Themes (Grade 12 NSC Matric English FAL): Revision Notes
Themes
Alan Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country explores several important themes that reflect the social and political conditions of South Africa during apartheid. Understanding these themes is crucial for analysing the novel's deeper meanings and messages.
Reconciliation between fathers and sons
This central theme explores the complex relationships between fathers and their children, particularly through two main characters: Stephen Kumalo and James Jarvis.
Stephen Kumalo's journey begins as a physical search when he travels from his rural village to Johannesburg looking for his son Absalom. As the story unfolds, Kumalo discovers his son's transformation from factory worker to burglar, and eventually to killer. When father and son are finally reunited after Absalom's imprisonment, they remain like strangers to each other. Only during Kumalo's final visit to his son before the execution does he seem to truly understand him.
James Jarvis's journey differs significantly - it is not a physical search but an emotional and intellectual one. Through reading his deceased son Arthur's articles and manuscripts, Jarvis learns that Arthur was an advocate for black South Africans. This discovery fills Jarvis with pride and helps him understand his son's values and beliefs.
The theme shows how understanding between generations often comes through tragedy and loss, suggesting that reconciliation sometimes requires great sacrifice.
Christian values, kindness and faith
Throughout the novel, Paton emphasises the importance of acting with kindness and maintaining Christian faith, even in difficult circumstances.
Key Christian characters include Stephen Kumalo, Father Vincent, and Theophilus Msimangu, who all represent Christian values and demonstrate faith in their actions. These characters show that kindness leads to genuine connections - it is through acts of kindness that Jarvis and Kumalo eventually develop their bond.
Kumalo's kindness extends beyond personal relationships. His willingness to help the small white boy leads to Jarvis starting work on behalf of South Africa, including donating milk and introducing new farming methods in Ndotsheni.
Christianity brings stability to people's lives. When Stephen hears that his son has killed someone and will probably be executed, Father Vincent commands him to pray, providing comfort and strength.
Atheism represents corruption in the novel. John Kumalo rejects Christianity, and his character is associated with power and corruption, showing the contrast between faith and worldliness.
Vocabulary: Atheism = disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods
The tension between urban and rural society
One of the major themes explores the conflict between city life and rural life, showing how urbanisation destroys traditional family structures.
Stephen Kumalo represents rural life with its values of family, religion, morality and stability. His village of Ndotsheni embodies these traditional values.
John Kumalo represents urban corruption - living in chaotic Johannesburg, he embodies the breaking apart of families and death of traditional values.
Example: The City's Destructive Impact
The city destroys families in multiple ways:
- People are drawn to Johannesburg seeking opportunities, but they never return home
- Arthur Jarvis leaves his father and dies in Johannesburg before he can return
- Absalom Kumalo receives a death sentence in the city
- Gertrude Kumalo loses her husband and becomes involved in liquor trade and prostitution
- John Kumalo becomes corrupt and powerful, never returning to his home town
This theme shows how urbanisation, while offering economic opportunities, often comes at the cost of family bonds and moral values.
Power and passivity
The novel examines how power can corrupt individuals and how people often remain passive in the face of injustice.
Power corrupts even good people when it is used incorrectly. Money enables corruption, and black characters such as John Kumalo sometimes use their money and influence to bully others in their community.
The power of words is significant in the novel. Both Msimangu and John Kumalo demonstrate power through their speaking voices, inspiring their listeners. Arthur Jarvis uses articles and pamphlets to influence people, showing the difference between constructive and destructive uses of influence.
White passivity is criticised throughout the novel. The majority of white people remained passive even though injustices were occurring. They accepted their situations and conditions without trying to create change, benefiting from the unfair political system.
Freedom and entrapment
The theme explores both literal and metaphorical forms of imprisonment that affect the characters.
Few characters are truly free in the novel. Msimangu serves as a good example - he seeks neither wealth nor power but serves God, representing genuine freedom.
Multiple forms of entrapment exist: people are trapped by their colour, their wealth or poverty, and their limited perspectives.
Example: Absalom's Dual Imprisonment
Absalom's imprisonment works on two levels:
- Literally: he is confined in prison after accidentally shooting Arthur Jarvis
- Symbolically: he was confined by his lack of education and opportunities, which drove him to become a thief
Fear as imprisonment paralyses characters and traps them in harmful thinking patterns. White men like Mr. Harrison and even Mr. Jarvis (before reading his son's manuscripts) are trapped by fearful and prejudiced ways of thinking about black South Africans.
Journeying and stagnation
Physical and spiritual journeys lead to emotional growth for the main characters.
Stephen Kumalo and James Jarvis both undertake physical and spiritual journeys that result in emotional development and greater understanding.
Kumalo's tragic journey ends with his son being found guilty and hanged, but he gains awareness of the injustices in the system. His son's death makes him more determined to offer hope to the remainder of his family and to recreate a moral foundation for the next generation.
Jarvis's transformative journey involves searching for understanding of his son's political beliefs and character. He learns to change his perspective about South Africa and its people.
Both characters demonstrate that meaningful change often requires undertaking difficult journeys - both literal travel and personal transformation.
Racial oppression vs reconciliation
This theme addresses the harsh realities of apartheid while offering hope for a better future.
Apartheid's devastating impact is evident throughout the novel, shown through the unfavourable conditions that black South Africans endured. The townships of Soweto and Alexandra illustrate this through poverty, alcoholism, crime, prostitution and other social problems.
The call for reconciliation appears throughout the story. Alan Paton advocates for reconciliation between black and white South Africans, moving beyond mere acknowledgement of problems to actual transformation.
James Jarvis's transformation exemplifies this theme. Initially presented as a white racist with very little concern for the hardships suffered by black people, his exposure to his son's writings and his experience during his son's funeral leads to significant change. By the novel's end, he has become "a totally transformed individual" and takes responsibility for economic development of Ndotsheni.
As Arthur Jarvis writes: "Indeed there it was a problem almost beyond solution. Some...more congeal occupation."
Vocabulary:
- Reconciliation = the action of making one view or belief compatible with another
- Prejudiced = having or showing a dislike or distrust
Key Points to Remember:
- Reconciliation is central to the novel - between fathers and sons, and between races
- Christian values of kindness and faith offer hope and stability in a troubled society
- Urban life destroys traditional rural values and family structures
- Power corrupts while passivity allows injustice to continue
- Freedom is rare - most characters are trapped by circumstances, fear, or prejudice
- Journeys lead to growth - both physical and spiritual travel transforms characters
- Apartheid causes suffering but the novel advocates for reconciliation and transformation rather than revenge