Analysis Of Alan Patons Cry The Beloved Country - 847 Words

Reverend Stephen Kumalo, the protagonist of Alan Paton’s novel Cry, the Beloved Country, lives in the countryside of Ndotsheni. The countryside is in drought, over-farmed, and the land is dying. Despite all this, it is still representative of home and peace to the characters in the novel. It is the home of traditions and old trivial rules. However, a consistent theme it brings is young people leaving for the city, and therefore bringing new messages to South Africa as a whole. The novel presents a struggle between nature, man, and industrialization, thus causing conflict between what the countryside represents and what the city represents. The countryside acts in direct opposition to the industrialized Johannesburg and stands for idyllic†¦show more content†¦And some of the children are there in the church being confirmed, and after a while they too will go away, for the soil cannot keep them anymore (Paton 293). Due to the drought that plagues Ndotsheni because of ov er farming and not enough rain, the land is no longer as strong as it once was. The soil, representing tradition, â€Å"kept† those who lived in the countryside there. Following custom and religion, the confirmed children would usually stay in the area where they are from. However, because the soil â€Å"cannot keep them anymore,† these children â€Å"will go away† to the cities. In South Africa, the imperfections of the tradition-bound countryside drive the younger generation to leave for cities like Johannesburg. While things in the countryside are imperfect and harrowing because of the drought, the want that the people there have for a better life brings hope to them. The younger generation that leaves for the city represents the want for a better life that those who still live in Ndotsheni see in themselves. Notably, the novel concludes with Paton reflecting on the future saying, â€Å"Ndotsheni is still in darkness, but the light will come there also. For it is dawn that has come, as it has come for a thousand centuries, never failing. But when that dawnShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Alan Patons Cry, The Beloved Country962 Words   |  4 Pagesbut not doing anything to try and fix it will ultimately not solve the issue of racial division. In the novel, Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton, a wise man named Msimangu, and Arthur Jarvis, a well-respected activist, are characters that seek an end to the racial divide in the country of South Africa. Msimangu and Arthur Jarvis each uniquely se ek an end to division in their country through teaching hope and working for justice. Msimangu teaches Stephen Kumalo about his hope for South AfricaRead MoreJames Jarvis806 Words   |  4 PagesJames Jarvis In Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country there is two protagonists, Reverend Stephen Kumalo, and James Jarvis. Both characters play significant roles to the story but James Jarvis’ situation is noteworthy and inspirational. James is an influential, dynamic character because his opinion dramatically changes upon reading his son’s manuscript. A series of events influences James to shift his mindset into the mindset of his son. An analysis on James Jarvis’ changing mindset revealsRead MoreAnalysis Of Orson Scott Card s The Great Pattern 1676 Words   |  7 Pageswhat resonates with the contemporary writer is essential in determining whether the focus of aspiring writers should be imitating Fielding’s ‘writers of antiquity’, embracing the ‘great pattern’, or on more recent works. For the purpose of this analysis I will be considering works written within the last twenty years ‘recent’, whilst analysing what wr iters gain, or lose, from fiction written longer ago. Some themes in literature are forever relevant to the human condition. George Orwell’s Nineteen