Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Friday, February 21, 2014
Cry the Beloved Country Blog Post
In the book Cry the Beloved Country Stephen Kumalo is in search of his son and sister. He faces many obstacles challenges and feels a little frightened. He then learns everything about Johannesburg. Paton has many themes. Many of these themes describe the land of Johannesburg and religious matters of Johannesburg. The two most important themes in this book would be themes of father and son and inequality and injustice.
One of the first themes is a them between father and son. Kumalos search begins to be a simple one at first. As his search progresses he begins looking all over Johannesburg in search for his son Absalom. As Kumalo searches he ask people about his son and they sort of give clues to who his son had become. Kumalo and Absalom finally reunite together after a long time. They are like strangers to one another. As the trial proceeds is starts to bring Kumalo and his son closer and closer together. After Absalom gets convicted to being guilty he gets thrown in jail. As he is in jail he begins to write his father letters. Now Kumalo begins to learn who his son really is.
Another theme in this book would be a theme of inequality and injustice. Kumalos search for his son takes place against the background of social inequalities, meaning that some could possibly be responsible for Absaloms struggles. Since the blacks are limited to a certain amount of land then everything becomes close together which causes over-planting and over-grazing of the crops. As a result that makes the land become jagged and aggressive. That's why people left the villages to go work in the cities. Gertrude and Absalom get caught up in the wave of emigration. Johannesburg is full of danger which leads to Gertrude and Absalom to be separated from their family and tribal traditions. Since all of this, they both have no choice but to turn to crime.
In Johannesburg there are ghetto neighborhoods and black gangs everywhere, who direct their anger against the white people. The black people steal from and terrorize the white populations so that makes the whites become paranoid. Both white and black explain their actions as a reaction to the violence from the other side. Absaloms lawyer claims that Absalom is society's victim and then the white homeowners gather government troops to oppose what they see as a rising threat. There is little understanding of each side. Now it seems that the cycle if inequality and injustice will go on endlessly.
One of the first themes is a them between father and son. Kumalos search begins to be a simple one at first. As his search progresses he begins looking all over Johannesburg in search for his son Absalom. As Kumalo searches he ask people about his son and they sort of give clues to who his son had become. Kumalo and Absalom finally reunite together after a long time. They are like strangers to one another. As the trial proceeds is starts to bring Kumalo and his son closer and closer together. After Absalom gets convicted to being guilty he gets thrown in jail. As he is in jail he begins to write his father letters. Now Kumalo begins to learn who his son really is.
Another theme in this book would be a theme of inequality and injustice. Kumalos search for his son takes place against the background of social inequalities, meaning that some could possibly be responsible for Absaloms struggles. Since the blacks are limited to a certain amount of land then everything becomes close together which causes over-planting and over-grazing of the crops. As a result that makes the land become jagged and aggressive. That's why people left the villages to go work in the cities. Gertrude and Absalom get caught up in the wave of emigration. Johannesburg is full of danger which leads to Gertrude and Absalom to be separated from their family and tribal traditions. Since all of this, they both have no choice but to turn to crime.
In Johannesburg there are ghetto neighborhoods and black gangs everywhere, who direct their anger against the white people. The black people steal from and terrorize the white populations so that makes the whites become paranoid. Both white and black explain their actions as a reaction to the violence from the other side. Absaloms lawyer claims that Absalom is society's victim and then the white homeowners gather government troops to oppose what they see as a rising threat. There is little understanding of each side. Now it seems that the cycle if inequality and injustice will go on endlessly.
In conclusion, Paton uses many themes and motifs in the book Cry the Beloved Country. He describes the land and religion of Johannesburg. He makes many of the characters connect in some way. Stephen Kumalo is in search for his broken family. He finds out that his sister is in trouble and then he wants to find his son. There were two main important themes in the book Cry the Beloved Country. A theme between father and son and inequality and injustice.
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