Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton - Essay Example

Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton Introduction The novel was written by South Africa Author Alan Paton so as to address some of the evils witnessed in the country in the onset of apartheid regime in the nation. Cry, the Beloved Country is set in a tense and fragile society, where the breathtaking beauty of the nation’s natural landscape is tainted by the fears of its people. And yet, the message of the novel is one of hope. The book has a number of characters such as Stephen Kumalo, James Jarvis, and Theophilus Msimangu who reveal a potential for goodness in humankind, and are able to defuse hatred, overcome fear, and take the first steps necessary for mending a broken nation. The book is set in South Africa in the 1940s. Its story unfolds against a backdrop of economic and political tensions that have a lengthy, complicated history. Thousands of years before the first Europeans arrived; southern Africa was populated by various African tribal groups, including the San, the Khoikhoi, and, later on, Bantu-speaking peoples who were ancestors of the modern Zulus. The first European settlers in South Africa, the Dutch, arrived in the mid-1600s. The Dutch wanted only to set up bases for trade, not to colonize the country, and they met with little resistance. The book gives a detailed coverage of the pre-colonial South Africa that was marked by the peaceful coexistence of the African tribes (Ngwarsungu, 21-42). Major themes The author sought to express several issues that were affecting South Africa at that time through in-depth exposure of such themes that he has managed to categorically point out. The themes can assist one to clearly see the picture of what took place in the country at those earlier times and how the historical factors have shaped the current perception of the country by both its citizens and the foreigners. Inequality and injustice The theme of vicious cycle of inequality and injustice in the white predominant nation is made evident by the author. This is seem particularly in the life of Kumalo whose search for his son takes place against the backdrop of massive social inequalities, which, if not directly responsible for Absalom’s troubles, are certainly catalysts for them. The fact that the black South Africans are allowed to own only limited quantities of land, the natural resources of these areas are sorely taxed. The soil of Ndotsheni turns on its inhabitants—exhausted by over-planting and over-grazing, the land becomes sharp and hostile. For this reason, most young people leave the villages to seek work in the cities. Both Gertrude and Absalom find themselves caught up in this wave of emigration, but the economic lure of Johannesburg leads to danger. Facing limited opportunities and disconnected from their family and tribal traditions, both Gertrude and Absalom turn to crime (Ngwarsungu, 65). The life story of Gertrude and Absalom takes on a large scale in Johannesburg, and the result is a city with slum neighborhoods and black gangs that direct their wrath against whites. In search of quick riches, the poor burglarize white homes and terrorize their occupants. These acts are partly due to their poor state of living and the bitterness that they deeply bear due to the ill treatment that they have been exposed to at an early age. The white population then becomes paranoid, and the little sympathy they do have for problems such as poor mine conditions disappears. Blacks find themselves subjected to even more injustice, and the cycle spirals downward. Both sides explain their actions as responses to violence from the other side. Absalom’s lawyer, for instance, claims that Absalom is society’s victim, and white homeowners gather government troops to counter what they see as a rising menace. There is precious little understanding on either side, and it seems that the cycle of inequality and injustice will go on endlessly. This theme clearly demonstrates the sharp division that exist between the two races in terms their approach to personal challenges, work ethics and perception of each other. The situation continues to soar as no group is willing to back down and the trend continued in the country for a longer period of time until the country gained its independence from the United Kingdom (Sargeant, et al. 101). Reconciliation Reconciliation which shows acceptance and unity after a long period of separation is made evident in the book in a number of instances. The book details the searches of two fathers for their sons. For Kumalo, the search begins as a physical one, and he spends a number of days combing Johannesburg in search of Absalom. Although most of his stops yield only the faintest clues as to Absalom’s whereabouts, the clues present a constantly evolving picture of who Absalom has become. As Kumalo knocks on the doors of Johannesburg’s slums, he hears of his son’s change from factory worker to burglar, then from promising reformatory pupil to killer. When Kumalo and Absalom are finally reunited after Absalom’s incarceration, they are virtual strangers to each other. The ordeal of the trial brings them closer together, but it is not until after the guilty verdict that Kumalo begins to understand Absalom. In Absalom’s letters from prison, Kumalo finds evidence of true repentance and familiar flashes of the little boy he remembers. On his part, Jarvis has no actual searching to do, but it takes him little time to realize that he knows little about his own son. Away from Ndotsheni, Arthur has become a tireless advocate for South Africa’s black population, an issue on which he and his father have not always agreed. Reconciliation with a dead man might seem an impossible task, but Jarvis finds the necessary materials in Arthur’s writings, which give Jarvis clear and succinct insights into the man that Arthur had become, and even instill in Jarvis a sense of pride (Callan, 32-51). Conclusion The aspect of reconciliation in the novel appears as a fore-shadow of what was to actually take place much later in the country after its independence. The South Africa’s justice, truth and reconciliation commission that was established soon after independence was meant to bring healing and to promote harmony among the people of South Africa. Thus in indicating instances of reconciliation in his book, Paton was trying to send some message that this had a great role to play in the quest for stability and understanding among different races that existed in the country. Work Cited Callan, Edward. "cry, the Beloved Country": A Novel of South Africa. Boston: Twayne publ, 1991. Print. Ngwarsungu, Chiwengo. Understanding Cry, the Beloved Country: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. Westport, Conn: Greenwood, 2007. Print. Sargeant, Roy, Alan Paton, and der W. W. Van. Cry, the Beloved Country: The Play, a Story of Comfort in Desolation : a Novel by Alan Paton. Cape Town: Oxford University Press Southern Africa, 2006. Print. Read More