ENGLISH 2A/B 2022

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MTHIYANE AO

MTHIYANE AO

221127228 0713184257

TOPIC (Please write out the Essay Title in full): CRY,THE BELOVED COUNTRY

___01_/_04___/2022

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Date: ___________________________01/04/2022_
Cry, the Beloved Country is a novel written by Alan Paton, published in 1948. The novel
is initially set in Ndotsheni, a village situated in South Africa, and it later shifts to one of
the biggest cities in South Africa, Johannesburg. It is about Reverend Kumalo, a pastor
who makes his way to Johannesburg and makes new discoveries about the city.
Reverend Kumalo is a protagonist in the novel, through him and other characters, we
get to see themes like racism, knowledge, Christian faith, and the city versus nature. In
the novel there are racial divisions between the white and black community. I argue that
black and white people are not portrayed equally in this novel, white people are
represented as superior whereas black people, who occupy most of the population, are
represented as inferior and are linked to the concerning issues in the city. I will use
characters and events that take place in the novel to elaborate my argument.

At the beginning of the novel, Paton takes us through the beauty of his home village in
Natal, his description brings a picture of a beautiful place full of life and peace. “The
grass is rich and matted” (Paton, 1948: 1). One can say that his description is also
figurative, meaning that he is going back to how life used to be like prior colonization,
how there used to be peace and no divisions amongst races. He later emphasizes that
the land has broken down. “But the rich green hills break down” (Paton, 1948: 1)).
Again, Paton might be insinuating that after the racial segregation that rose on account
of colonization, things changed. The whites have become the owners of the natives’
land, they reside in the lavish places of South Africa and stuff the natives in small areas
like Shantytown. In the novel, we learn that there is house shortage for the blacks, there
is not enough place for black people in a black people’s country because the whites
have made it their own country. They own mines that largely benefit them but barely
benefit the black community, the blacks do hard labour in return for small wages, which
screams economic inequality and exploitation to the black community. The same mines
that swallow the fathers and sons from the villages. This elaborates that the white
people use the black people to prolong their riches, even if it means they should work in
harmful places that put their lives at risk of dying or getting long-term illnesses.
Certain characters in the novel draw attention to racial segregation and inequality, like
James Jarvis and Stephen Kumalo, they both come from the same village, but James
Jarvis is privileged because he is white, he owns the land, and is quite wealthy, Stephen
Kumalo on the other hand is a random black man who does not own much. Black
people are not permitted to enter some places in the same way as whites do, which
indicates that the whites regard blacks as people of inferior standards. During Kumalo’s
journey to Johannesburg, we learn that the trains have separated sections for black and
white people, even though it is a South African train and that most of the people on the
train are black, they divide the carts into “Europeans” and non-European sections,
“Kumalo climbed into the carriage for non-Europeans”. This indicates that the natives
and the Whites are being treated differently.

During Absalom’s trial, the judge’s reaction to the crime that Absalom has created is
questionable, his reaction to the idea that Absalom has murdered someone is
extraordinary, it is out of the normal. “Argues that he is shocked and overwhelmed and
stricken by his act” (Paton, 1948: 199). This is of course because of the racial
segregation that takes place in the city, Absalom has taken a life of a white man, and
obviously during that time white people were superior so it was like Absalom has taken
the life of his master which is a gruesome act to the ruling white government. The legal
system does not impose justice but rather it shows racial prejudice towards the black
community. He may have acted differently if Absalom murdered a black man, perhaps it
would not have stroked him as “shocking and overwhelming. Without Absalom pleading
guilty of murdering Arthur Jarvis, he is hanged to death. This harsh sentence is a result
of that Absalom is a black man and the laws are created by the white men who are not
fond of the black community, and the black community should adhere to these laws on
account of that whites are ruling them.

Black people are seen as the group that brings corruption to the city. The big issues in
the city like crime and prostitution are connected to them. In a way, these acts (crime,
prostitution) could be a result of that the economic state of the city does not favour black
people, there is no equality when it comes to the economy, the black people get to work
in the mines for the white mine owners and not get paid enough salary to maintain a
general living. The racial segregation goes to the extent of crime not being just “crime”
but rather “native crime” meaning that most of or the people who commit crimes are the
black people, whites are portrayed as the ones who are not doing anything destructive
to the city, so the novel portrays the black people as the problem and the white people
are represented as smart people who bring progression in the city. It goes to an extent
where if there was a crime reported it is expected to be done by a black person.
“EUROPEAN HOUSE HOLDER SHOT BY DEAD NATIVE HOUSE-BREAKER” (Paton,
1948: 192). The fact that these words are written in bold elaborate how much crime was
a black issue, also the fact that they label the crime as “native” shows how low white
people think of black people, it also serves as evidence of the theme of inequality in the
novel.

In conclusion, with the argument that I have provided, Paton figuratively hints at the
figurative meaning of his description of his home village. it is clear that the novel
portrays white people as upper level and white people as lower level. It is evidence by
the example of Stephen Kumalo James Jarvis, that they possess more power than the
black community. Murder that is directed to a white person seems to be a bigger deal in
the novel. Issues that pollute the city are related to black people and black only, whites
are not seen as a problem.
REFERENCE LIST

Paton, A. 1949. CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY. New York: Scriber’s press