Cry The Beloved Country
Summary:
The novel opens in a small village in Ixopo Ndotsheni, where priest Stephen Kumalo receives a letter from the priest Theophilus Msimangu in Johannesburg. Msimangu urges Kumalo to come to the city to help his sick sister Gertrude. The journey to Johannesburg is very long and Kumalo is able to see the wonders of the modern world outside of his village for the first time. Kumalo goes to Johannesburg to help Gertrude and to find his son Absalom, who had gone to the city to look for Gertrude as well but never returned home.
When he gets into the city, Kumalo finds out that Gertrude has become a prostitute and brews beer, and is now drinking heavily. She agrees to return to the village with her young son. coninced by these promises, Kumalo starts the long search for Absalom, first seeing his own brother John who is a carpenter that has become involved in the politics of South Africa. Kumalo and Msimangu follow Absalom's trail, only to learn that Absalom has been in a reformatory and has gotten a young women pregnant. Shortly after he learns this, Kumalo learns that his son has also been arrested for murder. The victim was Arthur Jarvis, who was killed during a burglary. Jarvis was an engineer and a white activist for racial justice, and he also just so happens to be the son of Kumalo's neighbor, James Jarvis.
Once Jarvis learns of his son's death, he comes with his family to Johannesburg. Jarvis and his son had been distant for a long time, and now the father begins to know his son again through his writings. Through reading his son's essays, Jarvis decides to take up his son's work in racial equality for South Africa's black population.
Absalom is sentenced to death for the murder of Arthur Jarvis. Before his father returns to Ndotsheni, Absalom marries the girl who is carrying his child and she joins Kumalo's family. Kumalo returns to his village with his daughter-in-law and nephew, having found that Gertrude ran away again on the night before they got back.
Back in Ixopo, Kumalo makes a futile visit to the tribe's chief in order to discuss changes that must be made to help the barren village, to bring it back to its original, better condition. Help arrives, however, when James Jarvis becomes involved in the work. He arranges to have a dam built and hires a native agricultural demonstrator to implement new farming methods.
The novel ends at dawn on the morning of Absalom's execution. The fathers of the two children are devastated that both of their sons have died and cry together in the valley as the sun rises.
Characters:
• Stephen Kumalo: A native priest who attempts to reconstruct the disintegrating tribe and his own family. This is the main character and the protagonist. He goes through several changes due to the numerous conflicts, both internally and externally, that he faces.
• Theophilus Msimangu: A priest from Johannesburg who helps Kumalo find his son Absalom.
• John Kumalo: Stephen's brother who denies the tribal validity and who becomes a spokesman for the new movement in the city; a carpenter.
• Absalom Kumalo: Stephen's son who left home to look for Stephen's sister Gertrude, and who ends up committing a murder.
• Gertrude Kumalo: The young sister of Stephen who becomes a prostitute in the large city and leads a dissolute life.
• James Jarvis: A wealthy landowner whose son is murdered and who comes to the realization of the guilt of white residents in such crimes.
• Arthur Jarvis: Murdered by Absalom Kumalo, he is the son of James Jarvis. He does not appear in the novel, but his racial views are highly significant and influential.
• Dubula: A big man who was the "heart" of anything and everything he did, including wanting peace between the races.
• Father Vincent: The priest from England who helps Stephen in his troubles.
• Mrs. Lithebe: The native landlady with whom Stephen stays while in Johannesburg.
• The Harrisons: The father and son represent two opposing views concerning the racial problem. The father represents the traditional view and the son the more liberal view. The father is also Arthur's father-in-law.
• The Girl [Absalom's wife]: A teenage girl approximately 16 years old impregnated by Absalom, whom she later marries.
Themes:
The main theme of the story is that of being against the racial segregation and inequality of the apartheid of South Africa.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry,_the_Beloved_Country
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/cry/
http://www.novelguide.com/CrytheBelovedCountry/summaries/BookIChapters9-12.html
The novel opens in a small village in Ixopo Ndotsheni, where priest Stephen Kumalo receives a letter from the priest Theophilus Msimangu in Johannesburg. Msimangu urges Kumalo to come to the city to help his sick sister Gertrude. The journey to Johannesburg is very long and Kumalo is able to see the wonders of the modern world outside of his village for the first time. Kumalo goes to Johannesburg to help Gertrude and to find his son Absalom, who had gone to the city to look for Gertrude as well but never returned home.
When he gets into the city, Kumalo finds out that Gertrude has become a prostitute and brews beer, and is now drinking heavily. She agrees to return to the village with her young son. coninced by these promises, Kumalo starts the long search for Absalom, first seeing his own brother John who is a carpenter that has become involved in the politics of South Africa. Kumalo and Msimangu follow Absalom's trail, only to learn that Absalom has been in a reformatory and has gotten a young women pregnant. Shortly after he learns this, Kumalo learns that his son has also been arrested for murder. The victim was Arthur Jarvis, who was killed during a burglary. Jarvis was an engineer and a white activist for racial justice, and he also just so happens to be the son of Kumalo's neighbor, James Jarvis.
Once Jarvis learns of his son's death, he comes with his family to Johannesburg. Jarvis and his son had been distant for a long time, and now the father begins to know his son again through his writings. Through reading his son's essays, Jarvis decides to take up his son's work in racial equality for South Africa's black population.
Absalom is sentenced to death for the murder of Arthur Jarvis. Before his father returns to Ndotsheni, Absalom marries the girl who is carrying his child and she joins Kumalo's family. Kumalo returns to his village with his daughter-in-law and nephew, having found that Gertrude ran away again on the night before they got back.
Back in Ixopo, Kumalo makes a futile visit to the tribe's chief in order to discuss changes that must be made to help the barren village, to bring it back to its original, better condition. Help arrives, however, when James Jarvis becomes involved in the work. He arranges to have a dam built and hires a native agricultural demonstrator to implement new farming methods.
The novel ends at dawn on the morning of Absalom's execution. The fathers of the two children are devastated that both of their sons have died and cry together in the valley as the sun rises.
Characters:
• Stephen Kumalo: A native priest who attempts to reconstruct the disintegrating tribe and his own family. This is the main character and the protagonist. He goes through several changes due to the numerous conflicts, both internally and externally, that he faces.
• Theophilus Msimangu: A priest from Johannesburg who helps Kumalo find his son Absalom.
• John Kumalo: Stephen's brother who denies the tribal validity and who becomes a spokesman for the new movement in the city; a carpenter.
• Absalom Kumalo: Stephen's son who left home to look for Stephen's sister Gertrude, and who ends up committing a murder.
• Gertrude Kumalo: The young sister of Stephen who becomes a prostitute in the large city and leads a dissolute life.
• James Jarvis: A wealthy landowner whose son is murdered and who comes to the realization of the guilt of white residents in such crimes.
• Arthur Jarvis: Murdered by Absalom Kumalo, he is the son of James Jarvis. He does not appear in the novel, but his racial views are highly significant and influential.
• Dubula: A big man who was the "heart" of anything and everything he did, including wanting peace between the races.
• Father Vincent: The priest from England who helps Stephen in his troubles.
• Mrs. Lithebe: The native landlady with whom Stephen stays while in Johannesburg.
• The Harrisons: The father and son represent two opposing views concerning the racial problem. The father represents the traditional view and the son the more liberal view. The father is also Arthur's father-in-law.
• The Girl [Absalom's wife]: A teenage girl approximately 16 years old impregnated by Absalom, whom she later marries.
Themes:
The main theme of the story is that of being against the racial segregation and inequality of the apartheid of South Africa.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry,_the_Beloved_Country
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/cry/
http://www.novelguide.com/CrytheBelovedCountry/summaries/BookIChapters9-12.html