Cry, the Beloved Country

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by Alan Paton Background information and context
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Alan Paton (1903-1988)

• Click info on Paton
• http//zar.co.za/paton.htm

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Background you need to know

• Apartheid in South Africa
• http//home.snu.edu/dwilliam/f97projects/aparthei
  d/Document5.html

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Background (2)

• European Colonization of South Africa
  http//www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu29me/uu29m
  e03.htm

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Background (3)

• Johannesburg founded in 1886
• Mining town vast, newly discovered gold deposits
• Center of the most populated region of South
  Africa.

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Key Facts

• Narrator 3rd person omniscient primarily also
  many other points of view on temporary basis
• Point of View Books I III told from Kumalos
  point of view Book II from Jarvis
• Other chapters told from montage of voices from
  different areas of S African society
• Narrator also shows things from other characters
  perspective occasionally
• Intercalary chapters chapters which do not move
  the plot along, but give key information
  necessary to understand the novel

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More Key Facts

• Tone lyrical, grieving, occasionally bitter
• Tense past
• Setting
• Mid-40s, just after WW2
• Ndostsheni Johannesburg, SA
• Protagonists Stephen Kumalo James Jarvis
• Major Conflict
• Stephen Kumalo struggles against the forces
  white oppression, corruption of city life that
  destroy his family country

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Plot Summary

• black priest from Ixopo, Stephen Kumalo
• goes to Johannesburg to search for his son and
  sister
• discovers that his sister has become a prostitute
• his son has murdered the son of a white Ixopo
  farmer
• Stephen Kumalo returns to Ixopo with his pregnant
  daughter-in-law, and his sister's sonsister
  remains behind
• Kumalo seeks to reconcile with the murdered mans
  father
• bring Gertrude back to the village.

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Story Chart

• Rising Action
• Kumalo travels to Johannesburg to search for his
  son
• Climax
• Absalom is arrested for the murder of Arthur
  Jarvis
• Falling Action
• Absalom is sentenced to death
• Jarvis works with Kumalo to improve conditions in
  the village
• Absalom is hanged

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Biblical Reference Absalom

• There are many biblical references throughout the
  novel.
• Names Absalom, the son of Stephen Kumalo, shares
  his name with the son of King David, who rose up
  against his father in rebellion.
• Also, in the New Testament Book of Acts, Saint
  Stephen was a martyr who died rather than give up
  his beliefs.

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More Biblical Allusions

• Absalom requests that his son's name be Peter
• Name is one of Jesus's disciples
• Peter's known for impulsiveness
• after Christ's arrest, he denied knowing Jesus
  three times, and later wept in grief over this.
• After the resurrection, Peter renewed his
  commitment to Christ and to spreading the Gospel.
• All of this suggests Absalom's final repentance,
  and his commitment to the faith of his father.

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More Allusions

• Arthur Jarvis is described as having a large
  collection of books on Abraham Lincoln, and the
  writings of Lincoln figure heavily in the novel.
• Paton describes Arthur's son by using the same
  characteristics that Arthur had when he was a
  child. This alludes to the rebirth of Christ.

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Stephen Kumalo

• One of the 2 protagonists in novel
• Elderly Zulu Anglican priest
• Spent entire life in quiet country village
  Ndotsheni
• Quiet, humble, strong faith in God
• Has outbursts of anger his words occasionally
  cause pain to his family
• Dignity faith despite the suffering he sustains
  
• Moral center of novel
• His journey is a physical one to find his son
  sister in the corrupt city

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James Jarvis

• Novel's other protagonist
• White landowner whose farm overlooks Ndotsheni
• Jarvis a conservative farmer
• Man of few words
• Only son, Arthur, murdered
• Leads him to Johannesburg
• Begins to rethink his opinions and his
  relationship to the villagers that live below his
  farm.
• His journey is a spiritual, mental one

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Theophilus Msimangu

• Young minister at the Mission House in Sophiatown
• Msimangu understands the problems that face
  South Africa
• He helps Kumalo understand the people and places
• Sympathetic to Kumalo, makes Kumalo's quest his
  top priority.

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Absalom Kumalo

• Stephen Kumalo's son
• Leaves home for Johannesburg
• Absalom turns to crime
• Commits murder
• Lack moral compass, influenced by bad companions

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John Kumalo

• Stephen Kumalo's brother
• Formerly humble carpenter and a Christian
• John Kumalo becomes a successful businessman
• One of the three most powerful black politicians
  in Johannesburg
• He has a beautiful and powerful voice, uses to
  speak out for the rights of black South Africans,
  but he fears punishment is corrupted.

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Arthur Jarvis

• Arthur Jarvis first appears after he has been
  murdered
• He is an engineer and fierce advocate for justice
  for black South Africans
• Is shot dead in his home by Absalom Kumalo

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Mrs. Kumalo

• Strong-minded, supportive, loving wife
• Makes household decisions with her husband as an
  equal
• She bears hardship gracefully
• Kumalo is inclined to brood
• She rouses him to action
• She supplies the courage needed to read the bad
  news the mail brings from Johannesburg

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Gertrude Kumalo 

• Stephen Kumalo's sister
• Original reason for his trip to Johannesburg
• Gertrude, twenty-five years younger than Kumalo
• Went to Johannesburg to find her husband
• Turns to alcohol and prostitution
• Her young son returns to Ndotsheni with Stephen
  Kumalo, but she remains in Johannesburg

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Form Structure

• Problem or sociological novel
• Social issue is racial discrimination in South
  Africa
• Propaganda novel?
• Strongly influenced by Steinbecks Grapes of
  Wrath
• Books are alike in structure
• Chapters 9, 12, 23 are intercalary or inserted
  chapters
• Give you a picture of society as a whole
• Do not advance the plot
• Lead to full understanding of the setting for the
  story

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Structure

• Novel is circular
• Begins in Natal-Moves to Johannesburg-Ends in
  Ndotsheni in Natal
• Plot Themes presented in 3 part structure
• Book 1 search for Stephen Kumalos son sister
• Theme of tribal disintegration stronger than
  tribal rebuilding in this book
• Book 2 trial, intercalary chapters give more
  social issues background
• Both major themes appear, but breakdown of
  traditional order is still stronger
• Book 3 resolution Kumalo Jarvis work to
  change village of Ndotsheni
• Stress on theme of rebuilding promise of hope
  for future

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Style

• Realistic
• Uses symbols
• Names of characters
• Titihoya birdsymbol of land
• Meals sometimes a communion
• Mountains uplands seen as good places
• Valleys, places of decayexcept Johannesburg
• Language
• More common English patterns when white man is
  thinking
• Harsh to the point more complicated than his
  main style

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Language

• Paton invented special style for the book
• Simple vocabulary
• Use of biblical patterns
• Use of Zulu other Bantu languages
• Symbols like light darkness
• Short clauses connected by but or and
• Repetition
• Used to represent speech or thoughts translated
  from Zulu give comments from the omniscient
  narrator
• Both styles are seen in Chapter 22 where
  prosecutors style contrasts with Absaloms

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Theme Reconciliation between fathers sons

• Search of 2 fathers for their sons
• Kumalos is a physical search
• When Kumalo Absalom are reunited they are
  strangers to each other
• Trial brings them closer but verdict allows
  Kumalo to finally understand his son
• Letters from prison show repentance the little
  boy he remembers

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Jarvis his son

• Not a physical search
• Realizes knows nothing about his son
• Arthur was an advocate for South Africas black
  population
• He his father disagree on this
• Reconciliation with a dead man occurs
• Jarvis finds the way through Arthurs writings
• Gives Jarvis clear insight into who Arthur has
  become
• Jarvis feels pride for his son

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Inequality Injustice

• Massive inequalities towards non-whites
• Black Africans can only own limited amounts of
  land poor quality, overworked
• Land wont support young adultsthey must leave
  to work in the mines or Johannesburg
• Absalom Gertrudeexamples
• Economic lure of city leads to danger
• Limited opportunities to earn money separated
  from family and tradition turn to crime
• City full of slums and gangs

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• These conditions lead to anger and violence
• Rob white homes
• Whites become afraid and loose sympathy for the
  blacks
• More injustice occurs and this makes situation
  worse
• Absaloms lawyer claims Absalom is societys
  victim
• Whites get government troops to crack down and
  the situation explodes

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Christianity and Injustice

• Kumalos main source of strength is God
• Christianity also aids in resisting oppression
• Arthur Jarvis calls the mine policies
  un-Christian
• Religion is seen as a way to bring social justice
  without violence
• Christianity is also part of the injustice
• Black priests paid less than white ones
• Religion says to suffer not fight back
• Arthur Jarvis also discusses that religious
  figures claim God wants whites to rule blacks

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Depiction of Nature

• Contrasts the beauty of Natal against the
  ugliness of South Africa
• Hills Rivers of the whites more fruitful
  lovely
• Land of the black farmers barren, dry, hostile
• Contrast between beauty of the land vs. ugliness
  of society shows necessity of change
• Also, offers hope
• Land can be restored
• Titihoya bird represents the landhas deserted
  the barren land around Ndotsheni, but still
  around the white farms higher up

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Repentance

• Many characters lose temper in novel
• Msimangu when learns Absalom abandoned his
  girlfriend
• Young man at reformatory is mad at Absalom
• Kumalo loses temper at wife, sons girlfriend,
  his brother, sister
• Sometimes scenes are ugly
• Acts are met by repentance
• Characters are forgiven
• Pattern demonstrates power of caring to overcome
  bitterness

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Repeated Phrases

• Phrases repeated show subtle changes in meaning
• As was the custom/or it was not the custom
• Kumalo expects to be treated as an inferior
• When the custom is brokenphrase shows how
  important these small acts are
• Not a thing done lightly shows this
• Reconciliation scenes
• Repetition of these phrases shows how often these
  taboos are changing

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Symbols

• Church
• Ndotsheni church simple, rough structure
• Represents faith that is humbleleaky roof,
  little shelter
• Church closely linked to Kumalo
• Jarviss offer to build a new church is symbol of
  his commitment to the village friendship with
  Kumalo

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Kaffir Boy-Mark Mathabane

• Excerpt from a novel
• Author born in South Africa, 1960
• Mother dragged him to school when he was 7stayed
  in school to spite his father who beat the mother
  for taking him
• Lived in Alexandra, a township outside
  Johannesburg
• Approximately 150,000 lived in an area of 1
  square mile
• Lived in a shack 15 by 15 and slept on
  cardboard sheets under the kitchen table

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Story excerpt

• Excerpt we read was when his Grandmother took him
  to her employers home
• They gave him books and occasionally work
• Also gave him a used tennis racket
• He will teach himself to play and enters a
  tournament in 1977
• Loses tournament but gains scholarship to school
  in US
• At 18 leaves South Africa
• Tennis was his way to further his education and
  get out of South Africa
• Only through education would blacks gain rights

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Mathabane conclusion

• From experience with the white family who helped
  him learned are good and bad whites just as good
  and bad blacks
• Experience in US taught him racism everywhere
  just less obvious here
• Has worked to gain opportunities for urban youth
  both here and in South Africa

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A Life for a Life

• Short story by Alan Paton
• Brutal act of violence of a violent person who is
  acting with the authority of society
• The white farmer is killed so someone must pay
  for thissomeone of color
• Title important because the death/murder of Enoch
  Maarman by Robertsse
• Deliberate act of murder against an innocent man
  that is allowed by society
• Maarman is a Hottentot an African tribe located
  around Capetown, South Africa

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Hottentots

• Khoekhoe

• Proper term for this tribe
• Hottentots is considered offensive as name was
  given by European settlers who took over the area
  around Capetown
• This group was one of the 3 original inhabitants
  of South Africa with the Bantu and San tribes

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Drink in the Passage

• Also by Alan Pato
• Liberal whites long to have a relationship with
  the African blacks
• Edward Simelane personifies all that is best in
  the natives according to them
• Their fear however keeps them from inviting him
  into their homes and so he is left standing in
  the hallway
• This puts him at even greater risk
• Whites in story represent ineffectual
  ambivalent efforts of the liberal whites in South
  Africa
• Protest treatment of natives yet lack power

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Drink . . . continued

• Protests attract government attention and more
  repressive acts towards natives
• Paton worries that South Africa will never change
• Much like the white family in Kaffir Boy
  excerptwant to help but in a way that wont take
  away from material wealth of the whites

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Mother and Child by Mike Munyaradzi
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Why is this novel so important?

• Doris Lessing, the novelist and 2007 Nobel
  laureate in literature said
• What you have to remember is that the whole of
  southern Africa was seen as a very happy, fun
  place full of satisfied blacks. Cry, the Beloved
  Country destroyed that vision.
• Cry, the Beloved Country is the greatest novel
  to emerge out of the tragedy of South Africa, and
  one of the best novels of our time.
• The New Republic

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Helpful Hint

• As you read the book, remember to refer to the
  back, which has a GLOSSARY of African terms you
  may not be familiar with.