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Segregation And Discrimination

Good Essays

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. …show more content…

In essay #3, the author describes the tragic devastation as, “Apartheid social engineering irreparably damaged countless families, communities, and livelihoods, as the government forcibly removed blacks to African, Coloured, or Indian “townships” on the outskirts of cities and towns” (2). The lively, vivid neighborhoods lost their spirit as they were demolished by bulldozers, just as Kumalo had lost his son in the tragedy. While they are two different types of losses, they both caused immense grief and couldn’t have been avoided in the circumstances. In our society, there are varied types of discrimination. Not only racism, but one other type of injustice that is still a rising issue is sexism. While both genders experience sexism, it can be said that it is mainly aimed towards females. As you go further back into history, the discrimination against women was significantly worse than it is now. Women are represented in both the biblical texts and the novel with varying types of power. There were inferior, powerless woman and women with power and wealth in contrast to the previously mentioned. In the bible, Eve can be seen as both an inferior figure and one …show more content…

If the two communicated more and Absalom understood himself, perhaps their relationship wouldn’t have been so strained. For Arthur and James, James did not really speak to his son that much, since he wasn’t as involved in certain affairs like his son was. Only after Arthur was murdered did Jarvis find out more about what his son did and his interests were. It really speak to his son that much, since he wasn't as involved in the affairs and philosophies as his son was. Only after Arthur was murdered did James find out more about what his son did and what his interests were. He expressed deep regret that he didn't get to know his own son more. Just like the relationship between Kumalo and Absalom, the distant problems between Arthur and James could have been solved by them spending more time together and simply talking with each other. When you compare this story with the Bible, there are some prominent similarities. Kumalos’ son, Absalom, actually has the same name as one of the sons of King David who’s in the Book of Samuel. Parallel to Absalom in the novel, he takes revenge on his half brother, Amnon, by murdering him because he committed rape to his sister. Absalom (in the Bible) later dies after trying to bring up an army against the King. Even though Absalom rebelled against his own father, he still grieved over him since he was his

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