Cry the Beloved Country Analysis - 1006 Words

Summer Assignment Topic A - Cry, the Beloved Country Alan Paton’s work is significant in that it highlights and analyzes, from both white and black perspective, the racial boundary and its effect on society as a whole. This boundary, as Paton emphasizes, has a diverse affect on different groups of people, as well as individuals. The way that those individuals react, in Paton’s book, defines whether or not those individuals are viewed as the enemy or the victim. While their initial reactions may be different, their final reactions are the same; that is, they find spiritual reassessment and moral reconciliation. Stephan Kumalo is often displayed as the protagonist of the book, even though Paton†¦show more content†¦We can therefore conclude that the black youth of Johannesburg are almost as innocent, reacting to the pressures and contradictions of their environment. It is significant, then, that Absalom is hanged even though the judge takes sympathy upon him; while the judge may want to set Absalom free, the laws demand that he take the maximum sentence for his crimes. Paton strategically organizes his syntax and diction so that the reader concludes that the laws, like Absalom, are a product of the environment, and are therefore, paradoxical. These circumstances make it clear that Absalom is a victim and has many outlets to blame in order to evade death. However, he accepts full responsibility and now understands the circumstances of the black people. Even though he eventually comes to the same conclusion as his father, to forgive and understand, he’s a little too late. Paton does this to compare the older and younger generations and their fate; while the older may have been able to do something to change their environment, the young people of Johannesburg who discover the truth will be snuffed out before they are able to induce significant change, hence the fates of both Arthur Jarvis and Absalom. Cry, the Beloved Country is a magnificent insight into the world of injustice of not just Africa, but other unjust societies as well. Paton emphasizes that even though there are many toShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Cry, The Beloved Country1324 Words   |  6 PagesAnalyzing the race relationships between characters in Not Either and Experimental Doll and Cry, the Beloved Country certainly brings the social culture of 1940s/50s South Africa to light. In Not Either an Experimental Doll, the push for a personal relationship between an African girl and white woman results in a clear division of social statuses. Cry, the Beloved Country, however, depicts a personal relationship between a black man and a white man that results in mutual respect and understandingRead MoreAnalysis Of Alan Patons Cry, The Beloved Country962 Words   |  4 Pagesbut not doing anything to try and fix it will ultimately not solve the issue of racial division. In the novel, Cry, the Beloved Count ry, by Alan Paton, a wise man named Msimangu, and Arthur Jarvis, a well-respected activist, are characters that seek an end to the racial divide in the country of South Africa. Msimangu and Arthur Jarvis each uniquely seek an end to division in their country through teaching hope and working for justice. Msimangu teaches Stephen Kumalo about his hope for South AfricaRead MoreAnalysis Of Alan Patons Cry The Beloved Country847 Words   |  4 PagesReverend Stephen Kumalo, the protagonist of Alan Paton’s novel Cry, the Beloved Country, lives in the countryside of Ndotsheni. The countryside is in drought, over-farmed, and the land is dying. Despite all this, it is still representative of home and peace to the characters in the novel. It is the home of traditions and old trivial rules. However, a consistent theme it brings is young people leaving for the city, and therefore bringing new messages to South Africa as a whole. The novel presentsRead MoreAnalysis Of Stephen Kumalos Cry, The Beloved Country1284 Words   |  6 PagesIn Cry, the Beloved Country, Paton details a gripping story of Stephen Kumalo’s search for his son while conveying significant ideas regarding the social injustice and integrated racism of South Africa during the segregation of apartheid. Paton struct ures his story around revolving points of view and maintaining a sometimes simplistic or lyrical language specific to varying parts of the novel to express his message of the disintegration of faith coming from new experiences, distinctively hardshipsRead MoreCry The Beloved Country By Alan Paton Analysis928 Words   |  4 PagesIt is no new information that God tends to directs the ordinary people out of their normal lives and make something great out of them. This reprsents what occured in Stephen Kumalos life from the book Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. Those who live broken and imperfect are the people God sees something special in. Grabbing these people out of their brokenness and make the world better through them. Like all the other ordinary people that contributed in Gods plan, Stephen Kumalos journeyRead MoreCry, The Beloved Country By Alan Paton Analysis929 Words   |  4 Pages It is no new information that God tends to take the ordinary people out of their normal lives and make something great out of them. This is exactly what happened to Stephen Kumalo in the book Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. It is those are are broken and imperfect that God sees something special through. Taking these people out of their brokenness and make the world better through them. Like all the other ordinary people that got brought up by God, Stephen Kumalo’s journey was no differentRead MoreThe Importance Of Love In Cry The Beloved Country By Alan Paton900 Words   |  4 Pagesbecoming understanding and empathetic to all people. Arthur Jarvis, a white civil rights activist who was shot and killed in his home and Msimangu a Native priest of South Africa work in their communities to promote love and equality. In Cry the Beloved Country, author Alan Paton uses characters Msimangu and Arthur Jarvis to show how love and outspokenness can start the healing of a broke n nation. Msimangu uses love to teach unity between the people because the white man has broken the tribes andRead MoreRace And Personal Relationships During 1950s / 50s South Africa1361 Words   |  6 Pages1940s/50s South Africa Analyzing the race relationships between characters in Not Either and Experimental Doll and Cry, the Beloved Country really brings the social culture of 1940s/50s South Africa to light. In Not Either an Experimental Doll, the push for a personal relationship between an African girl and white woman results in a clear division of social statuses. Cry, the Beloved Country, however, depicts a personal relationship between a black man and a white man that results in mutual respect andRead MoreBeloved : A Reconstruction Of Our Past1705 Words   |  7 PagesKarla Ximena Leyte Professor John Crossley Short Close Reading Paper #2 November 20, 2015 Beloved: A reconstruction of our past Beloved by Toni Morrison is a reconstruction of history told by the African American perspective, a perspective that is often shadowed or absent in literature. Her novel presents a cruel demonstration of the horrors endured by slaves and the emotional and psychological effects it created for the African American community. It unmasks the realities of slavery, in whichRead MoreRhetorical Features of Lyndon B. Johnson’s Presidencial Acceptance Speech742 Words   |  3 Pagessworn in as president. In the midst of a grieving country, he was given the duty of handling a transition in leadership and presenting an acceptance speech before Congress. 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