"cry, the beloved country" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cliff Notes)

^^^^^^^^^^CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY: GERTRUDE KUMALO

Kumalo's sister Gertrude is young enough to be his daughter. When her husband, a miner, disappeared in Johannesburg, she took their baby and left to look for him. She never found him, but quickly embraced the freedom of the city even though she could earn her way only by prostitution, gambling, and the making and selling of bad liquor. It's possible that for dramatic reasons, Paton decided to have Gertrude drift into prostitution. With the knowledge that you have gained from reading Cry, the Beloved Country, what other alternatives were there? If Paton had depicted Gertrude solely as a cook in a shabby restaurant would that have been just as effective for his purposes?

When Kumalo confronts her with the shame she has brought on the family, she seems to repent. But in the end she knows that she cannot possibly go back to the restrictions of village life. She gives her little boy to Absalom's new wife and disappears again into Johannesburg. Gertrude is more a type than a complex individual. She is so changed by city life that she cannot return to traditional Zulu values.

^^^^^^^^^^CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY: JOHN KUMALO

Kumalo's brother John is a carpenter who moved to Johannesburg and became prosperous. He has left the church, his wife Esther has left him for being unfaithful to her, and he lives with a woman he hasn't married. A fat, bull-necked man, he is a prominent speaker whose powerful voice could move thousands of people to action. Yet he always stops short of inciting a riot. He fears being arrested and losing his comfortable life. When his son Matthew is arrested with Absalom on suspicion of murder, he hires a crooked lawyer to get his son acquitted. John's narrow action on behalf of his son alone, shocks Stephen Kumalo. (You might want to consider other ways John could have acted.) After the trial John plans to keep a better eye on Matthew, but it is doubtful that his own moral standards will inspire his son. He, too, is somewhat of a type character, a Zulu man changed by the city, but he emerges as a more complex individual than Gertrude.

^^^^^^^^^^CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY: ABSALOM KUMALO

Absalom's name recalls the rebellious son of King David in the Bible. He turns against the ideals of his father when he drifts into thievery--a life which puts him in a prison school. He does well there, but when he is released to marry his pregnant girlfriend, he drifts back to crime. Eventually he fires a gun during a robbery and kills an important white man, Arthur Jarvis. He is tried, and sentenced to death. He is meek and repentant in captivity and you see the young man he might have become. He dies wishing that he could start over. He is a case study of a black youth in the middle--he could have gone either way, but was drawn into a life of crime by social conditions he neither caused nor understood. Of course, there were thousands of young blacks like Absalom Kumalo who didn't become criminals at that time regardless of social conditions. Should Alan Paton have dealt with them here?

^^^^^^^^^^CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY: MATTHEW KUMALO

The son of John Kumalo, Matthew can be seen as an outright thief and liar who laughs at his cousin for confessing to breaking into the home of Arthur Jarvis and to firing the shot that killed him. The lawyer hired by his father wins his acquittal, although he and the third boy, Johannes Pafuri, are under investigation for other crimes. While Matthew is presented in a bad light, you should try to understand the forces that worked against him. Was he born a thief and a liar? Is this the situation of a "bad seed," an incorrigible youth, or is the interpretation of Matthew's character a far more complex matter?

^^^^^^^^^^CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY: ARTHUR JARVIS

Born and raised near Ndotsheni, Arthur Jarvis is a well-educated man who becomes so dedicated to social reform that he is willing to abandon a successful business to spread his beliefs. In many ways he is a surrogate (or stand-in) for Paton and his views. He is so strong an advocate of blacks as almost to be a savior, and it is ironic that he should be killed by blacks. Some readers see him as a Christ figure. In what ways might this be true?

^^^^^^^^^^CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY: JAMES JARVIS

James Jarvis is Arthur Jarvis' father, the prosperous owner of High Place near Ndotsheni. He is a devoted husband, a kind, considerate man, and an employer whose workers love him. He is, however, blind to social injustice until the murder. The crime and his reading of his son's papers destroy his orderly world. He comes to believe that he must do more than live a decent personal life--that he must help rebuild what other white men have destroyed. He donates a large sum of money to a boys' club founded by his son and John Harrison, and joins with Kumalo to begin reforms in Ndotsheni.

^^^^^^^^^^CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY: MRS. LITHEBE

Mrs. Lithebe is a childless widow who rents Kumalo a room in Sophiatown. She doesn't need the rent money, but is so impressed with Kumalo that she takes in Gertrude and her son, as well as Absalom's girlfriend, for Kumalo's sake. Mrs. Lithebe finds answers to life's problems in religion and strict morals. She likes Gertrude, but instructs Absalom's girlfriend to avoid her influence. She serves as the mother the girl never had.


^^^^^^^^^^CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY: MRS. STEPHEN KUMALO

Stephen Kumalo's wife is a Zulu woman who bears whatever comes her way. She is forceful once a decision is made, and staunchly supports Kumalo. Warm-hearted, she welcomes Absalom's wife and Gertrude's son as her own children.

^^^^^^^^^^CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY: WIFE OF MPANZA

She is a woman of Ndotsheni whose son was so excited by Johannesburg that he stepped into the path of a large truck. In a way, the boy's excitement prepares us for Kumalo's reactions to Johannesburg.

^^^^^^^^^^CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY: THE MAN WHO CARRIED THE BAGS

He is a Zulu friend and advisor of Kumalo's, who helps him see that people do not blame him for his relatives' behavior. He takes Kumalo to the train and meets him when he returns. A willing go-between, he asks Kumalo to locate the daughter of Sibeko in the Johannesburg suburb of Springs. He is so happy working for James Jarvis that he says he would die if Jarvis asked it.

^^^^^^^^^^CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY: MR. MAFOLO

Mr. Mafolo is an Anglican businessman who rescues Kumalo and takes him to Msimangu on his first night in Johannesburg.

^^^^^^^^^^CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY: FATHER VINCENT