Cry, The Beloved Country

When

Stephen Kumalo is a sensitive, humble, and godly man.Sometimes, his anger can get the best of him but he always apologizes immediately after. He goes through a lot of suffering throughout the novel. He is the

Family. It is a very fluid yet rigid idea. It has a wealth of definitions, all of which range in degree and magnitude, and vary from person to person; yet the concept of how a family should work and operate is very concrete in most American minds. Family is a bond that is crafted every second of everyday until it is powerful, and this can shape beliefs, outlooks, and confidence. A study found that children with father figures that are highly involved benefit because an immense range of emotions are modelled to them as children, and consequently they will be more adapt at recognizing and expressing their own emotions. In contrast children

When

When he

when he

When

It has been said that the land is itself another character in Paton's novel, Cry, the Beloved Country. What role does the landscape play in the novel? What does the valley surrounding Ndotsheni represent?

“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.

Kumalo experiences moments of loss when his family leaves him for Johannesburg. His sister Gertrude leaves him and loses connection with him. Later he finds out that she has turned to a life of prostitution and bootlegging when his friend Reverend Msimangu warns, “This is bad liquor here, made strong with a manner of things that our people have never used. And that is her work, she makes and sells it. … These women sleep with any man for their price” (Cry, The Beloved Country 53). This news leaves Kumalo heartbroken, and he attempts to guide her back to a simple life, but he fails when she abandons her son and vanishes without notice. After endeavoring so much to get

When

Theories and proof have been brought to surface about the evolution of the human being from related primates, but this type of physical evolution took thousands of years. What about the evolution of a society from day to day? Evolution is learning and changing from a certain period of time and one cannot simply move on with their lives and make the world a better place if they don’t evolve from what they used to believe. The world is changing in many ways every single day and individuals can’t be stuck with a certain belief or one moment in time forever. Keeping an open mind, learning to let go, realizing that things are constantly changing are some ways to evolve. In Alan Paton’s, Cry the Beloved Country, character, Arthur Jarvis, writes letters to express how he believes both European and South African societies should learn to evolve and move past their own beliefs to understand each other’s. Jarvis brings forth the idea that European societies have hypocritical and redundant thoughts about the way a stereotypical African society should live and feel. Paton does this by

The father specifically, took much longer to come to terms with the trial of his son than the boy himself. The trial sentenced Absalom to death while the other two culprits were released. Kumalo struggles hard to accept the fate of his son as soon as he is arrested. He did not understand why his son who was once just a happy boy had to face this fate alone. Therefore, in his actual search for justice he hires a lawyer for Absalom and confronts his brother. James Kumalo, the brother, only cared about the release of his own son, Absalom’s cousin. It took a lot for Kumalo to stand up to him and make his feelings known. Kumalo had to stand up to his brother and face the facts that his own son would not be released. Kumalo struggles with what he thinks is an injustice done to his son. He doesn't believe that his son should die while the other two culprits walk free. He understands the two sides to his son’s punishment however. He knows that he should be punished in some manner but doesn't believe that killing him is the answer. This struggle parallels his own internal fight of still loving his son for his action of killing. This internal, reflection is a constant theme throughout the rest of the novel. Even when the sentence is being given, Kumalo is still coming terms with his son being a murder and then must face the fact that he will soon die. Therefore, his

The author uses the word forlorn, used on page 35 of the book “Cry, the Beloved Country” in the sentence “About you there is grass and bracken and you may hear the forlorn crying of the Titihoya, one of the birds of the veld. Below you is the valley of the Umzimkulu”, instead of the word sorrowful even though both mean unhappy because forlorn gives more of negative connotation and better describes the setting. This is appropriate in this context because the village of Umzimkulu is put in a state of abandonment and social instability. Residents are part of a conglomerate which pertains to abuse and racial discrimination. This word effectively shows the message of prejudice shown by Paton.

Kumalo shows mercy after seeing his sister weep before him in sorrow and he states “God forgives us. Whom am I not to forgive?” (61). Kumalo does not stop after saving Gertrude, because he still wishes to find and bring back his son. He has no leads as to where he is, and every time he gets closer to finding Absalom, he seems to drift further away. Kumalo was willing to sacrifice as much time, money, and effort it took to find his son because of the love he had for his family.