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

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СКАЧАТЬ symbol and a brief description of how this symbol supports the theme(s) in the novel in the space provided.

      The colour red

Symbol	Text reference	Theme(s) supported
“The great red hills stand desolate, and the earth has torn away like flesh. The lightning flashes over them, the clouds pour down upon them, the dead streams come to life, full of the red blood of the earth.”	1, 1: 23, 3: 2103, 5: 221	ErosionSuffering
Description: Red is mostly used to describe the destructive effect of erosion on the hills and the farmlands in the Reserves. Red is the colour of blood. The image of red, bleeding hills symbolise the suffering of the land and its people.
“Although his money was little, he bought her a red dress and a white thing that they called a turban for her head.”“The little boy was there, the red dress and the white turban were there. But Gertrude was gone.”	1, 7: 282, 12: 186	CaringRestorationMoral decay
Description: Reverend Kumalo buys his sister a new dress. In this context Gertrude’s red dress symbolises the colour of life and hope, which is brought about by her brother’s act of kindness. He gives Gertrude a chance to start a new life in Ndotsheni. Here, the symbol develops the themes of caring and restoration.Gertrude has disappeared. She has chosen to return to her old life that leads to sickness and death. The colour red is used to symbolise the sickness of moral decay. It develops the theme of moral decay.
“He sat down, and took out a large underline handkerchief to wipe his face.”	1, 7: 31	Moral decay
Description: After John Kumalo has made a speech about the liberating experience of his new life in Johannesburg, he wipes his face with a red handkerchief. In this context, the colour red symbolises the corruption of his moral values. He uses the power of his voice to justify why he has left his church and his wife. Although he is a successful businessman and politician, he is sick because he is corrupted. The theme of moral decay is supported.
“Does she not look well in her red and white, and her cap upon her head?”	1, 10: 54	CaringRestoration
Description: The life-giving aspect of red blood is symbolised in the description of the nurse who works in Shanty Town.
“He too used to ride past Ndotsheni. On a red horse with a white face.”“And for a moment he caught his breath in astonishment, for it was a small white boy on a red horse, …”	2, 8: 156–1573, 2: 200	Restoration
Description: The descriptions of Arthur Jarvis and his son riding on red horses symbolise the arrival of new life and hope for restoration. These support the theme of restoration.

      Your example:

Symbol	Text reference	Theme(s) supported
Description:

      3.4 Setting

      The setting of a novel describes the place, time, social environment, mood and atmosphere of the action in a story.

      Time: Cry, the Beloved Country is a historical novel. It was written in 1946. The only indication of time in the novel is the first letter from Msimangu to Reverend Kumalo dated 25 September 1946 (p. 5 in your school edition). We know that Absalom will be hanged on the 15th of the month, although we don’t know which month.

      The principles of contrast and repetition operate in the description of social environment, place, mood and atmosphere in Cry, the Beloved Country.

      Social environment: The story includes references to historical events that took place in the 1940s: the bus boycott from Alexandra to Johannesburg in 1943; the development of Shanty Town; the discovery of gold at Odendaalsrust in April 1946 and the miners’ strike on 12 August 1946. The novel describes the social inequalities that existed between Europeans and non-Europeans in the 1940s as a result of the government’s segregation and migrant labour laws. It is a novel of social protest.

      The descriptions of the social environment in Ndotsheni and in Johannesburg therefore repeat the emphasis on the poverty and suffering of black people. However, the love and care of the community in Ndotsheni contrasts with the fear and distrust of people living in Johannesburg. Black and white are corrupted by greed for more money and power.

      Place: The simplicity of the hilly landscape of rural Natal, the farm High Place and the valley of Ndotsheni contrasts with the complex layout of gold mines and skyscrapers of the city, Johannesburg, and its surrounding townships.

      Msimangu, who guides Reverend Kumalo in the city, explains the layout of the townships at the beginning of Chapter Six in Book One (p. 23 in your school edition). “It is not far to Claremont. They lie together: Sophiatown, where any man may own property, Western Native Township which belongs to the Municipality of Johannesburg, and Claremont, the garbage-heap of the proud city.”

      Mood and atmosphere: The description of the mood and atmosphere in which the action of the novel takes place varies according to the specific context of the setting. For example, in Book One, Chapter Four, the description of Reverend Kumalo’s first glimpse of Johannesburg from the train creates a restless atmosphere. He is overwhelmed and confused by the high buildings and the never-ending changing of colours. “He sees great high buildings; there are red and green lights on them, almost as tall as the buildings. They go on and off. Water comes out of a bottle, till the glass is full. Then the lights go out. And when they come on again, lo the bottle is full and upright, and the glass is empty. And there goes the bottle over again. Black and white, it says, black and white, though it is red and green. It is too much to understand.” (pp. 13–14 in your school edition).

      This description of the restless atmosphere in Johannesburg contrasts with descriptions of the tranquillity of a rural landscape in the first chapters of Books One and Two and in the last chapter of Book Three.

      3.5 Characterisation

      3.5.1 Setting influences character development

      You don’t behave exactly the same at school and at home; you act and react differently when you are in a different environment. When you return to your home town from your trip to another town or holiday destination, you feel that you have learnt something. You are not the same person you were when you left. You have experienced different people in a different setting. Your view of the world has developed based on your new experiences.

      Similarly, setting in Cry, the Beloved Country influences character development. The two main characters in the novel who changed most are Reverend Kumalo and James Jarvis. They leave Ndotsheni for Johannesburg. When they return to Ndotsheni, their experiences in Johannesburg have changed their worldviews because the borders of their world have expanded.

      The structure of the novel contrasts the different views and worlds of Reverend Kumalo and James Jarvis by presenting Reverend Kumalo’s view in Book One and James Jarvis’ view in Book Two. However, they share the same landscape. The same description of the hilly rural landscape appears at the beginning of the first chapter in Book One and in Book Two. This repetition emphasises the fact that Reverend Kumalo and James Jarvis share a love for the same countryside where both have grown up and live. The structure of the novel is cyclic, that is, it forms a circle from beginning to end. Book Three describes their return and how they use their enriched worldviews to restore and develop the community of Ndotsheni.

      The schematic presentation below illustrates how the structure of the novel supports Paton’s plea for land and social reform. Both main characters undergo change and growth in Johannesburg in order to restore the farmlands and the community of Ndotsheni so that they are better prepared to face the challenges of a developing country.

      3.5.2 СКАЧАТЬ