Movies - Cry, The Beloved Country

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Cry, The Beloved Country is a novel by South African author Alan Paton. It was first published in New York, USA, in 1948 by Charles Scribner's Sons. It deals with the Reverend Stephen Kumalo's search for his son Absalom in the city of Johannesburg.

Synopsis

The novel opens in the village of Ndotsheni, where the black pastor, Stephen Kumalo, receives a letter from the priest Theophilus Msimangu in Johannesburg. Msimangu urges Kumalo to come to the city to help his sister, Gertrude, who is "sick." Kumalo goes to Johannesburg to help Gertrude and to find his son, Absalom, who had gone to the city to look for Gertrude but never came home. Upon his arrival in Johannesburg, Kumalo learns that Gertrude has taken up a life of crime. Gertrude agrees to return to Ndotsheni with her young son.

Kumalo embarks on the search for his son, first seeing his brother John, a carpenter who has become involved in the politics of South Africa. Kumalo and Msimangu follow Absalom's trail only to learn that Absalom has been in a Reformatory and impregnated a young woman. Shortly thereafter, Kumalo learns that his son has been arrested for the murder of Arthur Jarvis, a white fighter for racial justice and son of Kumalo's neighbour James Jarvis.

Jarvis learns of his son's death and comes with his family to Johannesburg. Jarvis and his son had been distant, and now James Jarvis is looking to come to know his son through his writings. Through reading his son's essays, Jarvis decides to take up his son's work on behalf of South Africa's blacks.

Absalom is sentenced to death for the murder of Arthur Jarvis. Before his father returns to Ndotsheni, Absalom marries the girl he has impregnated, and she joins Kumalo's family. Kumalo returns to his village with his daughter-in-law and nephew, finding that Gertrude ran away on the night before their departure.

Back in Ndotsheni, Kumalo makes a futile visit to the tribe's chief in order to discuss changes that must be made to help the barren village. Help arrives, however, when Jarvis becomes involved in the work. He arranges to have a dam built and hires an agricultural demonstrator to implement new farming methods.

The novel ends on the night of Absalom's execution, which finds Kumalo praying on a mountainside as dawn breaks over the valley.

Analysis

Cry, the Beloved Country is a social protest against apartheid. Alan Paton attempts to create an unbiased and objective view at this social structure. He creates the 'Whites' affected by 'native crime', whilst the 'Blacks' having social instability and moral issues due to the distablishment of the 'old guard'. All this, however can be disputed. It shows many of problems with South Africa such as the land reserved for the natives degrading, which is sometimes considered to be the main theme, the disintegration of the tribal community, native crime and the flight to the urban centers. There are many more themes one could find, but these are some of the most commonly addressed. The quote below shows another recurring theme which is how fear affects the characters and society of South Africa.

There are many literary devices used. Paton uses microcosms, intercalary chapters, hyphens instead of quotes for dialogue and many other things very often to show the state of South Africa. A microcosm is a form of symbolism that uses a small thing to depict something on a larger scale. Intercalary chapters are literally chapters that are 'in between', they have almost nothing to do with the story, but often are microcosms. Intercalary chapters are used in 'The Grapes of Wrath' along with the next literary device described, hyphenated dialogue. There are no double quotes in the whole book, instead Paton uses hyphens(-). This may not seem like a literary device at first, but soon it becomes evident that they do a lot more than would be expected. Because there are no phrases such as he said or she said, it is faster to read and, especially in the intercalary chapters, adds a feeling of desperation.

Background

Cry, The Beloved Country was written before the implementation of the infamous apartheid political system in South Africa. The novel was published in 1948, with apartheid becoming law later on that same year.

Cry, The Beloved Country had critical success around the world, except in South Africa where it was banned, due to its politically dangerous material. The book sold over 15 million copies around the world before Paton's death.

The book is studied currently by many schools around the world. The style of writing is often compared to the King James' Bible, in which Paton's writing does tend to fit. Paton was a devout Christian.

Film adaptations

In 1951, the novel was adapted into a motion picture directed by Zoltan Korda. Paton himself wrote the screenplay. Kumalo was played by Canada Lee, Jarvis by Charles Carson, and Msimangu by Sidney Poitier.

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