Best Books Study Work Guide: Cry, the Beloved Country. Lucille Smuts

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СКАЧАТЬ is sentenced to death; the young white man from the reformatory comforts Reverend Kumalo in his suffering.Ch. 11ClimaxThe turning point: Reverend Kumalo is overjoyed; he may continue restoring the land, the church and the people of Ndotsheni.Ch. 5Falling action Acts of compassion and caring give some hope to Reverend Kumalo, Absalom and his girlfriend.Ch. 15, 16 & 17Falling actionPractical matters following Absalom’s death sentence are taken care of; an appeal for mercy will be lodged; Gertrude chooses her old life in Johannesburg but Absalom’s wife chooses a new life in Ndotsheni.Ch. 12Falling action The restoration of the land, the church and the people of Ndotsheni starts taking shape.Ch. 6Resolution of the novel as a wholeReverend Kumalo finds comfort in his suffering; in his vigil for his son he has communion with God; his son dies while hope for a new way of living dawns.Ch. 7

      After you have used the plot of Cry, the Beloved Country to help you make meaning of the novel as a whole, you can use the following explanatory notes and activities to guide your thinking about the novel.

      3. Post-reading activities

      Paton has written the text of Cry, the Beloved Country in such a way that the powerful message of the novel is also an amazing work of art. The explanatory notes and activities that follow guide your thoughts about and beyond the text which you have read.

      The author uses literary elements to put forward his message about the need for social and political change in South Africa. The first literary element or device is theme. Study the following explanatory notes on theme in general and on the themes in the novel.

      3.1 Thinking about theme

      Definition: A theme is a main idea that has meaning to the reader beyond the story. That is, it has universal meaning. This means that the author’s beliefs and views written into the story also have meaning in your author’s own life and in the lives of everyone else. A theme expresses truths and lessons about life that everyone experiences.

      Example: You know what it feels like to be afraid and lonely. You also know how your fear seems to disappear when a friend joins you and keeps you company. In Cry, the Beloved Country Reverend Kumalo is afraid of the many people in the streets when he arrives in Johannesburg. He is comforted when Mr. Mafolo, a member of the St Mark’s Church, joins him and takes him to the Mission House in Sophiatown.

      There are many examples in the story of characters’ fear and suffering being comforted by acts of kindness and compassion. These main ideas are repeated in most of the chapters of the novel, like golden threads woven into the text. These ideas become themes of the novel because they express universal experiences and truths. You and everyone else, regardless of language, age or race, experience the truth that acts of kindness can comfort those who are suffering from fear, loneliness or loss. The moral of the lesson told in the story of Ndotsheni is therefore that the world – in this case South Africa – needs acts of compassion and social justice to liberate people from fear and hatred so that they can work together to rebuild relationships and live meaningful lives.

      To do:

      Choose your own example in the novel of an act of caring that comforted a character suffering from fear. Describe this act in a few sentences. Then describe an incident in your own life when an act of caring lifted your fear.

      Example in the story:

      Your own example:

      3.2 Tracing themes in the novel

      3.2.1 Erosion

      In Cry, the Beloved Country the fertile soil of the farmlands is eaten away by over-grazing and by incorrect farming methods. Likewise, the moral values of the black migrant labourers’ tribal traditions and the social conscience of the white mine shareholders, the businessmen and farmers are eaten away by corruption and greed for money and power. The erosion of the land and its people is a dominant theme in the novel. Such erosion leads to crime, fear and suffering while also creating opportunities for caring, change and restoration.

      3.2.2 Power relations

      South Africa: The theme of power relations in this historical novel explores how greed for power corrupts South African society in 1946. Greed for more possessions, money and political power contribute to the erosion of moral standards, social justice and equity. Arthur Jarvis’ manuscript (pp. 124–126 in your school edition) describes the social and political injustices committed to ensure that power remains in the hands of the government. The segregation policy of the South African government only sets aside “one-tenth of the land for four-fifths of the people” (p. 126 in your school edition). The migrant labour policy exploits unskilled labour to maintain and increase production in the mining industry. Racial tension flares as a result of corrupted power relations. Book Two, Chapter Nine (pp. 159–165 in your school edition) illustrates the increased racial tension in John Kumalo’s inflammatory speech demanding higher wages and in reports about the black miners’ strike.

      Reverend Kumalo’s story: The theme of power relations is also explored at a family and a personal level. Reverend Kumalo abuses his power as Absalom’s father to question him relentlessly, even though he can see that Absalom can’t answer his questions. He abuses his power as Absalom’s father to humiliate his son’s girlfriend. John Kumalo’s greed for money and political power prevents him from fighting fearlessly for the rights of black people. Reverend Kumalo warns Mr. Litsitsi about the damaging effect of power on relationships; he sounds his warning as a moral lesson: “But hate no man, and desire power over no man. For I have a friend who taught me that power corrupts” (p. 230 in your school edition).

      The power of voice: Power relations are expressed in the power of voice. The uplifting power of Msimangu’s “voice of gold” (p. 78 in your school edition) over his audience is compared to the sound of a deep bell that reverberates in the listeners’ minds and hearts. John Kumalo’s “great bull voice” (p. 159 in your school edition) has the power to stir up the crowd’s emotions. Black women do not feel free to voice their thoughts and feelings. Reverend Kumalo’s wife does not have the power to voice her hurt: she “was silent, with the patient suffering of black women, with the suffering of oxen, with the suffering of any that are mute” (p. 7 in your school edition).

      3.2.3 Fear

      Fear results as a consequence of moral decay, which in turn leads to greed for more power and to the corruption of society. The theme of fear takes shape in different forms according to the circumstances and acts that cause fear and anxiety.

      Violence and crime: In Book One, Chapter Twelve the fear of white and black people of violence and crime is voiced in their different reactions following the news of Arthur Jarvis’ murder. White people’s fear that the mines and industries will come to a standstill when the black labourers strike is reported on in Book Two, Chapter Nine.

      Loss: In the lives of Reverend Kumalo and his family fear of the loss of his sister, son and brother becomes a reality. At the beginning of the novel Reverend Kumalo and his wife fear that they have lost their son, his sister and brother to Johannesburg. Reverend Kumalo’s fear grows as he discovers the extent of corruption and crime in Johannesburg and their effect on his sister and brother. His fear that he has lost his son Absalom to crime is confirmed when he hears that his son has murdered a white man. His son is found guilty of murder and he fears that there will be no mercy for him. This fear is also confirmed.

      Power of fear: The theme of fear pervades the whole novel. The last sentence in the novel underlines the paralysing СКАЧАТЬ