The Theme of Hope by Farah Ahmed 7A and Abdullah EL Hakim 7B

Although “Cry, the Beloved Country” is a novel that records extreme social injustice and often reveals a sense of hopelessness about the depth of the problem, it also envisages the possibility of reconciliation between the races and the rebuilding of black communities.

Even within the darker sections of the novel, there are usually some bright spots in which people exhibit human kindness to one another, regardless of race. One example is found in the mission house where all priests, black and white, regard each other as equals. “And there he met many priests, both black and white, and they sat down after a prayer and ate together,” explains the narrator. The quote shows how not only did the two races co-exist, but they prayed and ate together as brothers. Father Vincent, a white priest from England, is one that stands out. He genuinely likes Kumalo and talks to him in an equal manner.

The example of the young white man who gives rides to the black people walking to Alexandra because of the bus boycott validates Msimangu’s idea that love has an incorruptible power. The story of the whites giving rides to the blacks shows that racial harmony and human decency are possible. Moreover, solidarity between the whites the blacks triumphs over racism as South Africans risk trouble with the police in order to give rides to the striking blacks. Even if the boycott did not succeed in reducing the bus fare, it has done a great deal of good because it has shown the solidity of the natives and has aroused the conscience of many whites. This proves that the situation is not hopeless and many whites are on the side of the right, “Many of the white people stopped their cars, and took in the black people, to help them on their journey to Alexandra.”

Another representative of hope is the young white man who works at the reformatory to which Absalom Kumalo is sent. He tries everything he knows to set him on a more productive path in his life, for Absalom has deviated from the right path. As a result he became a criminal. The young man never gives up trying to aid Absalom, “ Do not give up hope Umfundisi. I will not give up the search,” he tells Stephen Kumalo. The people we read about in the reformatory reinforce the idea that there are white men of goodwill in South Africa who want to be constructive by helping the natives. The white man at the reformatory is a representative of the white people who are kind, helpful and respectful towards the black natives.

Of course, one major example is Arthur Jarvis. The hope for the future lies in the fact that the races are capable of cooperation, if individuals decide to overcome the false barriers that have been set up between them. Jarvis is one of the white people who was trying to bridge the gap between the two races. Because the non-racist whites are few, the loss of one is a great loss as he has been shot dead by black natives. Jarvis wished to help the blacks regain their rights, “this is a great loss for this Arthur Jarvis was a courageous young man, and a great fighter for justice.” Unfortunately, a black criminal , Absalom Kumalo, is the one who shot Arthur Jarvis

The novel suggests that societal change will only come when there is a change within mens' hearts, but it holds out the hope that such change can and will happen.

Reconciliation and Hope
Although Cry, the Beloved Country is a novel that records extreme social injustice and often reveals a sense of hopelessness about the depth of the problem, it also envisages the possibility of reconciliation between the races and the rebuilding of black communities.
Even within the darker sections of the novel, there are usually some bright spots in which people exhibit human kindness to one another, regardless of race. An example is the white man who goes out of his way to give rides to the black people who are walking because of the bus boycott. Another example is the young white man who works at the reformatory to which Absalom is sent. He tries everything he knows to set Absalom on a more productive path in life.The major example is of course Arthur and James Jarvis. The hope for the future lies in the fact that the races are capable of cooperation, if individuals decide to overcome the false barriers that have been set up between them. The novel suggests that societal change will only come when there is a change within mens' hearts, but it holds out the hope that such change can and will happen.

Dubala and John

There is nothing like listening to a well prepared oratory. While several people can write powerful speeches, not everyone has the charisma and oratory skills to move and influence the audience. In “Cry, the Beloved Country”,  there is no better orator than Dubala and John Kumalo. Both give inspiring speeches, though driven by different motives; one seeks fame and power, while the other works for the welfare of his race.

John Kumalo has broken with the church and with the tribe; he has  shed all the old tribal values and has adopted the more impersonal ways of the city. John is glad to be away from the domination of the chief because now he can assert his own importance. He tells his brother, “Here in Johannesburg, I am a man of some importance, of some influence.”

He is the archetype of the successful businessman known for his stirring oratory. Msimangu explains to Stephen how powerful John's speeches are and how strong his impact is on his listeners. Msimangy says that, "they say he speaks like a bull and makes noises in his thorat like a lion." He talks to his brother and Msimangu as if addressing an invisible audience summing up the Blacks’ suffering, “ But it is not built on the mines, it is built on our backs, on our hard work.” In Brief, he is a voice without heart and morals.

Although John speaks out for justice for the natives who are overwhelmingly poor, he is afraid. He loves his money and power, he loves that people will listen to him, but he knows that if he says anything to push the people to revolt, he will be put in prison. He never lets his speeches get too intense because his desire for self-preservation is too high and it makes him afraid to endanger himself even for a good cause. His fear of punishment prevents him from pushing people to seek radical change. Msimangu informs Kumalo that, “ he could make men mad if he wanted, but they say he has not enough courage, for he would surely be sent to prison.”

While John sits like a chief and talks of vague ideas, Dubala , another black political activist, shows great care and dedication to the Blacks’ cause. He is quiet, humble and extremely effective, for he works with one small but practical area, an area of immediate concern to his people.  John operates from corrupt motivations, but his friend and colleague Dubala works tirelessly and selflessly for his people. Dubala leads the bus boycott, hoping to fight the economic prejudice against his race. He convinces Kumalo and Msimangu of his case using his “silver tongue”. He tells them, “We are here to stop you. Not by force, but by persuading you.” Readers can see how Dubala is concerned about his people who are treated unjustly every day and are treated as an inferior race deprived of all basic humn rights. To convince Kumalo of his case, he talks to him about the tough life conditions that the Blacks have to endure in this new world; he says, "Men as old as you are doing it every day, sometimes to start off again with nothing but hot water in their stomachs. This is a cause to fight for. "

While John is afraid of the government, the government is obviously more afraid of Dubala because he wants nothing personal out of his dedication and therefore cannot be easily corrupted. He wants “to make trouble. They say he has given up his own work to do this.” Clearly Dubala’s work involves a lot of sacrifice and sincere devotion to the Blacks’ case. He has dedicated all his life, energy and power to fight injustice and help his race regain their rights and identity. He simply does not care about what life has to offer and he wants nothing for himself. The major difference between the two great orators is expressed in Msimangu’s words, “They say your brother has the voice, but this man has the heart.”

Through Paton’s portrayal of the characters of John and Dubala, he supports the idea that it is difficult to avoid being corrupted by power unless you are full of love. Paton believes that love and selflessness are the only way to save South Africa from its racial struggles. Selfless people like Dubala can really effect a change, while John fails to have a constructive role in the society due to the fact that he works mainly for self- interest.

Cry, the Beloved Country

Chapter 10

In the beginning of Chapter 10, Kumalo still feels that there is a great gulf separating him and his sister. He will have this same feeling when he meets his son. However, Kumalo feels some relief by his response to Gertrude's son and sees in the young boy a hope for the future. But at the same time that Kumalo is seeing all types of suffering and despair, he himself feels helpless. Throughout these chapters, he contemplates more and more about the basic value and nature of life.

The picture of the reformatory and the staff member reinforces the idea that there are white men of goodwill in South Africa who want to be constructive, creative, and kind, although the odds are overwhelmingly against them. The young director of the reformatory represents the frustration of continual disappointment when working with the natives. Absalom was thought to be still redeemable, but when Absalom fails again in the outside world, the young director becomes rather bitter and disillusioned. Furthermore, the good Reverend Msimangu loses control of himself and expresses some bitter thoughts about the girl Absalom has deserted. Thus when even Msimangu and the director resort to bitterness and disillusionment, the situation must be desperate. The girl, though, has long ago given up hope, if indeed she ever had any. She is a Johannesburg girl, born and reared there, and her fate is simply to exist without a trace of human dignity or happiness.

Cry, the Beloved Country

Chapter 8

Chapter 8 begins the search for Absalom — a search that will lead Stephen Kumalo through a series of new experiences and new revelations. The first of these is the encounter with the bus boycott when he meets Dubula. Msimangu then explains more about the leaders and the new movement. Stephen's brother John has the voice, but Dubula has the heart. Thus, in contrast to John, who may be working partly for self-interest, Dubula's work involves great suffering and great dedication and sacrifice. John sits like a chief and talks of vague ideas, but Dubula is quiet, humble, hard-working, and extremely effective, for he works with one small but practical area, an area of immediate concern to his people. Consequently, the government, according to Msimangu, is more afraid of Dubula, because he wants nothing personal out of his dedication and therefore cannot be easily corrupted.

Even if the boycott does not succeed in reducing the bus fares, it has done a great deal of good because it has shown the solidity of the natives and has aroused the conscience of many whites. Both of these factors are important in the novel because they illustrate that the situation is not hopeless and that the issue is not purely a racial one of whites versus blacks. It is a matter of right and wrong, and many whites are on the side of the right. In the action of the whites giving the blacks a ride, we see a foreshadowing of the action that Jarvis will later undertake. These small actions then lead to greater acts of justice on the part of the whites.

Cry, the Beloved Country

Chapter 7

John represents a different way of life in that he has broken with the church and with the tribe and is now living with a new wife. He has shed all the old tribal values and has adopted the more impersonal ways of the city. This outlook stands in direct contrast to Stephen, who has adhered strongly to the old values embedded in the tribe and church. Furthermore, John is glad to be away from the domination of the chief because now he can assert his own importance. We must also realize that he is being used by the party solely because of the strength of his voice; in other words, he has become a voice without heart or morals.

When Kumalo brings Gertrude and the child from the slum area, he immediately buys them new outfits. Symbolically, he is preparing them to accept a new way of life as expressed by the discarding of the old clothes and accepting the new ones.

Throughout the novel, Msimangu is the spokesman for the author; it is he who identifies one of the principal evils of society: the white man has power and the black man wants this same power so as to be like the white man. At first the black man says he wants power so that he can correct injustice and the wrongs of the society. But the tragedy lies in the fact that as soon as the black man receives power, he uses it as badly as does the white man; that is, he is content to enjoy all the rewards of power and forgets about correcting the injustices.

Students' answers to exam questions:

What picture of the narrator do you get from the poem? Which of these words best describe her tone? Explain your choice.

1) The picture that I get of the narrator is that she is optimistic in  life and gives everything a person’s quality as if it is all alive. She is optimistic because she gives everything a bright side and looks at it from a good side.

Alia El Hossieny

2) Her tone is observant as she gives vivid details and description to the objects around her: the trees, the dead leaves , the grass and the clouds.

Youssef Wael Hatem

3) The narrator is talking about nature. She pictures the ocean’s waves clashing sound and the leaves floating in the air. The clouds are passing across the blue sky making the sunshine glance to the grass. The poet is extremely observant and happy.  She captures all the beauty of nature and describes it in a poem with a variety of adjectives.

Nadine Wael

4) The poem gives a picture of the narrator: a hopeful, excited young being, soaring through the storm, keen and eager and delighted to see every beautiful thing. Only one word could describe her tone: excited, the lines indicate her eagerness to soar the skies and explore the splendours the storm aroused.

Abdullah El Hakim

Bronte’s poem helps us to imagine the power of the storm through the uses of powerful imagery .Pick TWO figures of speech and explain them fully.

1) ‘’The bare trees are tossing their branches on high’’ Bronte uses this personification to show that the storm was so powerful, and the winds were strong that tree was bare of their leaves and swayed strongly and their branches broke. This makes the storm seem more vivid and easy to imagine. ‘’The long withered grass in the sunshine is glancing’’ This is also personification used to show the storm has led for the grass to wither but it still looks stunning in the sunlight.

Mahmoud Ramzy

2) The poet uses powerful imagery to create an image in our mind. She uses a personification in ‘’The dead leaves, beneath them, are merrily dancing’’ She describes that the leaves are dancing ,but they couldn’t to picture that the wind carries the dead leaves away as if they were dancing. This signifies that the leaves are loose and the wind is powerful. The second figure of speech is when she uses a metaphor in ‘’and hear the wild roar of their thunder today!’’ The thunder doesn’t roar but its sound is so high and like its roaring This signifies that the thunder’s sound is like roaring of the lion.

Youssef Amir

How do you feel reading the above poem? Describe your mood and use verses from the poem to support your answer.

I felt excited as I was reading the first line, ‘my soul is awakened, my spirits soaring.’’ It showed that the sense of excitement has started because there is a powerful storm coming and storms always give a sense of excitement to me rather than fear and this means that I am feeling that a storm is coming every time I read this poem.  

Mahmoud Shady

In the light of this headline that appeared in Johannesburg Mail, consider the effect of the racial discrimination on the blacks.

Left rudderless and working for meagre wages, it is not surprising that crime rates among the blacks are on the rise. Beside, the whites has disrupted the black man’s world and refuse to accept them in the new world, for they are afraid that the black’s gain education and become more powerful. This makes the white man avoids helping the black man to continue exploiting them for their own personal gain. As a result, blacks are suffering from ignorance, poverty and diseases which makes them steel and beat people as a source of life.

Farah Ahmed

Do you think Gertrude is a victim or a villain? Explain fully and give evidence to support your answer.

1) I think Gertrude is a villain, as she is normally corrupt she is a woman of streets with a child. She is morally and spiritually sick. Also, she is a sinner and her soul is lost because of all the sins she has done. This is her job, she makes and sells liquor. She has been to prison more than once. She sleeps with many men for her price. She didn’t adhere to the values and morals of her tribe and church. I believe that the culture of Johannesburg cannot change a person. She does not care about her child and leaves him without even knowing where he is. Finally, I believe that her immorality is distasteful and very upsetting not only to Kumalo, her brother, but to any community. Alia Bahig

2) A sensitive and debatable topic is whether blacks twisted and corrupted by the whites’ discrimination are considered villains or victims. Gertrude is one example, and I believe that she is both a villain and a victim. Accordingly, she shouldn’t have been sucked away into sin and Johannesburg’s temptations, yet it is not a fault of her own that she was excluded from the new world. At first it was essential to adhere to sin to be able to survive: she and her child, but later she had the choice to return, but didn’t seize it. Kumalo at first is angry and regards her as a villain thinking that ‘’ you have shamed us.’’ Then he sees she was forced by whites’ faults and forgave her saying, ‘who am I not to forgive?’’

Abdullah El Hakim

Comment fully on the following quote:                                                   

“How does one find one’s way in such a confusion?

Kumalo said these words to himself in Johannesburg when he saw Johannesburg's high buildings , cars , stations and its other facilities . He felt very confused and scared. For a simple man of God,he found himself in a complicated world full of dangers and traps while his own world is simple and natural . Kumalo has lived his life in a simple tribe that has no technology, but when he sees little liveliness,he feels very scared and nervous as he said "God watch over me, God watch over me. "

Youssef Emara

S    Sample Essay: Stephen Kumalo’s character

     Often known throughout the novel as "umfundisi," which is a Zulu title of respect, Stephen Kumalo is highly respected as the native African pastor of St. Mark's Church in the village of Ndotsheni and also as an upstanding, moral, strong member of the native South African community. Yet despite his good heart and soul, Kumalo has a terrible crisis to bear—the tragedy of his son's truancy and the justice that is meted out upon has family as a result. Beyond that, he is also watching the dissolution of the rural way of life he has always lived and championed.

Some traits that come out are his morality and naivete. Kumalo is naive because he has never ventured out of Ndotsheni and when he sees a little liveliness he thinks that that must be a big city. Once Kumalo steps foot in Johannesburg, the reality hits him that he has led a very sheltered life. Innovations brought by the Europeans to Africa, are things that Kumalo has never seen before in his life, and they scare him. Kumalo’s naivete contributes to the fear and confusions he feels his first days in the city, because he led a primitive life in his village. Seeing the streets of the big city, he thinks to himself,” how does one find one’s way in such a confusion?”. His fears of Johannesburg are a part of his inexperience in coping with the white man’s world which for a simple man is a complicated world full of traps and dangers while his own is simple and natural.  

When Kumalo dares to venture into the big city his ignorance of the greater world beyond his village is manifested. Being an outsider, Kumalo is a ready victim for opportunists. After Kumalo steps off of the train, a young man volunteers to purchase a bus ticket for Stephen he does not have to wait in line. Kumalo gives him the money trusting he would get the ticket for him, but the young man does not return. Due to Kumalo’s naivete he is cheated out of his money. Mr. Mafolo explains, “You have been cheated umfundisi.”

       Kumalo has the trait of faith. Throughout the novel Kumalo has faith in God. Whenever he is afraid or in doubt, he resorts to God and to his holy book because “it was this world alone that was certain.”

Kumalo is a caring, trusting, and essentially a humble person, but he is also a man with an inconsistent temperament. He always returns to God and repents for whatever he has done wrong. Like every human, Kumalo often becomes angry with other people and hurts them. Several times during the novel his feelings of anger get the best of him and he intentionally tries to hurt some other person. After each outburst, he is deeply sorry for his anger and makes reparations in some manner. Even in the first pages of the novel, he knows that he hurts his wife. He admits  ” I am sorry I hurt you, I shall go and pray in the church.”

Kumalo is angry with his sister, Gertrude for the way she chose to support her son and herself, and yells at her saying,” You have shamed us. A liquor seller, a woman of the streets, with a child and you do not know where it is. Your brother is a priest, how could you do this to us.” He yells at her out of love because he would like her to return to the way he knew her before, but his actions hurt Gertrude. By making him fallible rather than flawless, Paton ensures that we will be able to empathize with Kumalo’s experience.

Stephen is a virtuous man at heart, and is worthy of being a priest. Outside forces affected Kumalo greatly. The fact that his son, Absalom, went to Johannesburg and did not keep contact with him worried him greatly. After his sister went to look for him and also did not send word back to him, his worries became even greater. He was affected by their decisions and went to look for them. This changed his personality. While hoping they were doing well in Johannesburg, he realized that they were lost in sin. He sums up his suffering saying,“This is a bitter journey.”

Throughout the novel, Kumalo acts as a moral compass, the glue that holds his family together. Kumalo tries ceaselessly to repair the tribe, and to bring Gertrude, Absalom, and the rest of his family to where he believes they can put their lives in prospective, and live happily. However, his efforts are not successful in the end because he cannot make Gertrude or Absalom change their past trespasses, or way of life. He tries to preserve the traditional values he believes are correct, and he tries to make others moral. Stephen's suffering is seen partially in the fact that he wants to restore the family and the tribal system. He fears for his world which is “slipping away, dying, being destroyed, beyond any recall.” But through the course of the novel, he comes to an awareness that the tribal system can never be restored, and he fails in his attempts to restore his own family. Through these failures and the suffering caused by them, he matures into a man who has a larger appreciation for the trials that others must undergo.

Stephen Kumalo changes drastically during the course of the novel. He gains a great awareness of many facets of life by going on a journey to Johannesburg. Before this journey, he was a country priest who was a good man but who had no understanding of the wider world. He respected the tribal ways but had no understanding of why the tribe was breaking down and why the young people were leaving for the cities. Kumalo is the suffering hero; that is, before he can come to a complete awareness of life, he must undergo intense suffering. Only at the end of the novel does he come to understand the meaning of that suffering — that through suffering a person is made more aware of all aspects of life and can better sympathize with others.

Dear students, 

To learn some basic Zulu words, watch this easy video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jndNJAE3sls

NB: If you learn all the words in the video, you will win 4 SMART STUFFS!

QUiz 2 Commentary Question

“Yes, she is very sick. But it is not that kind of sickness. It is another, a worse kind of sickness.”

Comment fully by Mohamed El Touny 7C

Msimangu said these words to Kumalo at the Mission House in Johannesburg when Kumalo asked him about Gertrude and her sickness. Gertrude went to Johannesburg to look for her husband who went there and stopped writing letters and never came back. Msimangu asked Kumalo to come to Johannesburg to help his sick sister. When Kumalo arrives there, he knew that she is not physically sick, but spiritually. She sleeps with men to gain money to get food for her child and became a sinner. Gertrude is morally corrupt, but because Kumalo is a man of God and religion, immorality is distasteful to him and really upsetting. Kumalo was confronted with his first severe disappointment when he learns the truth about his sister. He found himself in a situation he has never encountered before. He did not know how to respond or what to do. This is a clear example of people who go to Johannesburg and change their values.  

Cry, the Beloved Country

Chapter 6

The streets of Claremont are filthy, and Msimangu explains that many of the children in the streets are not at school because there is no room for them in the classes. Msimangu waits up the street while Kumalo listens to the strange, unfriendly laughter coming from behind his sister’s door. Gertrude keeps Kumalo waiting while her unseen companions hastily rearrange and prepare the room.

Gertrude is sullen and fearful at first, and she tells Kumalo that she has not yet found her husband. Kumalo reproaches her for not writing and demands to see her child. When it becomes clear that she does not know where the child is, he tells Gertrude that she has shamed them, and announces that he has come to take her back. She falls on the ground in hysterics, saying that she wants to leave Johannesburg but is not a good enough person to return home. Softened by her remorse, Kumalo forgives her, and they pray together.

The confrontation with Gertrude is significant because when Kumalo first meets her, he takes a hand that is cold and dead. Symbolically, Gertrude is spiritually dead, but gradually, through the warmth and sincere devotion of Kumalo, she begins to come alive. She continues until there is a scene of sincere repentance on her part; then she confesses that she is sick and wishes to return home. The large city has made her sick; a general sickness abounds throughout Johannesburg. We also see a change in Kumalo in that at first he judges his sister harshly before he slowly begins to sympathize with her and ultimately forgives her.

The chapter ends on the hope that the tribe will be rebuilt and that Stephen's house will be restored. But as the search for Absalom will prove, the house is destined to undergo greater tragedy before it can be rebuilt.

Discuss the major problem facing the native population in South Africa.

Paton’s novel is primarily concerned with the tragedy that has afflicted South Africa: the exploitation of the blacks by whites and the consequence of the loss of an entire way of life. The cries of South Africa are delivered to the readers. These cries are based on the discrimination due to the difference in colour.

First of all, racial discrimination is apparent in the novel through the unfair distribution of the land. The lush grass of the hills clings to the rain and mist which makes it green and fruitful, “for the ground is holy, being just as it came from God.” Paton describes the land as sacred, as something to live upon and look after, believing that it will always support its residents. Similarly, traditions deserve respect, and without traditions and land, man’s sense of belonging disappears.

        On the other hand, blacks live in the damaged, neglected valleys, at the bottom of the superior white hills which “fall to the valley below and falling changes their nature.” There is a great difference between both farms and lands.  The blacks live where the land is “tough and sharp”, beside the “red hills” that stand empty. “The great red hills” is symbolic; the land is read and when it is washed into the rivers due to erosion, it colours the rivers, symbolizing the suffering of the people because of the unfair human rights and distribution of land. “The earth has torn away like flesh” as if the land was one great wound and Africa bleeds because of injustice and discrimination.

        The landscape is the mirror image if the South African society, devastated but with the hope of being unified. This is one of Africa’s fairest valleys but when the land and the people are not able to co-exist, when the equally born blacks and whites are not able to respect each other, that beauty is disrupted. All the whites have taken the most profitable farm from the blacks; there is a sharp contrast between the whites' lush hills and the blacks’ barren fields. This contrast highlights the two opposing worlds in the novel and stresses the co-existence of the 2 South Africas.

        As a result of the unfair distribution of land and the breaking of the tribal society occurs, in addition to the breaking of families and loss of traditions and identities. The people of the land are losing their traditions and identity, and their society is falling into despair. Their “own world is slipping away, dying, being destroyed, beyond any recall.” Young men and women are moving out of town to look for opportunities in other places – usually Johannesburg due to the city’s temptations. “When people go to Johannesburg, they don’t come back.” For example, Kumalo’s family is disintegrated because most of his close relatives went to Johannesburg. His sister, Gertrude and her child, his brother John, and his son Absalom, all went and never came back.

Due to the disintegration of Kumalo’s family, he is trying to bring his family back together and have some hope. There can be no tribal unit until the basic family unit is restored.

“Cry, the Beloved Country” had a certain purpose which is to awaken the population of South Africa to the racism that is slowly disintegrating the society and its people. Alan Paton designed his work to express his views on the injustices and racial hatred that plagued South Africa, in an attempt to bring about change and understanding.

By: Laila Sherif 7B

Stephen Kumalo’s character

Often known throughout the novel as "umfundisi," which is a Zulu title of respect.Stephen Kumalo is highly respected as the native African pastor of St. Mark's Church in the village of Ndotsheni and also as an upstanding, moral, strong member of the native South African community. Yet despite his good heart and soul, Kumalo has a terrible crisis to bear—the tragedy of his son's truancy and the justice that is meted out upon has family as a result. Beyond that, he is also watching the dissolution of the rural way of life he has always lived and championed.

Throughout the novel, Kumalo acts as a moral compass, the glue that holds his family together—but he also represents more than that. He is the very definition of survival. Kumalo grew up in a small village and as he journeys out to Johannesburg his personality is exposed when he interacts with other characters.

Some traits that come out are his morality and naivete. Ndotsheni made Kumalo who he is because of how he acts in contrast with those people who live in Johannesburg. Kumalo is a caring, trusting, old-fashion man, but he is also a man with many faults. Like every human, Kumalo often becomes angry with other people and hurts them. When Kumalo dares to venture into the big city his naivety of the greater world beyond his village is manifested. When Kumalo is on the train traveling to Ndotsheni he sees a little town and asks if that is Johannesburg, but the others in the train just laugh at him.

Kumalo is naive because he has never ventured out of Ndotsheni and when he sees a little liveliness he thinks that that must be a big city. Once Kumalo steps foot in Johannesburg, however, the reality hits him that he has led a very sheltered life. Innovations brought by the Europeans to Africa, are things that Kumalo has never seen before in his life, and they scare him. Kumalo s naivete contributes to the fear and confusions he feels his first days in the city, because he led a primitive life in his village. After Kumalo steps off of the train, a young man volunteers to purchase a bus ticket for Stephen he does not have to wait in line. Kumalo gives him the money trusting he would get the ticket for him, but the young man does not return. Due to Kumalo s naivete he is cheated out of his money.

When he leaves Johannesburg he is a different man and is no longer naive to the difficult and dangerous way of life in the city.

Stephen is a virtuous man at heart, and is worthy of being a priest. Kumalo tries ceaselessly to repair the tribe, and to bring Gertrude, Absalom, and the rest of his family to where he believes they can put their lives in prospective, and live happily. However, his efforts are not successful in the end because he cannot make Gertrude or Absalom change their past trespasses, or way of life.

Stephen is always looking out for the well being of his friends and family members. Kumalo s honorable attitude is also demonstrated when he forgives Msimangu for his harsh words, and quick temper. Stephen quickly forgives Msimangu and moves on. He does not reprimand Msimangu or dwell on the fact that he has a high temper.

Kumalo is also an admirable person because he tries to preserve the traditional values he believes are correct, and he tries to make others moral. Stephen helps the marriage of Absalom and the girl take place. The girl and her child will grow in a loving home in a quiet village. Kumalo also urges Absalom to tell the truth. Kumalo is a good, honest man at heart, and his qualities are reflected in Absalom throughout the story. Kumalo also exhibits negative characteristics. One of his downfalls is his devilish intention to harm others at times. Kumalo is angry with his sister, Gertrude for the way she chose to support her son and herself, and yells at her. He yells at her out of love because he would like her to return to the way he knew her before, but his actions hurt Gertrude.

Kumalo has both good and bad characteristics. His personality makes him a likable character because the reader can relate to him in some ways, and by making him fallible rather than flawless, Paton ensures that we will be able to empathize with Kumalo’s experience. Kumalo’s naivete attributes to his congeniality, and at times provides humor in simple confusions.

Stephen is a kind preacher, who is honest and forgiving yet at times, can be cruel. Kumalo s actions portray him like a real person with different feelings at different times. His character alters greatly from his trip to Johannesburg, and when he would have been weak before, he is now strong.

         In “Cry, the Beloved Country” by Alan Paton there is a protagonist and an antagonist. The protagonist is Stephen Kumalo, a Zulu priest, who lives in the village of Ndotsheni. He is not a perfect priest, but is good at his job. The antagonist is not a person but a place. It is the city of Johannesburg. Johannesburg is where Kumalo travels to find his son, Absalom. It is viewed by the protagonist as an evil.

       Kumalo, the protagonist, has the trait of faith. Throughout the novel Kumalo has faith in God. Although he strays from his faith occasionally, he always returns to God and repents for whatever he has done wrong. He goes through many challenges throughout his journey but through it all he is faithful. Johannesburg, the antagonist, has the trait of wickedness. When Kumalo goes to Johannesburg, he is overwhelmed by the wickedness of the city. His experiences of getting robbed and finding his sister in such horrible conditions, pretty much as soon as arriving, shocks him. He is surprised that his son could live in such a place, which completely goes against his upbringing by his father.

            Kumalo is the protagonist because he is the main character who goes on a journey to find his son. Johannesburg is the protagonist because the town is what goes against the main character. Kumalo first looses his son in the city then his sister and nephew. Johannesburg acts as an evil entity devouring parts of his family. Kumalo goes to save his family who had been lost in the wicked city. The city causes problems for Kumalo. It seems that the weak minded who enter the city are lost into sin, while only those with strong faith can withstand the temptations which lie within. Kumalo is one who withstood the temptations although had hardships at times. Johannesburg is the enemy of Kumalo.

-                    Outside forces affected Kumalo greatly. The fact that his son, Absalom, went to Johannesburg and did not keep contact with him worried him greatly. After his sister went to look for him and also did not send word back to him, his worries became even greater. He was affected by their decisions and went to look for them which. This changed his personality. While hoping they were doing well in Johannesburg, he realized that they were lost in sin.

Stephen Kumalo changes drastically during the course of the novel. He gains a great awareness of many facets of life by going on a journey to Johannesburg. Before this journey, he was a country priest who was a good man but who had no understanding of the wider world. He respected the tribal ways but had no understanding of why the tribe was breaking down and why the young people were leaving for the cities. Throughout the novel, from beginning to end, he is humble, pious, and sensitive. At all times he is very sensitive to any hurt that he might cause others and is aware of the feelings of people. Even in the first pages of the novel, he knows that he hurts his wife.

He is essentially a humble person, but several times during the novel his feelings of anger get the best of him and he intentionally tries to hurt some other person. After each outburst, he is deeply sorry for his anger and makes reparations in some manner.

Kumalo is the suffering hero; that is, before he can come to a complete awareness of life, he must undergo intense suffering. Only at the end of the novel does he come to understand the meaning of that suffering — that through suffering a person is made more aware of all aspects of life and can better sympathize with others.

Stephen's suffering is seen partially in the fact that he wants to restore the family and the tribal system. But through the course of the novel, he comes to an awareness that the tribal system can never be restored, and he fails in his attempts to restore his own family. Through these failures and the suffering caused by them, he matures into a man who has a larger appreciation for the trials that others must undergo.

If Kumalo has been a failure in his attempt to restore (reconstruct) his own family, he does not give up. Instead, he turns for hope to the younger people, that is, his son's wife and her child and Gertrude's young son. Furthermore, upon his return from the city, he no longer relies upon the chief's word but knows that if things are to be accomplished he must find some other method than relying upon the older traditions connected with the tribal chief. He then begins to work for a better Africa and devotes his energies to a larger problem than that of restoring his own personal family.

Cry, the Beloved Country

Chapter 5

This chapter provides an interesting commentary on the status of South African politics around the publication of the novel in the late forties.

Msimangu explains that he does not hate the white man, in part because a white man “brought [his] father out of darkness” by converting him to Christianity, demonstrating that some natives welcome this religion imported from Europe. He confides to Kumalo, nevertheless, that he believes that white people have broken the tribal structure without leaving anything in its place. Msimangu explains that some white men are trying to rebuild the country for all people, but that they are not enough, and are held prisoner by the same fear that rules the rest of the country. He says that Father Vincent, the rosy-cheeked priest at dinner, is the best person to ask about such things.

 

Once again, Paton details how foreign and backward Kumalo feels in Johannesburg. As this chapter makes clear, Kumalo represents an obsolete and tribal way of life that is crumbling around him.

        Before the beginning of the novel, Gertrude's husband left her with her small son to go work in the mines, and stopped writing letters home. Gertrude went to Johannesburg to look for him and disappeared in turn. When Gertrude stopped sending word back to Ndotsheni from the city, Absalom moved to Johannesburg to look for her—and we all know howthat turned out (in disaster, that's how).

Not only is Gertrude the reason that Absalom goes to Johannesburg in the first place, but she is also the initial cause for Kumalo's trip to the city. Kumalo receives a letter from Msimangu asking him to come to the city and take care of his sick sister. It's only once Kumalo arrives that Msimangu breaks the news that Gertrude's "sickness" is her loose morality.

Gertrude makes her money selling illegal, homemade alcohol. But her sales are corrupting both her and the people in her neighborhood: there's a lot of gambling that goes on in her house, and a man was killed there once.

Kumalo goes to Gertrude to confront her about her immorality, the shame she is bringing on her priest brother, and the danger her lifestyle is posing to her young son. Gertrude initially freaks out and promises to return to Ndotsheni with Kumalo. 

Common mistakes in poetry:
- Incomplete sentences/fragments 
- lack of link between ideas and support (quotes)

Grateful and thankful due to the abilities that God endowed us with. (wide – think – love)	The tone is grateful and thankful as the poet thinks that Man is greater due to his abilities to love and think. He used words such as “wide-think- love” to convey the tone to the readers.
“ You are more than earth though you are such a dot You can love and think and the earth cannot” In terms of greatness, the world is bigger. Man has the abilities to love and think which God endowed us with.	At the end of the poem, the poet has come to realize that in terms of greatness, the world is surely bigger; however, Man is greater due to his abilities to love and think which are gifts that God endowed us with. The poet highlights this idea by writing: “You are more than earth though you are such a dot You can love and think and the earth cannot”
Sad and devastated because he thinks that we are destroying earth.	The tone is sad and devastated because he thinks that we are destroying earth.
“Hold fast to dreams” personification :as if dreams could run away, like a human. “For if dreams die”: personification: the poet imagines that dreams cold die like a person. “Life is a broken winged bird” metaphor: the poet describes life without dreams to a bird.	The poet used figures of speech such as personification and metaphor to stress on the importance of dreams. The poet used personification in “for if dreams die” and “for when dreams go”. Dreams are compared to people who can die or leave if you don’t hold on to them. This figure highlights how important it is for people not to give up on their dreams. Moreover,  a metaphor was used in “life is a broken winged bird” comparing a life without dreams to a bird with no wings. A bird can do nothing but fly, its life will be meaningless if it were not able to fly. Similarly, people, if they did not dream, will have a meaningless life if they did not dream. In the verse “life is a barren field” life with no dreams is compared to a field that is unproductive and fruitless, which indicates the value of dreams as life loses its purpose if one does not have a dream or a goal in life.