Cry , the Beloved Country: Post-Colonial Literary Theory
Bibliography w/4 sources Cry , the Beloved Country by Alan Paton is a perfect example of post-colonial literature. South Africa is a colonized country, which is, in many ways, still living under oppression. Though no longer living under apartheid, the indigenous Africans are treated as a minority, as they were when Paton wrote the book. This novel provides the political view of the author in both subtle and evident ways. Looking at the skeleton of the novel, it is extremely evident that relationship of the colonized vs. colonizers, in this case the blacks vs. the whites, rules the plot. Every character’s race is provided and has association with his/her place in life. A black man kills a white man, therefore that black man must die. A black umfundisi lives in a valley of desolation, while a white farmer dwells above on a rich plot of land. White men are even taken to court for the simple gesture of giving a black man a ride. This is not a subtle point, the reader is immediately stricken by the diversities in the lives of the South Africans.
The finer details of the book are what can really be looked at in terms of post-colonial theory. The fact that a native Zulu, Stephen Kumalo, is a priest of Christianity and speaks English, communicates how the colonized are living. Neither of these practices are native to his land, but they are treated by all as if they were. Small sentences are woven into the plot to further this point, such as the reoccurring European greetings.
Another emphasis is on the learned customs of the people. In court when Kumalo finds that his son will be hanged, he is touched that a white man breaks the custom to help him walk outside. When the white boy raised his cap to Kumalo, he, "felt a strange pride that it should be so, and a strange humility that it should be so, and an astonishment that the small boy should not know the custom." (p. 234). The fact that this small courtesy was taken so heavily is overwhelming from a post-colonial point of view. Kumalo is so accustomed to the way of the land that he does not dare think that he deserves even this respect.
Napoleon Letsisi is the character that reveals the significant political belief of the author.
At Wren’s funeral after the ceremony, a young grave digger started to work on Wren’s grave when he dropped a book called: The Grave Digger's Handbook. The young girl looked at the book then back at her mother as they started to leave, she grabbed the book and tucked it under her jacket then walked back to her mother to go back to the train going through Munich. Thats, when the The Book Thief was born, and soon, more thievery was to come.
In Alan Paton's novel Cry, the Beloved Country two characters, Absalom's girl and Gertrude, show the how society in Johannesburg is as a whole. Absalom's girl symbolizes how girls her age are mothers and have even become divorced several times before. On the other hand Gertrude, Kumalo's sister, illustrates the qualities of a young woman who becomes corrupt from Johannesburg's filthy system of stealing, lying, and prostitution. Both of them show the ways of Johannesburg as a whole.
Virtual Museum EMS History. (2011, August 11). Professor Frank Pantridge. Retrieved January 20, 2014, from http://www.emsmuseum.org/virtual-museum/history/articles/399784-Professor-Frank-Pantridge
Throughout history, British imperialism has influenced many countries’ culture and heritage for the worse. The competition for resources and markets made empires colonize different parts of the world to systematically spread their influence and force the colonized to forget their heritage. One of the most important African writers, Chinua Achebe was strongly concerned with political and social effects of British colonialism in the Igbo society. His novel, Things Fall Apart, is not an exceptionally positive one, utilizing the story to delineate a pioneer control that enters and afterward realizes the demise of the Igbo society (How Does Chinua Achebe Portray Colonialism Using Things Fall Apart?essay). Achebe paints a picture of how the colonizers treat the colonized and to what the local people are forced to accustom to the new culture that was forced upon them. Throughout the whole book, you can see diverse impacts on the tribe and the connections between the white and dark man (Colonialism in Things Fall Apart). The constant question of "Does the white man understand our custom abou...
Fear and Redemption in Cry the Beloved Country & nbsp; Fear grips all black societies and is widespread not only among black people but also white people. An unborn child will inherit this fear and will be deprived of loving and relishing his country because the greater he loves his country, the greater will be his pain. Paton shows us this throughout this book, but at the same time he also offers deliverance from this pain. This, I believe, is the greater purpose of this book. & nbsp; When Stephen goes to Johannesburg, he has a childlike fear for "the great city" Johannesburg. Khumalo's fears about his family are exactly the same as every other black person in South Africa.
...nt limits methods in the output of knowledge. When it comes to the natural sciences it is not a matter of how it is perceived. Ethical judgments in science allow it to evolve and produce more knowledge. It is correct that in some cases they do not allow particular methods to be used therefore prolonging the production of knowledge however the limitations can also impose positive effects in the knowledge produced, such as the development of other methods. Once again this cannot be solved by knowledge as the negative effect of ethical judgment in science contributes to producing a positive effect as well. The main issue with this statement however is the definition of ethical judgements, as there is no clear answer to what it implies. This is because it varies between people due to society they live in, their culture, religion, personal experience and personal opinion.
Even though many of the scenes in Hopper's paintings take place during the first half of the century, the situations and the emotions displayed in those painting are no less relevant today. For each of us can reflect on a time in our lives where we found ourselves alone and bewildered by a situation we cannot flee from or a rapid in our lives For Hopper those paintings were a reflection of his ambivalence towards the encroachment of modernity into his world, the isolation and loneliness he felt in the face of change. Something most of us may feel or have felt at one point in our lives.
In 1930’s and 1940’s South Africa, many people suffered through traumatic events, whether it be a robbery, a loss of livelihood, a beating, or the ultimate tragedy, the loss of a loved one. In his novel Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton makes sure that this is not left out of his true-to-life, albeit fictional, account of life in South Africa. James Jarvis is the recipient of this tragedy in the novel. His son, Arthur Jarvis, is murdered in his home by Absalom Kumalo during a botched robbery attempt. This sudden loss breaks Jarvis’ heart and sends him reeling. He goes to Johannesburg for the trial and ends up realizing that he really didn’t know his son at all. Reading his son’s writings causes him to have a moral conversion, and he begins his new life when he returns to Ndotsheni. Even though James Jarvis is a man of few words, he has much to say after his son’s death and he speaks through his actions.
Cry the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton, is the story of the two fictional characters, Stephen Kumalo and James Jarvis, who lose their sons in South Africa in 1948. In his story, Alan Paton used the George Hegel's Dialect of thesis, antithesis, synthesis, in order to expose social injustices in a microcosm of South Africa that correlate to the macrocosm of the issues faced by the entire country and what must be done to fix these injustices. Paton subdivided his story into three books. The first of these books, depicts the Journey of Stephen Kumalo, to try and restore his family, is a cry against injustice. The second book focused mainly on James Jarvis’s plight to understand his deceased son, depicts the yearning for justice. While the final book displays the restoration and repair of the injustices derived from the yearning for justice.
One great paradox of human life is the balance between security and independence. Many people would say that they are self-sustaining, that they can make it on their own. The question is not always whether or not they can make it, but what the cost of their security is. Some value their personal freedom more than their security, for others it is the opposite. In “Cry, the Beloved Country” characters often wrestle with this issue. Every character responds uniquely according to their situation. The results are meaningful and give information about who they really are and what they value.
Hugh Price and Stuart Kahl are among the large majority of people who do not believe one test is able to accurately measure what a child knows. Price states, “High-stakes standardized tests, like the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the SAT, fail to capture the qualities most essential for success in the corporate world, such as creativity, drive and leadership” (Price). Price claims that although these tests are able to rate children in topics such as Math, English and History, what really makes one who they are is more than book smarts, but their personality and leadership skills are also necessary. In addition to Price believing this fact, Kahl also articulates against standardized testing.
In Cry, the beloved country, Alan Paton tells the story of his journey across Africa, his experiences with the colonized Africa, and the destruction of the beautiful, pre-colonialism native land of Africa. Heart of Darkness also tells the story of a man and his experiences with colonialism, but a man who comes from a different time period and a very different background than Alan Paton’s Stephen Kumalo. Although, both Joseph Conrad and Alan Paton portray the colonized areas as very negative, death filled, and sinful places, it is when one analyzes the descriptions of the native lands of Africa that the authors reasons for their disapproval of colonialism are truly revealed. When comparing the writing styles of Alan Paton and Joseph Conrad, their descriptions of the land and the people in both works reveal their different attitudes and views towards colonialism. While Paton and Conrad ultimately oppose colonialism, Paton is concerned with the disappearance of African tribal tradition, whereas Conrad is concerned with the perceived corruption of the white colonists.
Throughout his novel, Cry, The Beloved Country, Paton writes about how social inequality affects a country. Social inequality causes people pain and prevents them from advancing in the ranks of society. Paton uses tone to establish the negative result of segregation and explain how to overcome it. Paton stresses that fact that people must eliminate segregation, unite as a people, and communicate with each other. From his book, people can understand how to overcome segregation and grow from
Racism Exposed in Cry, the Beloved Country. The purpose of Cry, the Beloved Country, is to awaken the population of South Africa to the racism that is slowly disintegrating the society and its people. The. Alan Paton designs his work to express his views on the injustices and racial hatred that plagues South Africa, in an attempt to bring about change and.
Every human being, in addition to having their own personal identity, has a sense of who they are in relation to the larger community--the nation. Postcolonial studies is the attempt to strip away conventional perspective and examine what that national identity might be for a postcolonial subject. To read literature from the perspective of postcolonial studies is to seek out--to listen for, that indigenous, representative voice which can inform the world of the essence of existence as a colonial subject, or as a postcolonial citizen. Postcolonial authors use their literature and poetry to solidify, through criticism and celebration, an emerging national identity, which they have taken on the responsibility of representing. Surely, the reevaluation of national identity is an eventual and essential result of a country gaining independence from a colonial power, or a country emerging from a fledgling settler colony. However, to claim to be representative of that entire identity is a huge undertaking for an author trying to convey a postcolonial message. Each nation, province, island, state, neighborhood and individual is its own unique amalgamation of history, culture, language and tradition. Only by understanding and embracing the idea of cultural hybridity when attempting to explore the concept of national identity can any one individual, or nation, truly hope to understand or communicate the lasting effects of the colonial process.