Alan Paton Quotes

628 Words2 Pages

Allie Kraiss Mr. Colombo English 2CP 4th March 2024 James Jarvis’s Journey The novel Cry the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton, depicts a selfish man named James Jarvis transforming into a hero for the native community. One day Jarvis’s peaceful life in Ndotsheni changes when his son Arthur Jarvis dies and he goes on a journey to Johannesburg where he uncovers his son's passion for advocating on behalf of the natives. After facing the challenge of realizing he never truly knew his son, Jarvis changes his ways, proving that he went through what a hero undergoes. In the novel, Jarvis proves to be a hero because of his emotional and moral change. Upon arrival in Johannesburg James uncovers the life of Arthur Jarvis and realizes he is a stranger to …show more content…

Recognizing his distance from his son pushes him to build an emotional connection. He is unaware of his son’s impact on the native community and regrets that he never contemplated their struggles on his own. After reading his son’s manuscript, Jarvis had a change of heart and began to adopt his son’s views. Now he cares about the issues the natives face and remains sitting in the office, “Jarvis sat deeply moved. Whether this was almost the last act of his son, he could not say. Whether because there was some quality in the words that too he could not say, for he had given little time in his life to the savoring and judging of words” (Paton 188). Jarvis is now knowledgeable about his son’s work and beginning to think about his son’s writing. Originally Jarvis was unconnected with the plight of the natives, however during his journey to Johannesburg he researches his son's work and reconnects with him through that. James Jarvis experiences moral change, particularly with his view on the natives and how he will provide aid to them. Before he sees the destitute life of natives firsthand, Jarvis does not want to help

More about Alan Paton Quotes

Open Document