Cry, the Beloved Country

653 Words3 Pages
The 1940’s Novel Cry, the Beloved Country written by Allan Paton has an obvious religious significance. The main character, Stephen Kumalo, is a parson; thus, it is inevitable that the bible will be part of this character and will be brought up on several occasions. Often times, Kumalo is depicted reading his bible when he is in search of solace; for example, when he is on his way to Johannesburg. The supporting characters such as Father Vincent and Reverend Theophilus Msimangu are also symbols of deep religious presence in the book. Many of characters, both significant and otherwise, have names that are from the bible, Absalom, Steven and Peter. This book portrays principles that are taught in the holy bible. Instead of supporting a specific belief, Paton implies the spiritual morals of forgiveness and love as an essential mechanism of any resolution to the ethnic mixture in South Africa. This is quite clear if a study of the relationship between Stephen Kumalo and James Jarvis is made. Stephens’s son Absalom murdered James son Arthur, and was sequentially executed by the police. Instead of turning to hatred to deal with their grief, they use this connection to help each other. Stephen and James are capable of exoneration; this shared trait compels them to improve the group of people and results in harmony in the valley. Stephen Kumalo, a simple man from the valley of Ndotsheni, is a reverend that ironically, preaches the faith of his oppressors. However, there is more of a biblical connection than just his faith. St. Stephen, the alleged first sufferer of the Christian religion, was tortured until he died, after wrongly being accused of saying callous words that oppose the Holy Land and the ruling decree. Stephen Kumalo is also a victim of the injustice in society. He is a black man who is trying to fight biasness of the white world in order to find his son
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