Analysis Of Alan Patons Cry, The Beloved Country - 962 Words

Nelson Mandela once declared, â€Å"As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest.† Nelson Mandela explains that seeing the injustice and prejudice in society but not doing anything to try and fix it will ultimately not solve the issue of racial division. In the novel, Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton, a wise man named Msimangu, and Arthur Jarvis, a well-respected activist, are characters that seek an end to the racial divide in the country of South Africa. Msimangu and Arthur Jarvis each uniquely seek an end to division in their country through teaching hope and working for justice. Msimangu teaches Stephen Kumalo about his hope for South Africa because he understands the oppression†¦show more content†¦Msimangu absolutely changes the way that Stephen thinks. He hears Msimangu reading and realizes not only that he has incredible eloquence, but also that he shows benevolence through his words. Stephen describes Msimangu as â€Å"A man whose heart was golden†. His heart and intentions are in the right place. Though Msimangu could not be perfect, he cared and tried to bring as much patience and love as he could. Stephen sees this in him and it makes him want to show more patience and grace to others as Msimangu does. As a result, Stephen finds his sister, Gertrude, who has been living in poverty as a prostitute and has left her son to lead a tragic life. Yet, Stephen finds it in himself to forgive and reconcile with her, bringing both his sister and her son back into the family. Through Msimangu’s teachings, Stephen was influenced to make a d ifference and to show kindness and grace to those in his family and community. Another character that strove to bring justice to South Africa is Arthur Jarvis. Arthur actively seeks an end to the racial divide through his persistent work because he sees the hardship and despises how the natives of South Africa are treated. James Jarvis, Arthur’s father who was not aware of how his son fought for the natives, finds Arthurs writings after he has died: â€Å"We believe in help for the underdog, but we want him to stay under† (Paton 187). Arthur writes about the injustice and inequality in their country. The whiteShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Alan Patons Cry The Beloved Country847 Words   |  4 PagesReverend Stephen Kumalo, the protagonist of Alan Paton’s novel Cry, the Beloved Country, lives in the countryside of Ndotsheni. The countryside is in drought, over-farmed, and the land is dying. Despite all this, it is still representative of home and peace to the chara cters in the novel. It is the home of traditions and old trivial rules. However, a consistent theme it brings is young people leaving for the city, and therefore bringing new messages to South Africa as a whole. The novel presentsRead MoreJames Jarvis806 Words   |  4 PagesJames Jarvis In Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country there is two protagonists, Reverend Stephen Kumalo, and James Jarvis. Both characters play significant roles to the story but James Jarvis’ situation is noteworthy and inspirational. James is an influential, dynamic character because his opinion dramatically changes upon reading his son’s manuscript. A series of events influences James to shift his mindset into the mindset of his son. An analysis on James Jarvis’ changing mindset revealsRead MoreAnalysis Of Orson Scott Card s The Great Pattern 1676 Words   |  7 Pageswhat resonates with the contemporary writer is essential in determining whether the focus of aspiring writers should be imitating Fielding’s ‘writers of antiquity’, embracing the ‘great pattern’, or on more recent works. For the purpose of this analysis I will be considering works written within the last twenty years ‘recent’, whilst analysing what wr iters gain, or lose, from fiction written longer ago. Some themes in literature are forever relevant to the human condition. George Orwell’s Nineteen