Cry, the Beloved Country
Cry, the beloved country is a heart warming story that explains the tragic lives of two different men of a different race. One man, James Jarvis, was the definition of the common white man of the time the book was written; Primarily the hatred of the natives. Despite his childhood, James` son, Arthur, grew up to be a black activist. Following the death of his son by a native, James overlooked his original beliefs and decided to keep his sons dream alive. James showed courage and risked the destruction of his prestigious reputation he had built up over the years, just for what now he and his son deemed right (as shown in the picture in the upper right corner). Another man, Stephen Kumalo, an umfindisi, set out on his journey to Johannesburg to find his sister, brother, and son in which who were pulled in by the false hope of a new and better life in the big city. Once arrived, he was immediately faced with the lurid news such as: His brother had become a politician, his sister was living in the wrong part of the already wrong town and had been arrested for prostitution and illegally selling alcohol, and that his son had been accused of murder. Although the temptations for abandoning his religion hit kumalo hard, he persevered through the hardships and stayed strong beside his religion.