Cry, the Beloved Country
When an author conjures up an idea for a novel, his or her ultimate intent is to entertain the reader. However, oftentimes an author will add an underlying theme to convey a message that he or she feels is important. Rather than writing an essay or editorial blatantly expressing an opinion, blending it into a story allows the author to reach more people with the message and make it easily understood, much like parables in the Bible. In Alan Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country, a story of an honest man searching to restore the old way of life in a decaying society reveals the author's apparent feelings toward the importance of religion, tribal unity and social reform. Alan Paton, a strongly devoted Christian, uses Cry, the Beloved Country to stress the significance of religion through characters. Stephen Kumalo is the driven and pious minister who acts as the center and voice of reason in the family. When his sister Gertrude, and son Absalom defect to the evil c
Msimangu states the central problem of the novel: one of a people caught between two worlds. The old way of life, in which tribal adherence, respect for the chief and tradition are stressed, has disintegrated under the pressure of false optimism in the city. Currently the natives live in an unstructured world where there are no values and no order to follow. Absalom and Gertrude, who lose their old values and become part of the new lawless life in Johannesburg, represent this idea in the novel. If and only if tribal unity is restored, will the natives be able to live productive lives. Paton gives possible solutions of his own through Arthur Jarvis regarding this problem, including plans which would give the natives a sense of direction and worth in the tribe, without going to the city. Through this principle, and his religious views, Paton's attitude toward the city as it destroys traditional tribal ideals is evident. Bulky volumes of statistics, figures,
Some common words found in the essay are:
Arthur Jarvis, Stephen Kumalo, Stephen Paton's, , Beloved Country, Absalom Gertrude, South Africa, Examples Paton's, Alan Paton, south africa, arthur jarvis, reach people, social reform, cry beloved, beloved country, cry beloved country, idea novel, Cry Beloved, tribal unity,
Approximate Word count = 653
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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