Cry, the Beloved Country and Injustice, Fear and Family

Cry, the Beloved Country and Injustice, Fear, and Family Nothing is ever perfect. All systems have their flaws. Sometimes more flaws than any good. That was the way it was in South Africa during the apartheid, people had to break away from the family and their tradition just to get food and a little money. The corrupt government spread ideas of inequality and injustice, forcing people to live in fear of their lives. In his protest novel, Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton uses the interaction of characters to illustrate the negative effects of apartheid on both the natives in South Africa and the white oppressors. He uses the subject fear to demonstrate the everlasting ideas of the worlds corrupt system of justice and what†¦show more content†¦Paton also describes the effect on family and focuses mostly on father and son relationships. Kumalos search begins as he searches every nook and cranny in Johannesburg for Absalom: Who knows why the warm flesh of a child is such comfort, when ones own child is lost and cannot be recovered? Â…But this, the purpose of our lives, the end of all our struggle is beyond human wisdomÂ…But he stood up. That was Msimangu talking at the door. It was time to continue our search (62). He spends so much time looking for Absalom, going from place to place, each one only leading to the slightest clue of where he is, exhausting him. Each of the stops though, provides Kumalo with more information on the person his son has become. This is what exhausts him most of all. He finds out his son goes from a fine worker to a criminal, then to a reformatory student, and then a murderer. When they are finally reunited, they are virtually strangers: I have searched every place for you. To that also is no answer. The old man loosens his hands and his sons hands slip from them lifelessly. There is a barrier here, a wall, that cuts off one from the other (98). The trial, and all the rest of the time they spend toge ther before Absaloms sentence doesnt help in bringing them closer, until after he is found guilty. Then asShow MoreRelatedThe Meaning of the Title, Cry, the Beloved Country Essay1007 Words   |  5 PagesThe 1940 set in time book, Cry, the Beloved Country’s title by Alan Paton have intrigued yet perplexed readers over the years. The title itself has several meanings especially to the different readers and their understanding of it. The title not only expresses the importance but also plays a role in capturing the concept of the book. 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