In no less 750 words, explain the significance of the title to Cry, the Beloved Country.In your electronic essay, you must:
consider the social and historical context of the novel (remember that the novel is a prelude to a specific era in South African history).
detail the significance of setting to the novel’s major themes (why is land important, for instance?).
explain the role of the major political leaders in “cry”
ing the country’s social turmoil.
decide if the “cry” is optimistic or pessimistic in light of the ending.
Please feel free to add graphics, pictures, and any other applicable form of digital expression to your essays. The essays must be posted to your blog by 11:59PM Friday, 16 February. Mail me at
ehretmdchs@gmail.com if you have any questions, concerns, problems, or bribes. I'll respond to your posts by g-mail as they come in. Best of luck!
Cry, The Beloved Country, by Alan Paton is set in the time of mid to late 1940s, taking place prior to the apartheid that occurred in South Africa. The title of the popular novel, has a great impact on the overall meaning of the context. The author himself was a strong Christian and very active in the politics of his life. Both of these qualities are often represented in the characters and the overall background of the novel. The events in the novel originated from Paton's personal experiences with black and white people. This novel is as real as it gets, with relation to Paton's own life and actual historical events. The novel avoids simplistic ideas about the people of South Africa, instead the characters are viewed upon as individuals with an aura of unity.
The historical context of the novel goes back over a a thousand years ago, before the Europeans even set foot in South Africa. Prior to the Europeans arrival, much of South Africa was populated by numerous African tribal groups, such as those who spoke Bantu, which are related to the modern day Zulu tribe, which the main character of the novel, Stephen
Kumalo , was a part of. By the middle of the 1700s the first Europeans to settle in South Africa, the Dutch, were navigating deeper and deeper into the heart land of South Africa, forcing all the African tribes to leave their home land, after being defeated against the Dutch, in attempt to remain on their land. In the early 1800s the English invaded South Africa to colonize, unlike the Dutch who only wanted to set up stations for trade. The English and the white farmers of Africa, the Dutch, came into severe conflict. The Dutch moved north and where they stumbled into the Zulu's, which led into a battle for land, however once again the South Africans were defeated. After the Dutch discovered gold on their various independent republics, the British annexed the Dutch which led to two battles. After the British conquered the Dutch for the final time, the British created the Union of South Africa in 1910.
The context of the book took place after all of this turmoil. During this time the black people of South Africa were deprived of descent paying jobs and lived in a quite contaminated society. The blacks were given a very small amount of land to live on and obviously, the land being overpopulated, was very inadequate for the people. Because of the overcrowded land, many South Africans populated to Johannesburg, where they at least found a paying job. One may suspect that there would be a stop to the mass abundance of blacks migrating to Johannesburg, however the political rulers of the city were simply happy to hire cheap labor.
The social context of the book has much relation to the country's history. The Blacks and colored suffered from racial segregation as well as racial inequality appointed by the whites. Along with all with the social tensions, the crime rate was very high and the blacks had nothing to turn to because the whites had the upper hand and held the power to control the political and social decisions. At this time the entire economy depended the the cheap labor of the black men in the mines and the white leaders were in no time going to improve the broken lifestyle the blacks were forced to live in. The country of South Africa, at this time, needed a few brave people to stand up and piece the broken country back together. That is exactly what happens in Paton's,
Cry, the Beloved Country.Copious themes are continually mentioned in the novel, such as Christianity and injustice. However the most predominate theme is land. Visibly, land had been very important dating all the way back to the first European in South Africa. After the invasion of these foreign settlers and the destruction of the South African tribes, the blacks and colored lived on the lower, valley-like land. The whites lived on the hills, which is so symbolically significant. The whites were of higher social status, and they even lived on a higher piece of land than the blacks and colored, which were of lower rank. The significance goes even deeper. The farmland and rivers of the whites are described as secure, fertile hills overflowing with adequate food and plentiful supplies for survival. However, in comparison with the land of the whites, the blacks live in an empty whole that is very over-
vitamized. The land of the black South Africans has been damaged because of the negligence of the white leaders, but like the black people, the land can be restored and become fertile again with the courage of those who will stand up for justice.
As mentioned previously, a few brave people would
attempt to piece this broken country back together again. These men through intense struggle and rationalization of the circumstances of racism in their country, came together to overcome the segregation, the brokenness, and make the land of South Africa fertile again. In the novel it states that
Tomlinson has the brains, John
Kumalo, Stephen's brother, has the voice, and
Dubula has the heart. In Johannesburg, the place where all that blacks fled for job opportunities and a "better" life, there were three main political leaders. These leaders,
Tomlinson, John, and
Dubula, were powerful politicians that stood up for equal rights in South Africa. The blacks and colored were suffering beyond belief and in order for the country to cry, to beg for justice they would need a heart, a brain, and a voice. These men spoke up for the people, and because of their heart, voice, and brain many changes happened to the economy and social standards in South Africa. These three men spoke up for those who could not speak and enabled people like Stephen
Kumalo and James Jarvis to help the black people and make the land fertile again.
My first instinct, was to imply that the ending "cry" was optimistic. The land was now fertile, each culture had accepted the other, all is well, right? If I had not done my research, sure that is a very correct assumption. However, reading a book is more than reading from cover to cover, you must read about the history as well. After reading the ending again, I realized that this cry is the same cry the South Africans have been crying all along. The forgiveness that occurred at the end of the novel, will not prevail what is going to happen in the future. As Stephen
Kumalo sits watching the sun in the sky, he reflects on the deaths of
Absolom, his son, Arthur Jarvis, and Margaret Jarvis and knows inside he has done all he can do for his country. It is up to the next generation to continue what his generation has started.
Did the cry ever stop? Or are the people of South Africa still crying today? Can anyone hear them and will anyone answer them? These are the questions I asked the world after reading this remarkable novel. Through Paton's novel he revealed to the world the strength it takes to overcome segregation and characteristics of certain people in order to do so. Stephen
Kumalo tried to save his son from the crime he committed, but he can not save his country alone. With the heart, brain, and voice of the three powerful politicians they spoke up for the blacks and colored suffering from racial discriminates. However, racial
segregation was only paused. The cry obviously was not loud enough. Only a couple years later, South Africa underwent a apartheid, which was the official policy stating blacks were segregated. The black and colored people remain segregated around the world because these various cultures can not blend. Paton shows us that
acceptance of other cultures is the first step to unity throughout the world.
ck-footed beast that stops Dante in his path, about to attack, and with the effect of the other animals causes him to turn back to where the son is lost. 