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War Within Oneself “Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear. Let him not love the earth too deeply. Let him not laugh too gladly when the water runs through his fingers, nor stand too silent when the setting sun makes red the veld with fire. Let him not be too moved when the birds of his land are singing, nor give too much of his heart to a mountain or a valley. For fear will rob him of all if he gives too much.” (Paton, pg. 111) Hope is written all over this paragraph. It is what explains all three books I have read, which are: Alan Paton’s Cry, The Beloved Country, Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima, and finally Anton Chekhov’s The Kiss. Without hope, you would not solve the problems that are brought into your thoughts and without hope nothing would be done. These three authors have done a terrific job in bringing the hope and problem solving into their stories. So go on and read the rest, and know that hope is always there to help you find the answer to your problem! Alan Paton was born in 1903 in Pietermaritzburg. It is in the province of Natal, South Africa. He attending Pietermaritzburg College, and Natal University. He taught school for three years in Ixopo. In 1935, he was made principal of Diepkloof Reformatory near Johannesburg, a school for delinquent boys. After World War II he decided to study prisons and reformatories. He traveled all over the world, and started to write Cry, The Beloved Country while he was in Norway. He finished three months later in San Francisco. Cry, The Beloved Country, has a tone full of hope. “One day in Johannesburg, and already the tribe was being rebuilt, the house and soul being restored.” (Paton, 63) This quote describes the way Kumalo feels about having his family all together in one location. By going to Johannesburg to see his sister Gertrude, and taking her back home has him excited to bring back the rest of his family. Absalom, his son is another one of the family that is not in Ixopo. Kumalo goes in search for his son, hoping he will bring him back home like he did to Gertrude and her child. The symbolism in this story is very up-front, and noticeable. Even though you aren’t free, the race likes to think they are. They do anything a typical person would. Justice is sought across the whole book with Absalom and his charges for murdering Arthur Jarvis. Even though he might of committed the crime, even if he did not, they would of still charged him from being African. “It was he also who taught me that we do not work for men, that we work for the land and the people. We do not even work for money. He said.” (Paton, 303) This here shows that even if they are discriminated against, that they have to keep their dignity, and work for themselves, for the land and the people. The money does not have anything to do with it, and with other races that would be their motivation.
Approximate Word count = 2074
Approximate Pages = 8.3
(250 words per page double spaced)
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