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Essay Subject: An analysis of the human geopgraphy as portrayed in Alan Paton's historical fiction novel ...... More...

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Paper Abstract: An analysis of the human geopgraphy as portrayed in Alan Paton's historical fiction novel "Cry, The Beloved Country" Paper Introduction: Alan Paton in his historical fiction novel Cry The Beloved Country demonstrates the manner in which indigenous black South Africans are forcedto abandon both their native rural homelands as well as the tribaltraditions and mores so inexorably tied to that land when the nation\'swhite minority implement official and unofficial policies of racialsegregation and apartheid Novelguide When reigning white South Africanpoliticians relegate four fifths of the majority black African populace toa scant one tenth of the land young blacks flee the homelands of Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. And what others must die, Tixo alone knows" (Paton 1948).Yet, as corporeally impoverished the natives of Ndotsheni appear, theyretain for the most part the roots and social values lacking in theirbrethren seduced and corrupted by Johannesburg and the other cities.Notably, only natives familiar with both the hardship of rural life as wellas the corruption of urban existence- Johannesburg visitors likeprotagonist Stephen Kumalo-appear to possess both the tribe-wroughttraditionalism and urban-made realism to dynamically impact and alter forthe better their surroundings. Early in thenovel, Kumalo and a fellow priest discuss the ramifications of the brokentribe and native South African migration to the cities: "So they talked of the sickness of the land, of the broken tribe and the broken house, of young men and young girls that went away and forgot their customs, and lived loose and idle lives. NativeSouth Africans have left their indigenous lands seeking Johannesburg for afalse dream of material success-escaping rather than aspiring. And when the rain comes, the maize will not reach to the height of a man. For it is the dawn that has come, as ithas come for a thousand centuries, never failing" (Paton 1948). According to both preacher man Msimangu and white activistArthur Jarvis, the tribal system is effectively destroyed by white politicsand greed. Initially in the novel, little is done to rectify the breaking of thenative African tribe created by rural migration to Johannesburg, but bit bybit, interracial cooperation and the commencement of black self-reliancebegins to supplant the void. The tragedy is that they are not mended again. Says a tribal chief in reference to Ndotsheni: "There is neither grass nor water there. Paton'ssage Msimangu (and by extension, the narrator); however, laments not thebreaking of the tribe itself, but the tragedy that nothing has been done toreplace both the tribe itself as well as the traditions, morals, andstability that "tribe" fosters. Paton makes frequent reference to the notion of the "broken tribe" ofSouth Africa, the splintered society of black African natives torn asunderby desperation, adversity, and the continual exodus of its younger peopleto the cities. The white man has broken the tribe...but it has not suited him to build something in the place of what is broken" (Paton 1948).Murdered white equality activist Arthur Jarvis echoes this sentiment: "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. Ultimately,the dream will be realized as new courage displaces the old fear. The overworked countryside is decimated: "Too many cattle feed upon the grass, and too many fires have burned it...The great red hills stand desolate, and the earth has torn away like flesh...Down in the valleys women scratch at the soil that is left and the maize hardly reaches the height of a man" (Paton 1948).The narrator makes it apparent that many of the native young people havefled to the city of Johannesburg in search of material prosperity. Unlike the black denizens of the countryside who journey toJohannesburg, the natives who choose to stay amongst their people and tillthe decimated earth face physical rather than moral hardship. There is no applause in prison" (Paton 1948).Similarly, Stephen Kumalo's sister who journeys to Johannesburg in searchof her husband, once separated too long from her tribal roots, becomesensnared in a life of sickness, liquor, and prostitution (Novelguide).Most dramatically telling of the fates the await native black Africans whotravel to Johannesburg never to return, Kumalo's son Absalom falls into badcompany, spends time at a reformatory, then ultimately (thoughaccidentally) murders white equality advocate Arthur Jarvis, the crime forwhich he is hanged at the end of the novel. In a general sense, the increasingly nationwide delinquentbehavior of disgruntled black natives illustrates the tribal society'sbreakdown:" the house that is broken, and the man that falls apart when thehouse is broken, these are the tragic things. In addition, Kumalo's rebuilding of his own broken"tribe" via the addition of son Absalom's wife, Absalom's unborn child, andsister Gertrude's son, parallels the nation's emerging drive toward nativeAfrican rejuvenation. Stephen Kumalo's brother Johnevolves in Johannesburg into a corrupt, power-hungry politician whosedesire for plaudits and acclaim overshadows his obligations to his familyand his black brethren. Paton's characters who have fled to Johannesburg seeking employmentand success invariably fail to return home-in fact, they neglect even towrite to the tribal elders and families they have left behind. Alan Paton, in his historical fiction novel Cry, The Beloved Country,demonstrates the manner in which indigenous black South Africans are forcedto abandon both their native rural homelands as well as the tribaltraditions and mores so inexorably tied to that land when the nation'swhite minority implement official and unofficial policies of racialsegregation and apartheid (Novelguide). But John Kumalo is not one of them. There exists at the end of thehistorical tale a palpable hope that a new racially harmonious "tribe" caneventually be established from the remnants of that which has been broken-the land will be rebuilt physically as well as politically. Although nothing has come yet, something is herealready" (Paton 1948). By way of segregationist land policy, white legislators "madeit inevitable, and some say [they] did it knowingly, that labor would cometo the towns" (Paton 1948). When reigning white South Africanpoliticians relegate four fifths of the majority black African populace toa scant one tenth of the land, young blacks flee the homelands of theirelders and forefathers, hoping to escape poverty and famine by rushingtoward the empty dream of prosperity falsely promised by the industrialcity of Johannesburg (Novelguide). Musesthe narrator, "All roads lead to Johannesburg. Paton's narrator declares emphatically, "Indeed, there issomething new in this valley, some spirit and some life, and much to talkabout in the huts. Notes the narrator regarding John Kumalo's falseuse of his charismatic power: "There are some men who long for martyrdom, there are those who know that to go to prison would bring greatness to them, these are those who would go to prison not caring if it brought greatness or not. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1948. They talked of young criminal children, and older and more dangerous criminals, of how white Johannesburg was afraid of black crime" (Paton 1948). Crime and the destabilization of black urbansociety is the direct result of the destruction of the tribe. Not only domain character Reverend Stephen Kumalo's brother, sister, and son fail tocontact him, but they succumb to moral corruption once separated from thetribal system in which they were raised. Paton's historically-inspired black African characters are leaving indroves rural homelands such as the novel's central village Ndotsheni toflee the deplorable poverty and hunger wrought by South Africa'ssegregationist land policies. Alongside racial collaboration, the rural natives' newfoundpride in their land and desire for self-sufficiency begin to fill theemptiness fashioned by the native tribe's obliteration. It was destroyed by the impact of our civilization...it is not permissible to watch its destruction, and to replace it by nothing, or by so little, that a whole people deteriorates, physically and morally" (Paton 1948).Paton contends via his narrator, that, though the traditional native tribalsystem is fraught with "violence and savagery", it is nonethelessessentially "a moral system" that advocates self-reliance and respect forauthority. Black Africandignity once again begins to materialize as the people of Ndotsheni learnto farm and establish a village dam to irrigate their once irreparablydevastated land. One by one, the fictional nativeAfricans depicted in Paton's tale who migrate to Johannesburg often neverto return home are embroiled in a miasma of despair and corruption that canonly ultimately be remedied by a rebuilding and/or supplanting of thetribal system that previously imparted to their lives ethics, structure,and dignity. That is why the childrenbreak the law, and old white people are robbed and beaten" (Paton 1948)-more specifically, the moral and physical disintegration of StephenKumalo's familial "tribe" mirrors that same tribal fragmentation. Cry, The Beloved Country. The cattle are dying there, and there is no milk. The emerging mutual respect and admirationbetween Stephen Kumalo and James Jarvis most effectively illustrates hopefor reconciliation between blacks and whites, as does Jarvis's sending ofmuch needed milk to Ndotsheni's starving children; Jarvis's grandson'senthusiastic interest in learning the Zulu language; and the Ndotsheni'sChristian congregation's erection of a sympathy wreath for Jarvis'sdeceased wife. Through the long nights thetrains pass to Johannesburg" (Paton 1948). This certaintydrives the novel to its optimistic conclusion-that social change willindeed occur. Ultimately, though the traditions that lent stability and meaning toblack South African life have clearly been eradicated in Alan Paton's Cry,The Beloved Country, they are slowly being replaced with restorativeenlightenment and change (Novelguide). Malusi's child is dead, Kuluse's child is dying. Left withsparse amenities and the remnants of the "broken tribe", the natives who donot venture to Johannesburg and the outlying cities often face famine andlikely death. Declares the narrator, "Ndotsheni is still in darkness, butthe light will come there also. Bemoans Msimangu: "The tragedy is not that things are broken. Works CitedNovelguide, "Theme Analysis-Social Breakdown and Racial Injustice." Novelguide.com-Cry, The Beloved Country, http://www.novelguide.com/CrytheBelovedCountry/metapho ranalysis.html.Paton, A. However, he aspirations of theyoung immigrants, the reader is quick to learn, are far from fulfilled inthe city so desperately sought. 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