Kumalo’s mind, for he is not just her family, but a priest as well. Without a close-knit community to direct

Imagine moving from a school you’ve been in your whole life to a completely new school out of state. Many questions about the new environment would pop up into your mind. The thoughts of fear of how the new state will be like or whether you’ll even like the school will constantly bother you. The attitude you show on your first day of school portrays a lot of your personality. How you’ll end up in school is whether you start with a positive, adaptable attitude or not. In the two stories Things Fall Apart and Cry the Beloved Country, Okwonko and Kumalo both had to face a factor of change. Okwonko, being prideful and less open to change, had no confidence in himself anymore. On the other hand, Kumalo tries to be more forgiving and is willing to

This change is a positive and uplifting change of self for the protagonist in this novel.

Luke 6:35 declares, “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and evil” (English Standard Version).Christians should strive to treat others in this way always. Unfortunately, society fails to follow this verse in the present times as well as the past. Not only does racism and prejudice occur in the United States, but South Africa as well. Alan Paton illustrated the unjust in the novel Cry the Beloved Country. James Jarvis is a white, wealthy, Christian farmer that lives on a hill above Ndotsheni, a town where native South Africans reside and are impoverished. Jarvis’s outlook on the natives became negative. Many events occur, and Jarvis experiences a change within himself and starts loving the natives how the Bible says Christians should. Mr. Jarvis sinned against the natives for majority of his life by judging them. It takes a moment of realization to push him to come to a different outlook on those around him.

This is the story of Goldman. James Christopher was used as a human experiment in a gold treatment. Scientists said from gold you can get stronger and you will be invisible. When they tried the experiment, they put too much power and James got all the gold stuck on him. FOREVER! When they opened the box they found that he was not there. But he was invisible. James turned off his invisible shield and he was visible. James was stronger and was able to be invisible. Just as they promised but they could not get the gold off of him. So, he started to work for the good side. And made his decision, he was going to save the world from evil villains. But, there are some people that hate Goldman. Such as, Uranium Man, Silverman, Tin man, and Potassium

Atticus enjoyed the simple, comfortable things in life, whether it was reading the local newspaper in his rocking chair or listening to the radio, he always found peace. Although he was not one to brag, Atticus had many talents. He was a renowned marksman, and was a great player of the Jew’s harp. Atticus loved his children enormously and continued to teach them a number of life lessons. He believed in doing what is right and going the extra mile in order to protect the innocent. He taught his children to never let people get the best

"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.

James Jarvis is sone of the main characters that appears in Part 2 of the book Cry, the Beloved Country. His son was murdered by Absalom, Kumalo’s son. Jarvis finds out that he didn’t understand nor know his son as well as he thought he did. as he reads more of his son’s letters and writings, he begins to understand his son better. With the death of his son, he understands more controversial issues his song wrote about.

In the very beginning of the story, the narrator foreshadows Jarvis’ change of heart: “They [the hills of a valley] fall to the valley below, and falling, change their nature” (Paton 33). Since Jarvis was only rarely mentioned in the first half of the book, the reader does not know him very well. In chapter 18, Jarvis becomes the narrator of the story. He lives in a wealthy home overlooking the town of Ndotsheni (Paton 161). The reader gets the sense that Jarvis is of a high class in society because he has a servant that works his farming ground and even the location of his

was the husband of Gertrude, who in turn, went to look for him and found other men