Major Works Data Sheet Title: Cry, the Beloved CountryAuthor: Alan PatonDate of Publication: 1948Genre: Social Criticism | Relevant Biographical Information About the Author: * White * Born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa in 1903 * Father was Scottish and mother was South African of English heritage * Worked at a reformatory with black youths | Historical information about the period of publication: * South Africa already colonized by Europeans * Rampant racism * Introduction of apartheid in 1948 | | | Characteristics of the Genre * Show author’s disenchantment with a certain aspect of society * Deals with racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. * Usually a call for action, to get readers to support a cause or …show more content…
| Describe the Author’s Style * Poetic * Descriptive * Sometimes a little bitter * Uses South African colloquialisms and vocabulary | An example from text that denotes author’s style * And now for all the people of Africa, the beloved country. Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika, God save Africa. But he would not see that salvation. It lay afar off, because men were afraid of it. Because, to tell the truth, they were afraid of him, and his wife, and Msimangu, and the young demonstrator. And what was there evil in their desires, in their hunger? That man should walk upright in the land where they were born, and be free to use the fruits of the earth, what was there evil in it? . . . They were afraid because they were so few. And such fear could not be cast out, but by love. | Memorable Quotes | Quotation * “The white man has broken the tribe. And it is my belief—and again I ask your pardon—that it cannot be mended again.”—Msimangu * “I see only one hope for our country, and that is when white men and black men . . . desiring only the good of their country, come together to work for it”--Msimangu * “Cry for the broken tribe, for the law and the custom that is gone. Aye, and cry aloud for the man who is dead, for the woman and children bereaved. Cry, the beloved country, these things are not yet at an end.”—Arthur Jarvis | Significance * Talks about how the white’s policies have destroyed the old
In the 1930’s it was rare for a black South African to attend college. But Mandela not only attended, he graduated, got a degree from law school, and set up a practice in Johannesburg which he hoped could support his small family. Yet apartheid was always a humiliation to him. When the Afrikaner, or Dutch South African, Nationalists came to power in the 1948 election, the segregation habits of the past three hundred years became law. Hoping for a brighter future, Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC) and became its first Youth Leader.
He seeks to imply that judgement of a person should be based more on the content
Thesis Statement: Apartheid may have been a horrible era in South African history, but only so because the whites were forced to take action against the outrageous and threatening deeds of the blacks in order to sustain their power.
Over the past five weeks, my group and I read the novel, When Morning Comes written by Arushi Raina. This story takes place in 1976 during the Soweto Uprising in South Africa; a student-lead protest against the Baas Laws, which required subjects to be taught in Afrikaans. The protagonists: Jack, Zanele, Meena, and Thabo start out as strangers with different racial identities, but through a series of chance meetings, each of their lives change significantly. During our Booktalk meetings, I was able to greater discuss some of the challenges that the protagonists faced, gain knowledge and insight about the novel from my peers, compare and contrast the themes in When Morning Comes with those in other books, and connect the novel to concepts learned in class. Before reading When Morning Comes, I hoped that the book would offer me some insight into how much our education system has progressed and improved, but it made me think about so much more than that.
One of the most famous photographs in history was taken by Joe Rosenthal at the Battle of Iwo Jima, during the Second World War. The American people on a whole embraced this photo and saw it as a firm success for the army, so the government knowing that the war needed lots of added funds decided to cease this opportunity and sent the survivors of the flag razing on a propaganda based bond drive for the army. Clint Eastwood in the way he directed the film showed just how different an image of war is compared to a real war. Clint Eastwood allowed the viewer to get an insight to all three survivors of the photo and this gave an insight to how the war on Iwo Jima and the image that gave them a entirely different course in the war. The
It was stated that whites need to fix the broken system that we have created and gained
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
“The Negro, too, for his part, has idols of the tribe to smash. If on the one hand the white man has erred in making the Negro appear to be that which would excuse or extenuate his treatment of him, the Negro, in turn, has too often unnecessarily excused himself because of the way he has been treated. The
1. Describe the author’s diction/word choice. (simple/flowery, modern/old-fashioned, general/specific, formal/informal, plain/fancy, colloquial/poetic) Does the author repeat any words/phrases? Underline /circle words that stand out. Also list the words below. Try to categorize them.
When people tink about the first people in America, they might think of Christopher Columbus or the European colonists; when, in fact, the first people were the Indians. The Cherokee Indians had lived in the lands of what is now the United States for thousands of years before any colonists had ventured over. Little did they know that the new nation that was going to be forming around them, would severely affect the lives of their descendents.
“The irrelevance of black life has been drilled into this country since its infancy, and shall not
In 1652 the Europeans established the refueling station in Cape Town, South Africa, the settlers had a positive relationship with the local tribes. As time passed the cordial relation turned sour. The nomadic people use to traveling around lost their land to the settlers. The settlers believing themselves superior to the African society cultivated a community, of nearly five decades, of apartheid: a system and philosophy dedicated to privileging Europeans and non-whites. This system originated from 1948-1992 . In 1965, where the book begins, Johannes, the antagonist of Kaffir Boy, was raised in apartheid South Africa. During this time period the Johannesburg Government had strict segregation law that separated the colored from the whites, Europeans. In Mark Mathabane’s autobiography he tries to recreate his childhood and youth in Alexandra, a black ghetto community of Johannesburg, South Africa. When Mark Mathabane started working on his autobiography his hometown had just been saved from being extinguished, already half of Alexandra had already demolished.
Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton, is the timeless novel about South Africa in the 1940’s. As powerful white men use the land for their own benefit, the tribal system of the African natives is broken down and replaced by poverty, homelessness, fear, and violence. A black priest, Stephen Kumalo, ventures to the great city of Johannesburg in search of his lost sister and son. His journey demonstrates the unhealthy lifestyle and mutinous atmosphere of the black people; yet he is the beholder of forgiveness, love, hope, and the restoration of a country overwhelmed with problems.
I have always thought that Nelson Mandela has been one of the most important people in history. I find it very fascinating that one man could end the Apartheid and that is why I want to find out more about this. South Africa is a country with a past of enforced racism and separation of its multi-racial community. The White Europeans invaded South Africa and started a political system known as 'Apartheid' (meaning 'apartness'). This system severely restricted the rights and lifestyle of the non-White inhabitants of the country forcing them to live separately from the White Europeans. I have chosen to investigate how the Apartheid affected people’s lives, and also how and why the Apartheid system rose and fell in South Africa.
Oppression is at the root of many of the most serious, enduring conflicts in the world today. Racial and religious conflicts; conflicts between dictatorial governments and their citizens; the battle between the sexes; conflicts between management and labor; and conflicts between heterosexuals and homosexuals all stem, in whole or in part, to oppression. It’s similar to an article in south africa that people have with racial segregation between black and white . Many people need to know that indiviual have their own rights in laws and freedom . Everyone should have an equal rights and better community . A black person would be of or accepted as a member of an African tribe or race, and a colored person is one that is not black or white. The Department of Home Affairs (a government bureau) was responsible for the classification of the citizenry. Non-compliance with the race laws were dealt with harshly. All blacks were required to carry ``pass books ' ' containing fingerprints, photo and information on access to non-black areas. The apartheid in South Africa which was in effect from 1948 until 1994 was not only a racist policy which greatly affected the quality of life of minorities in the country for the worse but was a outright crime against humanity. It include with civil right that violence verses non-violence that the government could or