The language of the book from the very beginning reveals its biblical nature. "The great valley of Umzimkulu is still in darkness, but the light will come there. Ndotcheni is still in darkness, but the light will come there also." The style includes symbols such as light and darkness, short clauses connected by "and" or "but", and repetition. This style is used to represent speech or thoughts "translated" from Zulu.

Jarvis is not a bad person but is ignorant about the lives of blacks and the real issues that take place.

Christ is symbolized by the figure of Arthur Jarvis. He is a white reformer who fights for rights of blacks. Like Christ, he is very altruistic and wants to pursue his aims at all costs. His friend, Harrison, says: "Here [Arthur Jarvis] was, day to day, on a kind of mission." (173) Arthur Jarvis and his wife Mary "agree that it's more important to speak the truth than to make money." (172) Arthur Jarvis is killed in his house by Absalom, a black youth who gets entangled in crime. Absalom only intends to rob Arthur Jarvis, and the homicide is unintentional. Absalom thinks that Arthur Jarvis is out and comes into the house with two friends. However, when Arthur Jarvis "heard a noise, and came down to investigate" (186). Startled and afraid, Absalom fires blindly. Absalom later says in court: "Then a white man came into the passage... I was frightened. I fired the revolver." (194) Absalom's blind fear is symbolic of the fear, blindness, and misunderstanding between whites and blacks; these are the reasons of racial hatred. In his room, there are pictures "of Christ crucified and Abraham Lincoln" (176), the two men who fought for human love and compassion and were killed because of their beliefs. Arthur Jarvis can be identified with Jesus Christ. Jesus taught "love thy neighbor as thyself". Roman priests didn't understand him, but they felt his power and were afraid of him. Even though Christ taught compassion, they claimed he would incite a riot and crucified him. Like Christ, Arthur Jarvis teaches compassion and love between neighbors - whites and blacks, separated by the policy of apartheid.

Gertrude, the sister of Stephen Kumalo, can be identified with a Samaritan woman in New Testament. Priest Msimangu describes Gertrude to Kumalo. "It would be better to say ... that she had many husbands." (57) That means she is a prostitute. Likewise, Christ says to the Samaritan woman that she had many husbands, but none of them was her husband for real. When the reader notices the connection to the prostitute in the Bible, we are able to view her differently, and forgive her like Jesus Christ forgave the sins of the Samaritan woman.

"Cry, the Beloved Country" examines racial hatred and turmoil from a very different perspective than most people of Paton's time were used to. Because the setting and issues of this book are so removed from most readers' experiences, readers can form opinions and view this book without bias, because most people don't encounter issues such as life in an African village, African landscape and draught, Zulu language, etc. People can look at issues discussed i

Some common words found in the essay are:
Arthur Jarvis, South Africa, Beloved Country, Alan Paton, Stephen Kumalo, Moses Moses, Bible Christ, Kumalo Jarvis, Jesus Christ, Earlier Jarvis, arthur jarvis, cry beloved country, whites blacks, stephen kumalo, alan paton, beloved country, cry beloved, jesus christ, community ndotcheni, abraham lincoln, samaritan woman, arthur jarvis white, beloved country people, alan paton wrote, blacks real people,
Approximate Word count = 1822
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)