Analysis Of Stephen Kumalos Cry, The Beloved Country

In Cry, the Beloved Country, Paton details a gripping story of Stephen Kumalo’s search for his son while conveying significant ideas regarding the social injustice and integrated racism of South Africa during the segregation of apartheid. Paton structures his story around revolving points of view and maintaining a sometimes simplistic or lyrical language specific to varying parts of the novel to express his message of the disintegration of faith coming from new experiences, distinctively hardships, and the lack of effort placed into the overarching purpose of believing in religion, people, or humanity. Paton uses varying points of view throughout the entirety of the novel, employing the distinct voices to convey different perspectives†¦show more content†¦Jumping from an all knowing narrator to specific points of views, Paton makes the narrator purposefully ignorant and limits its overall scope of situations, through both dialogue and context, while the novel has give n enough information for it to be clear what is happening, which is shown, for example, through James Jarvis’s description of Kumalo as a stranger by detailing, â€Å"there was a knock on the door†¦ [he found] a native parson standing on the paved stone.. The parson was old, and his black clothes were green with age, and his collar was brown with age or dirt (Paton 211).† Through this description of Kumalo, his broken spirit and overall bleak outlook on life and faith is highlighted. While Paton primarily uses an omniscient third person, his usage of occasional second person gives making the story more involved with using ‘you’ and directly conveying specific messages regarding natives crime, apartheid’s effect on society, or racism as a whole. Also, to add to the directness of his writing at points in the novel, Paton diverts from his usual past tense and uses present tense when speaking through second person. Utilizing different voices and st ructures, Paton creates a changing message that molds to fit with his specific purpose during varying points in his novel. Throughout Cry, The Beloved Country, Paton’s language remains primarily simple and plain in nature, onlyShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Cry, The Beloved Country1324 Words   |  6 PagesAnalyzing the race relationships between characters in Not Either and Experimental Doll and Cry, the Beloved Country certainly brings the social culture of 1940s/50s South Africa to light. In Not Either an Experimental Doll, the push for a personal relationship between an African girl and white woman results in a clear division of social statuses. Cry, the Beloved Country, however, depicts a personal relationship between a black man and a white man that results in mutual respect and understandingRead 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 MoreRace And Personal Relationships During 1950s / 50s South Africa1361 Words   |  6 Pages1940s/50s South Africa Analyzing the race relationships between characters in Not Either and Experimental Doll and Cry, the Beloved Country really brings the social culture of 1940s/50s South Africa to light. In Not Either an Experimental Doll, the push for a personal relationship between an African girl and white woman results in a clear division of social statuses. Cry, the Beloved Country, however, depicts a personal relationship between a black man and a white man that results in mutual respect andRead MoreSouth Africa3003 Words   |  13 Pagesthere any background desired as the scenery for his motion picture, but variety is not the only true value of the African landscape. Here we find the lush, well tended greens that represent the wealth and control of the Europeans who have invaded the country; the dry savannas where the animals roam freely, but the native peoples are restricted; the eroded clay that somehow manages to sustain life and reminds us of the outlying township slums that somehow susta in oppressed lives; and the stifling city