The purpose of Cry, the Beloved Country, is to awaken the population of South Africa to the
racism that is slowly disintegrating the society and its people. Alan Paton designs his work to
express his views on the injustices and racial hatred that plague South Africa, in an attempt to
bring about change and understanding. The characters that he incorporates within his story, help
to establish a sense of the conditions and hardships that the country is experiencing, and the
presence of fear through the whole of the populace. Presenting the characters as having
one-sided personalities or by referring to them by a simple label, Paton indicates that these evils
are universal and fundamental within human nature.
As Stephen Kumalo searches for his son, Absalom, Paton has several events befall onto
Kumalo in order to represent the harsh society that many of the blacks live in. The first event
occurs when Kumalo arrives in Johannesburg, afraid from the stories that he has heard, he puts his
trust in another black man who appears to be of good intentions, but in reality cheats Kumalo of
his money.
Absalom
Kiswahili: Alan Paton
Cry, the Beloved CountryThis experience is unlike his time on the train, in which Kumalo had been treated with
immense respect. On the train he is aware of the respect that other blacks hold for him, because
he is a man of God, though, in the city, his social standing demonstrates little significance. This
may be taken as a sign that the idea of a God may be questioned or less acceptable to the people,
when they have positions in a society that are cruel and not beneficial.
Kumalo does find assistance when he asks for help from an older man, who kindly escorts him
to the Mission House. The contrast that Paton creates here is the...