Cry The Beloved Country

Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton is a stunning and all too accurate depiction of apartheid in South Africa. Even though the novel centers on John Kumalo and his struggling family, it subtly shows the social going ons of South Africa supposedly in 1948, when the book was written. Strong examples of this come across in the choral chapters of the novel. These chapters give voice to the people of South Africa. Chapter nine shows the struggles of being black during apartheid, chapter 12 shows the white citizens racism and fear, and chapter 23 shows the goals of social movements. The choral chapter that shows the issues that existed in South Africa most effectively was chapter nine. It not only shows the economic and housing struggles of the black population, but it also shows the conditions in the shanty towns, and the treatment of the black population by the white minority with power.

"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

In this essay we will be discussing Paul Stopforth’s ‘Interrogators’ and William Kentridge’s ‘Felix in Exile’ which are both responding to apartheid. In the midst of a resistance and revolution in South Africa, not only did many heroic, iconic figures get killed during protest, but many innocent people (Klotz, 1995). Both Stopforth and Kentridge seek to expose this violence in their art and are at the same time challenged to respond to their own emotional sensitivity caused by trauma and shock they experienced.

As a result of colonialism, the resistance in both the United States and South Africa was rising. Throughout the history of the African civil rights movement are lessons that taught: “Nationalism has been tested in the people’s struggles . . . and found to be the only antidote against foreign rule and modern imperialism” (Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom 2008, 156). By comparing and contrasting the Jim Crow Laws and apartheid, we are able to shape our understanding of conflicts, activism, and reform.

All human expression can be broken down into four basic emotions- happiness, sadness, anger, and fear. Of these emotions, none can contest with the influential effects of fear. Throughout history, we have seen the devastating impacts of fear in slavery, Stalin’s brutal reign over Russia, and most significantly, the Nazi party. Fear has constantly been shown to possess and control people to engender dire consequences, much like it does in Alan Paton’s novel Cry, the Beloved Country. In his novel, Paton examines the negative impacts of fear, namely prejudice and corruption. Set in South Africa, the main character, reverend Stephen Kumalo, observes the stark contrast between his poor village and the cosmopolitan city of Johannesburg. Throughout the story, he unearths the changes occurring in South Africa as a result of escalating racial tensions. His journey brings him to an understanding of the harsh struggle of his fellow Africans, and he too begins to experience the growing fear. Paton explicates that eradication of fear is of utmost importance in fashioning a unified country, and if we fail to set aside our fears, we must forever bear the scars of prejudice and corruption.

In the course of the first half of 1900s, racism was mutual in many countries. South Africa was not the only country with laws that enforce racial segregation. As the novel “Cry the beloved Country” discussed in Book I during Absalom's trial, the white people felt threatened by other races in the country. Finally they passed laws that physically separate them from different people. For example in United States during 1940s, there were laws that separated African-Americans, Japanese-Americans, and Latino-Americans from the rest of the country.

Alan Paton’s novel, Cry, the Beloved Country, is broken into three books and book one is organized around Stephen Kumalo’s search for his son, Absalom Kumalo. This search is a journey that leads to a new spiritual awareness in Stephen Kumalo. Thus, metaphors about the storm and the phoenix are metaphors used to develop the growth of Kumalo’s mind and heart as on how he will mend his tribe back together and continue to seek divine sustenance. The metaphor about a storm is one of the most important in the novel and Stephen Kumalo states it.

The human race, in its nature, often changes when a horrific event happens. Take September 11, 2001, for example. America was forever changed on that sunny, fall day. It was only after the fact that America started to implement actions against its enemies. In Alan Paton’s story Cry, The Beloved Country, there are people who are changed after a terrible event happens. James Jarvis, a white farmer living in South Africa, goes through a transformation in his life after his son is killed by a black man. After his son is killed, instead of being angry and hostile towards black people like most would expect, Jarvis comes to realize the discrimination that is taking place and actually starts to help the poor, black families living nearby. Through the unfortunate death of his son, Jarvis changes his life to help others, and thus, profoundly impacts the theme of the story that good can come out of tragic events.

“The truth is that our Christian civilization is riddled through and through with dilemma. We believe in the brotherhood of man, but we do not want it in South Africa. We believe that God endows men with diverse gifts, and that human life depends for its fullness on their employment and enjoyment, but we are afraid to explore this belief too deeply”(Paton 187). These are some of the words spoken by Arthur Jarvis, one of the key characters in the book “Cry, the Beloved Country” by Alan Paton. These words exemplify the racial prejudice, hypocrisy, and condemnation discerned by white South Africans. Throughout this novel, Paton unveils the realities of racial prejudice and oppression through the use of literary elements such as irony and symbolism; thus, this allows Paton to strengthen the delineation of hypocrisy, dichotomy, and and prejudice that is instilled in society.

While my fourteen year old brother, Andrew, pinned me down to the floor and held me in a headlock, my ten year old brother, Johnny, rolled on the floor laughing as I struggled to release myself from my brother’s clutch. Earlier that day, I had stolen some of Andrew’s cosmic brownies and now this was my grave punishment. As my older brothers, Andrew and Johnny had power over me; however, they did not always use this power compassionately. This sense of control and empowerment commonly becomes besmirched and authority figures often unethically treat their people. In Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country and Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange, the government takes on this abusive role. Both of these stories depict the theme of political corruption

These differences in perspective greatly influence how the story is written, and subsequently how the readers understand South Africa. When reading “Cry, the Beloved Country”, the reader will pity and support the natives, but when reading “Heart of Darkness”, the reader is liable to align with Marlow’s beliefs and view the natives as unfortunate

The eight essays describe the apartheid in South Africa that began in 1945 and continued on until almost the end of the century. Similarly to these essays, a novel by the name of Cry, the Beloved Country also takes place in South Africa and describes the hardships of segregation and the apartheid at the time. These two pieces of writing have many differences, but they also have many similarities between the two. One of these similarities is that during the fight to overcome oppression, there are unavoidable obstacles and tragedies. In Cry, the Beloved Country, Kumalo lost his son to the savage that had been growing inside of him. His son, Absalom, had taken the life of Arthur Jarvis, a prominent figure in the fight for justice against discrimination.

In Cry, The Beloved Country there are literal and figurative instances of justice and injustice. There is the injustice of race where the native South Africans must fight to preserve their culture. There is also injustice between brothers due to the conflict that rises between them. Several characters seem to have a basic grasp on what is right and wrong in regards to justice or injustice. In particular however, Absalom Kumalo comes to terms with his injustice seemingly quick while his father,Kumalo, struggles throughout the novel once his son is sentenced.

In 1948, apartheid was enacted by the all-white national party in South Africa. The purpose was to separate whites from non-whites, and to decrease the power and success of non-whites. In the 20th century novel Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton, he uses metaphors to emphasize how the suffering of tribal people have both positive and negative consequences on their moral character. Their development of morality can create or mend a division in society.

The skyscrapers of Johannesburg reach for the heavens, up to 50 stories tall. Crowding the streets is a traffic of South Africans of all races checking their ringing phones and rushing to their office jobs. A picture of starving black children and drought-stricken land better fits our story of South Africa, but that picture is much more harmful than it is true. Often we see South Africa through a lens of Apartheid that delves into the immense anti-black racism that existed during that time period, but it is also crucial to see the country from a post-Apartheid view to better understand today’s citizens and culture. It is equally important to see the conflict between other races and the multitude of reasons the conflagration that was Apartheid continued to burn long after it should have died.