Cry, The Beloved Country
There were 3 themes that stood out to me while reading this beautiful novel. The difference in culture between the European settlers and the native population, the extreme poverty of the natives living in South Africa, and the idea that larger cities would provide more opportunities for the native population. This novel was written in the 1940s when apartheid was very prominent and separation of the races was ongoing. The train ride that Kumalo takes to Johannesburg was divided depending on your race. Kumalo had to ride in the carriage that was for non-Europeans and would not have been allowed to travel in any other carriage. Mr. Jarvis on the other hand had many options for travel as he was white, rich, and more privileged. During his son’s trial, Kumalo also described how the courts were segregated with seats for the Europeans on one side and the non-Europeans on the other side. As Kumalo made it to Johannesburg he was surrounded by new things that he was not familiar with. His simple life in Natal was completely different from the one he encountered in the big city. So in order to blend in more he watched what others did, and used the things likewise. Kumalo met up with his brother who he believed to be a humble carpenter but in reality John had grown accustomed to the European way of life in Johannesburg and was then a prominent politician instead. He had left the culture he grew up in behind so that could make his way in the big city. John tells his brother that their customs are different here. Kumalo was very much still a native as he even called his family his tribe when he was reunited with his sister Gertrude. The European settlers in Johannesburg treated the natives differently as well as they discussed separation and laws that didn’t seem to work. There was talk about cutting up South Africa where white could live without black. Our natives today produce criminals and prostitutes and drunkards, not because it is their nature to do so, but because their simple system of order and tradition and convention has been destroyed. The differences between the city and the countryside were very extreme and even Kumalo pointed out that he and his wife lived out their lives in innocence, not knowing what their son was going through in the city. Kumalo also described the ways a chief was now known in the villages. Who would be chief over this desolation? It was a thing the white man had done, knocked the chiefs down, and put them up again, to hold the pieces together. But the white men had taken most of the pieces away. And some chiefs sat with ignorance and blood-shot eyes, rulers of pitiful kingdoms that had no meaning at all. It seemed that culture was easily lost when one left their native home to make a new life in the city.
Poverty was another prevalent theme that was discussed many times throughout the book. We started out already by seeing an old priest having to use his savings for a trip to Johannesburg. He had to forgo buying a new suit and a stove for his wife for this trip. The province he lived in year by year had less food in reserves as the fields were eroded and barren and too many cattle trampled the grounds. There was no milk to even feed the children and so many of them died because of this. Why is there no milk in Ndotsheni? It is because the people are poor. When he reached the city he saw the poverty in great detail as he was told that he should not take the bus because the black people were on strike to lower the price of their fare back to something more manageable. Many people walked great distances daily and avoided the bus to make their point known to the government. The government also took most of the profits the mines made and they were staffed with natives who worked hard for a very small paycheck each day. Kumalo’s brother John was very vocal when it came to native rights and made many speeches about the injustice of the pay the natives received for the hard work they provided. He simply asked for their fair share as they did the backbreaking labor each day. It is we that must be kept poor so that others may stay rich. When Kumalo arrived back home where he felt more at peace, Mr. Jarvis hired a man to teach the natives how to farm so that they could grow more food and live a better life. There was no reason why this valley should not be what it was before. But it will not happen quickly, not in a day. If God wills, said Kumalo humbly, before I die. For I have lived my life in destruction.
The scene of poverty is set really well when Paton described the Shanty Towns in great detail in chapter 9. All roads lead to Johannesburg. If there are any problems in your life, just leave them behind and come to Johannesburg. There were no places to live and more and more people came in every day looking for a bed to sleep in, but it’s Johannesburg. Why did we leave the land of our people? There is not much here, but it is better than here. There is not much food there, but it is shared by all together. If all are poor, it is not so bad to be poor. There was work in Johannesburg, there was gold found which could make you rich. Even Mr. Jarvis moved to Johannesburg to be closer to his daughter in law and grandkids after his wife died and he was left alone. The native villages housed less and less young people as they all wanted to go to the big city in search of something better.
While the story was fictional, I could still sense the injustices that ran throughout the entire book. Paton described segregation and apartheid in a very poignant way. Reading how the natives were treated as second class citizens in their own country was heartbreaking but a real part of history. I enjoyed reading this classic and learning more about the way life was for those living in South Africa many years ago.
Bibliography:
Paton, Alan, Cry, the Beloved Country. New York, C. Scribner’s Sons. 1948
[Paper written for HIST 3540 class UVU Summer 2024]
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