Read chapters 33-36 (the end of the novel) of Alan Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country and write/post a journal: Identify and explain a theme of the novel. (A theme is what the novel is about / an underlying idea of a literary work.)

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2005

Answers

I'm so first,and I'm first for both periods, (major over achiever) A theme for “Cry, the Beloved Country, would be: It is never to late to learn and change you ways. James Jarvis and Kumalo are positive examples to this. James is providing milk for the children and helping to fund the re-building of the church. Kumalo is laughing!!! This is a major change from the beginning of the book.

With the lost of both their sons, James and Stephen have grown. It seems to me, that it took the lost of their sons for a change to occur in each of them. With the lost of Arthur, James read his private journals, and learned that, he, James, had not taught Arthur about South Africa. With this information, James is changing his life. Arthur has changed the way he conducts himself. He is more open to people. The way that Kumalo embraced Arthur’s son and is teaching him Zulu, it shows that Stephen had changed. Both Jarvis and Kumalo have grown from the lost of their sons. They both have changed in their approach to people.

-- Anonymous, March 09, 2005

I'm so second, and I am afraid that I am going to have to both springboard off Leah's comments as well as piggy-back off my own from the last posting. Ready for some fun?

As previously mentioned, change is a topic in the novel. However, there is a list of characters that do not evolve into something better than at the start of the novel (and lives), and there are others that change into something that can serve to better South Africa. John Kumalo falls under the "Retrogression List", as does Gertrude, the Biship (see the top of page 297 for an explanation), and Mrs. Kumalo, among others. Those who are lifted up and prove to be better individuals at the termination of the text are Mr. J. Jarvis, Mrs. Lithebe, and Msimangu, just to name a few. So then where does Kumalo lie, you may ask. The answer, in my opinion, is neither. On the one hand, you have the priest who sets out to better the tribe from Ndotsheni as well as his own family, a viwpoint that, I'm sure, is the view taken by the majority. On the other hand, there is this old fogey from some village in Africa that has shamed himself as well as his wife by raising two horrible children and doing nothing else that serves a legitimate purpose in the grand scheme of things. This is my explanation for Kumalo's placement on the judgement list.

Now, how this pertains into the context of the novel is that change is inevitable, yes, and some sort of evolution does happen to each character. The spin that I have, however, is that Alan Paton is a realist, and writes the story from a truthful approach in that some people do, in fact, retrogress over the course of a novel or their lives. This is NOT cynicism or pessimism, but a truthful look at the world we live in. Therefore, my theme is that change occurs, but can pull a character or setting in one of three directions. (Yes, three ==> think about it.)

In addition, I have posted before Sean, so "Hip hip, hooray!" to me. :)

-- Anonymous, March 09, 2005

A possible theme of this novel could be the fact that negative emotions, such as fear and sorrow, can be overcome. Kumalo and Jarvis both lost their sons, yet they still lived, still breathed, and still tried to make a difference in the world. This book could be saying that you should't allow fear and sorrow to paralyze, instead turn it into enthusiasm. Kumlao returned to Ndotshine full of misery because the village was desparate (children were dying due to the lack of milk) and because his son was condemned to exection. However, Stephen moved on, and attempted to change the world around him.

-- Anonymous, March 09, 2005

not in any attempt to start the whole "two-post" thing again, but my typing was HORRIBLE in that post, so just disregard all of the errors. wow I hope there aren't any in this one. but I'm sure there are, so don't pay attention to those either. sorry!

-- Anonymous, March 09, 2005

Ahh... it seems like it was only yesterday when we started Cry, the beloved Country. Anyway...

The main theme of Cry the Beloved Country is that no one can be immune from lifes badness. Ok sounds confusing so let me explain. Stephen Kumalo is an unfundi or a preacher. Most of the time we think of them as people who nothing bad ever happens to them. Stephen loses his son, finds his daughter and becomes friends with his his sons. This is not a tipical day. THis shows that even through suffering people can still move wlong with their life.

-- Anonymous, March 09, 2005

A major theme in this book is that times and generations are very different of each other. Kumalo and Jarvis's generation is less focused on the well-being of the country, while their sons are more focused on the relationships between whites and blacks. However, the fathers learn more about their sons generations (in an unfortunate way) and eventually learn more about what their sons were concerned about.

-- Anonymous, March 09, 2005

I think that a theme of this story was that searching for family members, whether it be phsically searching for them, or for finding information about them, will be associated with negative and positive events. With Stephen Kumalo searching for his son Absalom, he learned that his son was a murderer and would be executed. But he also gained a daughter, with his son's fiancee having to leave him since he was going to die. With James Jarvis searching for Arthur Jarvis, obviously there is the neagtive situation of his son having been murdered. But he learned what a knowlegable and well-respected community member his son was.

-- Anonymous, March 09, 2005

I think the theme of the novel is that parents should keep in better touch with their children or visa versa. This whole story began because Kumalo and his wife were worried because they had not talked to their son in a long time. If Absalom had written more or stayed closer to home, perhaps the whole situation could have been avoided. If he had visited and talked more to his parents, then perhaps his life would not have ended the way it did.

-- Anonymous, March 09, 2005

This book is bursting at the seems with different themes, but the one that I will pick is overcoming pain. This book is filled with pain that is experienced by most of the charecters in the book including Stephen Kumalo, Jarvis, both of their families and the village of Ndotsheni. However, as the story progresses the village is given help and that helps to ease the pain of Stephen and lighten the heart of Jarvis who provides the materials for the help. By doing these different things the book shows strength and ends with a message for a strong future in Africa if the natives and white people can establish a partenership.

-- Anonymous, March 09, 2005

A possible theme for this novel would be that out of all the bad things that could possibly happen in the world, there is always room and time for the good things. This comes up a lot in the novel because of all the different things that happen throughout it. Over all the bad things that happen, there is always something to see good.

An example would be the fact that Kumalo's son, Absalom, killed James Jarvis's son, Arthur, and all the surrow and grief that came out of one man's actions. All the pain and suffering that came out of the murder of Arthur Jarvis was not only felt by James Jarvis, but also by Stephen Kumalo. When Kumalo told Jarvis that it was his son that killed Arthur, Jarvis was not extremely mad at him, even though he still felt a little mad he was able to forgive Kumalo. After James Jarvis found out what a great and devoted person that his son was, he started to look at things differently. He felt that he should look beyond his world and help others. First, he helped the give milk to the people of Ndotsheni. This act saved many of the children of Ndotsheni, which everyone was grateful for. Second, Jarvis got the young demonstrator to help teach the people of Ndotsheni how to farm their lands and have milk of their own and not have to get it from the white man. The last thing Jarvis did was order that a new chruch be built in Ndotsheni. This thing that Jarvis did was probably the one that affected him the most. This was something that the chruch and its people needed and Jarvis was offering it without anyone asking for it. This showed the good that came out of the bad and these things were cherished.

-- Anonymous, March 09, 2005

I think a major topic of this book is change, of characters, of lifestyles, and of the land, among other things. So for my theme, I think I'll choose the change of characters and the difference in generations. This novel clearly illustrates the generation gap between people of Stephen Kumalo's generation and his son, Absalom's generation. Stephen Kumalo's is interested in restoring the tribe and staying with family, sticking together and that sort of thing. However, only the slightest population of Absalom's generation has the remotest interest in this and is sort of the teenagers of that culture, rebellious and whatnot.

Over and over again Stephen Kumalo refers to the earth as blood colored, which, in my opinion, is speaking about how the land is a lifeline for him. The younger group doesn't feel the same way and generally leaves the land and the tribe in search of greater things. On page 293, the book says "The men are away, the young men and girls are away, the soil cannot keep them anymore."

-- Anonymous, March 09, 2005

To me, the most apparent theme in the book was that fear kills. Stephen's son said it himself; he "did not mean to kill (Arthur), only (he) was afraid." As seen in the novel, the people's fear of crime, their physical environment, and each other led to murder and devastation of farmland that led to famine, among various other tragedies. In order to conquer fear and restore the possibility of life, people must learn to love and therefore understand the world around them; that way, they will be able to make wise decisions and not act in a way that may have disasterous consequences. If the whites learned about the natives and vice versa, the two groups would understand each other and clash less often. If the people of Ndotsheni learn to use their land instead of seemingly "fear" the fact that it may not support them and therefore use it up as they can, then they will have enough food and resources to last them generations. If fear can be conquered by love and understanding, then life itslf can be restored.

-- Anonymous, March 09, 2005

A theme of the book is that often good comes of evil. Like Kumalo's sister was sick, but when he went to help her, he saved her son from the city. Also, sense Absalom died, his child was born where he was and was also saved from the city. James Jarvis's son died and it changed his views and caused him to help the village of Ndotsheni. So Johannesburg was the bad, but because Kumalo and Jarvis went there, parts of their lives and other people's lives changed for the better.

-- Anonymous, March 09, 2005

A theme of this book could be, Life is always unpredictable. Stephan goes to the city for 2 reasons: 1 find his son, and 2 cure his sister. While looking for his son he finds that he has a “wife” and isn’t leading the “cleanest” life. And to add the cherry on top he ends up killing a propionate white in the area of native crime. He is sentenced to death because he shot a man while trying to rob his house to help feed himself. Stephan has to deal with this and I can guarantee you he wasn’t planning on having to attend his son’s trail in town. So as Stephan experiences the city his life becomes more unpredictable and random.

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2005

I think that an important theme in this novel is that the closest people to one can become strangers and strangers can become the closest friends. This is illustrated by John Kumalo, Gertrude, and Absolam being alienated from Stephen after moving to Johannesburg. However, Msimangu helped Stephen the whole way through. Also, James Jarvis assisted Stephen in reaching his dream for the town. Even strangers can take the place of those who have become too far.

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2005

Yo, plain out, bad things happen in life. Theres nothing we can do to prevent some of these things from happening. Thats life. Some people learn that you need to not dwell in the past, but pick yourself up and move forward in life. James Jarvis idolizes this premise, having gone to the city, Ndotsheni, where the father of his son's killer lived, and helping the people of Ndotsheni by speeding up the process of the dam construction, giving milk to feed to the young children, and by hiring the demonstrator that helps to teach the people of Ndotsheni how to grow better crops.

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2005

A theme of Cry, The Beloved Country is sometimes a horrible event can bring your family closer. Though Jarvis died, Arthur still learned a lot about him and he felt closer to this son. This was also true for Stephen and Absalom, but Absalom had to go to jail.

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2005

Mmk. Now I think that a theme from the novel is change too. Most of the changes that occur in the book are mental changes and how people view certain things. Stephen Kumalo, at the beginning of the story did NOT want to go to Johannesburg at all. He was afraid of what was there. Despite this, he still goes, and sees that the city isn't as bad as he thought it was going to be, and he really had no reason to fear it. He even ends up kind of missing it when he has to leave.

His sister, who is also in the city, undergoes change as well. When she was in the city, she did some not very good things to get by, but later changes all that. She changes from a...um..."woman who roams the streets at night" (sorry, can't really think of a better way to say it...) and decides to become a nun.

Upon Kumalo's return to his home, he sees that James Jarvis has changed too. Jarvis helped to supply the town with the milk that it was lacking due to the drought.

Kumalo himself changed throughout the book. After his return, he was less sheltered, and despite that, was a more cheerful person. He laughed and enjoyed himself more.

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2005

I believe that a theme in the book Cry, The Beloved Country is that of a father searching for his son. This played a major role in the story and was a catalyst for the actions further in the story. Both Stephen Kumalo and James Jarvis were looking for their sons.

Stephen Kumalo was searching for his son in the literal sense, looking for him throughout Johannesburg. James Jarvis was looking for his son in a different way, however. He wanted to discovery what his son was like in life, as he is now dead. Both of these fathers searching for their sons were a major part of the story, and had large impacts on the other themes throughout.

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2005

I think that one of the many themes of this book is that racism is stinky. Maybe not that exact wording, but you get the main idea. In the story, it talks about how alot of the white people were afraid of the black people and hated them and how alot of the black people were afraid of the white people and hated them. IT was jsut one big circle of fear and hate that got nobody nowhere and just messed up everyone. It wasnt pretty.

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2005

Theme: People may look different, and may even be in different "levels" of society, but good and bad things happen to everyone, even if they are treated differenly. I think this is a theme of the book because two stories were portrayed in this book, the story of Stephen Kumalo, and of James Jarvis. These two stories are similar, and eventually connect, and the two protagonists are in different "levels" of society, one being black and the other white. Thus, the same things can happen to people even if they are treated differently in society.

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2005

A major theme of this novel was: Fear is only as powerful as you let it be. Fear was a recurring "topic" throughout the book, especially in Kumalo and Absalom (for the short time we saw him). They both struggled with their fears, but eventually overcame them, or in Absalom's case we do not know, it is up to the reader to decide. For Kumalo, fear was hard to deal with, but we saw how he progressed, always with good hopes, and overcame his fear.

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2005