Cry,+the+Beloved+Country

**//Cry, the Beloved Country//**
Please respond to **one** of the following questions. Afterwards, write your name and grade. Thanks, Mr. Moore.

One of the novel’s goals seems to be to offer a balanced portrayal of both white and black perspectives without condemning either side. Does the novel succeed in this goal? Is it too judgmental? Does it oversimplify any issues?

or

The novel is full of opposites: the land (compare introductory paragraphs to section 1 and section 2); black versus white; poor versus rich. What other opposites does Paton describe? What similarities are there between these seemingly different people and places?

A: I think Alan Paton (the author) does an exquisite job in having a balanced potrayal of both white and black perspectives. The novel does seem to potray white people as wealthier, but that is how it truly was in South Africa at the time the novel takes place. The author does include John Kumalo as a wealthy black native, but he is a morally bad man. He is not the only bad man, as there are also some rich white men who take money from many blacks. Absalom and Matthew Kumalo, both black, are bad kids and portrayed that way. The author is a bit judgemental in portraying blacks more often as criminals than whites. The author does show what the blacks think and feel and also what the whites think and feel at the time. Nothing is oversimplified: sorrow, death, sickness, drought. All these issues are completely shown in a realistic manner from both sides. Bolton Sanford 10th grade

The novel //Cry, the Beloved Country// shows South Africa during the apartheid era through the eyes of both blacks and whites. As the protagonist is a black priest from the countryside, more is seen throough the eyes of Africans. Although we see the hardships that blacks had to face in the city of Johannesburg, whites are not shown as the villains, at least not through the eyes of Kumalo, the black protagonist. In speeches given by black activists we hear about the evils that whites commit, but the few white characters mentioned in the story are not guilty of these crimes. The main conflict of the story is over the murder of a white man by a black man. The black man was the son of Kumalo. The murdered man was a whte actictivist in favor of the black community and we read about his work and writing. The father of this man is a conservative, but he wants mercy for the murderer and is not rascist. He is Kumalo's friend and is seen as a good man, not just a white man. This novel does successfully show the views of both blacks and whites on the changes and hardships of the apartheid without making either group of people look evil or stereotypical. Jeb Hines 9th grade

The novel does a good job of accurately representing South Africa's societal problems. Indeed, the novel focuses mostly on the problems the Kumalo family faces, but in the time period, just before the official start of apartheid, blacks faced more daunting social problems. Thus, Paton focuses on the black perspective; the Kumalo family fell apart over time, leading to Absalom committing a murder and Kumalo's sister deserting him, leaving behind her child. The Jarvis family loses their son to Absalom Kumalo, but their family does not face nearly the same destruction. I don't think Paton is judgemental toward either race; with the economic struggles blacks raced, conflict and murder would arise. The situation Absalom finds himself in is a prime example of desperation, and his two friends leaving him for dead is another example of desperation. They betray him because more than anything else, they need a way out, even if it comes at the cost of their friend. In the same economic situation, a white man would very likely betray a friend to escape condemnation. Finally, I believe Paton does oversimplify and exaggerate the ending; I do not find it highly realistic that Jarvis would come to an understanding of the Kumalos' situation so quickly and made efforts towards helping them after Absalom murdered his son. While a fitting and touching conclusion, most white men in Jarvis' situation of depression would come to such an understanding of the world they live in and reconcile with the family of his son's murderer in such fashion. David Rieder 12th grade

In the novel //Cry, the Beloved Country// Alan Paton describes several opposites throughout the book. For example, the city way of life and tribal way of life are completely opposite. In the tribal way of life, the chief of the tribe is not very educated. Also, there are not many opportunities for education within the tribe. There are also very few jobs and poverty is wide spread throughout the tribe. On the other hand, politians and a government run life in the big city of Johannesburg. The schools are better and there are more opportunities for jobs. Another opposite is morality versus immorality. Kumalo is a Christian priest who tries to do the right thing. In contrast to his brother, John, who demonstrates immoral behavior by getting his son out of trouble even though his son was involved in a crime. Bo Harrell 9th grade

A: Alan Paton provides a balanced and realistic view of the issues occuring in Africa during the 1940's. He adresses how the transition from a rural to an urban way of life alienates family members living in Johannesburg from their more traditional counterparts. He discusses how loss of religion and customs effect the black population of the city just as deeply as negligence from the government does. Although portions of the book discuss the plans of apartheid and the intolerance shown by some white people, it is also recognized that a notable portion of the white population are supporters of black civil rights in Johannesburg. The author realized that ridding of poverty required progression from the less sustainable agricultural traditions in the countryside. Old fashioned methods included burning manure instead of making fertilizer as well as using cattle as a sign of wealth, which led to large populations of underfed cattle when smaller, healthier populations that provided beef and milk would be much more beneficial to the villages. The only way to help the people banish hunger from their villages was by teaching new farming techniques, which signified that the old and new ways of life worked best in union with one another. Even though the institution for criminal boys provided a positive rehabilitation setting, Absalom still returned to crime after his releasal. Ignorance and rasicm were issues on both sides of the table, but Henry Jarvis held no grudges against the Kumalo family for Absalom's crime. The complexity of the problems in Johannesburg are seen by Stephen Kumalo and Henry Jarvis both becoming protagnists in different sections of this novel, even though one is of dark and the other is of light skin. Dana Schultz 10th grade

In the book Cry the Beloved Country although Alan Paton try's to make a balenced portrayel in the book however I beleave that he did not do this corectly for example he depicted the white people as crule unjust but when he compairs the black people he says most are fair. Wyatt Hay 9th grade

A: In the novel //Cry, the Beloved Country// Alan Paton portrays many ways of how the black people and white people are treated in South Africa during this time period. For example, Paton contrasts between the landscapes of Natal and explains how it is a segregated society by using the description of the lush hills and deserted valley. This contrast is explaining the differences between the black people and the white people of Natal.If the reader compares the way of life in the more lush hills than the deserted valley it is completely different which means the Alan Paton is trying to say that the black people and white people are not anything alike. Another example in this novel is when Kumalo leaves the tribe to take a visit to Johannesburg and realizes the harsh transition in landscape. Kumalo is very overwhelmed and starts to see what is in the world outside of the life of the tribe. The novel is focused more on the life of the tribe which is the life of the blacks. Hugh Buyck 9th grade