A

Story
Analysis
Presented by:
Wajieha Alih
Patrick Alpay
 THE AUTHOR
• Alan Paton, in full Alan Stewart Paton.
• He was born on January 11, 1903 at
Pietermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa.
• He is a South African writer and best
known for his first novel, ”Cry, the Beloved
Country (1948)”, a passionate tale of racial
injustice that brought international attention
to the problem of apartheid in South Africa.
• Paton studied at the University of Natal
(later incorporated into the University of
KwaZulu-Natal) and then taught school
from 1925 to 1935. In 1935 Paton left his
teaching position to direct Diepkloof
Reformatory for delinquent urban African
boys, near Johannesburg.
L
I • The success of Cry, the Beloved Country, which he wrote during
T his tenure at the reformatory, led him to resign his post for full-time
E writing.
• Paton also wrote a notable biography, Hofmeyr (1964), a massive
R
study of the parliamentarian and cabinet minister Jan Hofmeyr. He
A has also wrote other autobiographies such as Towards the
R Mountain (1980) , Ah, But Your Land Is Beautiful (1981). The second
Y volume of his autobiography, Journey Continued, was published in
W 1988 shortly after his death.
O • The Alan Paton Centre & Struggle Archives at the University of
R KwaZulu-Natal houses his papers as well as a major collection of
K apartheid-related manuscripts.
S
 SHORT SUMMARY
In the remote village of Ndotsheni, in the Natal province of eastern South Africa, the
Reverend Stephen Kumalo receives a letter from a fellow minister summoning him to Johannesburg,
a city in South Africa. He is needed there, the letter says, to help his sister, Gertrude, who the letter
says has fallen ill. Kumalo undertakes the difficult and expensive journey to the city in the hopes of
aiding Gertrude and of finding his son, Absalom, who traveled to Johannesburg from Ndotsheni and
never returned. In Johannesburg, Kumalo is warmly welcomed by Msimangu, the priest who sent him
the letter, and given comfortable lodging by Mrs. Lithebe, a Christian woman who feels that helping
others is her duty. Kumalo visits Gertrude, who is now a prostitute and liquor-seller, and persuades
her to come back to Ndotsheni with her young son.
A more difficult quest follows when Kumalo and Msimangu begin searching the labyrinthine
metropolis of Johannesburg for Absalom. They visit Kumalo’s brother, John, who has become a
successful businessman and politician, and he directs them to the factory where his son and Absalom
once worked together. One clue leads to another, and as Kumalo travels from place to place, he
begins to see the gaping racial and economic divisions that are threatening to split his country.
Eventually, Kumalo discovers that his son has spent time in a reformatory and that he has gotten a
girl pregnant.
 Meanwhile, the newspapers announce that Arthur Jarvis, a prominent white crusader
for racial justice, has been murdered in his home by a gang of burglars. Kumalo and
Msimangu learn that the police are looking for Absalom, and Kumalo’s worst suspicions are
confirmed when Absalom is arrested for Jarvis’s murder. Absalom has confessed to the crime,
but he claims that two others, including John Kumalo’s son, Matthew, aided him and that he
did not intend to murder Jarvis. With the help of friends, Kumalo obtains a lawyer for Absalom
and attempts to understand what his son has become. John, however, makes arrangements
for his own son’s defense, even though this split will worsen Absalom’s case. When Kumalo
tells Absalom’s pregnant girlfriend what has happened, she is saddened by the news, but she
joyfully agrees to his proposal that she marry his son and return to Ndotsheni as Kumalo’s
daughter-in-law.
Meanwhile, in the hills above Ndotsheni, Arthur Jarvis’s father, James Jarvis, tends
his bountiful land and hopes for rain. The local police bring him news of his son’s death, and
he leaves immediately for Johannesburg with his wife. In an attempt to come to terms with
what has happened, Jarvis reads his son’s articles and speeches on social inequality and
begins a radical reconsideration of his own prejudices. He and Kumalo meet for the first time
by accident, and after Kumalo has recovered from his shock, he expresses sadness and
regret for Jarvis’s loss.
 Both men attend Absalom’s trial, a fairly straightforward process that ends with the
death penalty for Absalom and an acquittal for his co-conspirators. Kumalo arranges for
Absalom to marry the girl who bears his child, and they bid farewell. The morning of his
departure, Kumalo rouses his new family to bring them back to Ndotsheni only to find that
Gertrude has disappeared.
Kumalo is now deeply aware of how his people have lost the tribal structure that once
held them together, and he returns to his village troubled by the situation. It turns out that
James Jarvis has been having similar thoughts. Arthur Jarvis’s young son befriends Kumalo,
and as the young boy and the old man become acquainted, James Jarvis becomes
increasingly involved with helping the struggling village. He donates milk at first, then makes
plans for a dam and hires an agricultural expert to demonstrate newer, less devastating
farming techniques. When Jarvis’s wife dies, Kumalo and his congregation send a wreath to
express their sympathy. Just as the diocese’s bishop is on the verge of transferring Kumalo,
Jarvis sends a note of thanks for the wreath and offers to build the congregation a new church,
and Kumalo is permitted to stay in his parish.
On the evening before his son’s execution, Kumalo goes into the mountains to await
the appointed time in solitude. On the way, he encounters Jarvis, and the two men speak of
the village, of lost sons, and of Jarvis’s bright young grandson, whose innocence and honesty
have impressed both men. When Kumalo is alone, he weeps for his son’s death and clasps
his hands in prayer as dawn breaks over the valley.
 MAIN CHARACTERS
 Stephen Kumalo - One of the novel’s two protagonists. Kumalo is an elderly
Zulu priest who has spent all of his life in the village of Ndotsheni. He is a
quiet, humble, and gentle man with a strong moral sense and an abiding faith
in God.
 James Jarvis - The novel’s other protagonist, a white landowner whose farm
overlooks Ndotsheni.
 Theophilus Msimangu - Stephen Kumalo’s host and guide in Johannesburg.
A tall, young minister at the Mission House in Sophiatown, Msimangu has an
acute understanding of the problems that face South Africa.
 Absalom Kumalo - Stephen Kumalo’s son.
 John Kumalo - Stephen Kumalo’s brother.
 Arthur Jarvis - Arthur Jarvis’s name first appears in the novel after he has
been murdered, but he is a powerful presence whose legacy hovers over the
whole novel.
 Gertrude Kumalo - Stephen Kumalo’s sister and the original reason for his trip
to Johannesburg.
 SIDE CHARACTERS
 Mrs. Kumalo - Stephen Kumalo’s strong-minded, supportive, and loving wife.
 Gertrude’s Son - Kumalo’s nephew. He brings comfort to Kumalo during his
troubles.
 Absalom’s Girlfriend - The kindhearted and quiet sixteen-year-old girl whom
Absalom has impregnated.
 Margaret Jarvis - James Jarvis’s wife.
 Arthur’s Son - Although only a child, Arthur’s son is very much like his father.
 Matthew Kumalo - John Kumalo’s son.
 Johannes Pafuri - The third young man present at the attempted robbery of Arthur
Jarvis’s house.
 The Judge - The judge who presides over Absalom’s case seems to be a fair-minded
man, but he is constrained by unjust laws and applies them strictly.
 Mary Jarvis - Arthur Jarvis’s wife.
 SETTING

The Story is held in the mid 1940's at the beginnings of

Apartheid where racial tensions remained strong. The two main
places where the story occurs are in the fictional village of
Ndotsheni and the great city of Johannesburg.
 PLOT of the STORY

EXPOSITION
A Christian priest named Stephen Kumalo lives in Ndotsheni with his
wife, but all of his other family members—his sister, his brother, and his only
son—have disappeared into the big city of Johannesburg. Kumalo's valley
has been hard hit by over-farming and overgrazing, which has led to soil
erosion and poor harvests. Because the farms can't support their people
anymore, a lot of young men and women have been leaving their traditional
villages for the cities. These people never come back to their families in the
countryside, leaving the farms to be tended by children and the elderly. This
is also what has happened to Kumalo's family in particular: his brother John,
his sister Gertrude, and his son Absalom have all gone to the city of
Johannesburg to look for better opportunities. And none of them have kept
in touch with the old folks back home. Bummers all around.
RISING ACTION
• Kumalo receive a letter to go to Johannesburg and help his sister,
Gertrude.
• Kumalo makes the journey to Johannesburg and is welcomed by
Msimango, the priest who sent the letter.
• He finds out from Msimangu that his brother John, is a great politician.
• Stephen goes to his sister’s house and finds out how Gertrude has been
living her life. He finds out that he has a son and that she is living a
prostitute.
• He also finds out that his son and their brother’s son are good friends.
• Kumalo and Msimangu goes on a search for Kumalo’s son, Absalom.
Kumalo visits his brother, John, who gives directions for Kumalo to follow.
• Kumalo later finds his son in prison and also learns that he has a
pregnant girlfriend.
CONFLICT

A Person vs. Society Conflict is when a character comes

into conflict with the law or the government.
In Cry, the Beloved Country, one of the central plot elements is
Absalom's crime and the trial that comes from it. Absalom is up against
the justice system as he fights the charges against him.

CLIMAX

Kumalo discovered that his son was arrested and put it in prison for
killing a white man while breaking in the man’s house and because of that
he may also receive the death penalty.
FALLING ACTION
• Meanwhile, Jarvis reads in the newspaper that a white man was shot dead in his own
home by a group of burglars.
• The police come to Jarvis’s house telling him the man shot was his son. He leaves to
Johannesburg right away.
• Jarvis visits his son’s house and reads the writing on his son’s desk.
• Stephen and Jarvis meet for the first time by accident. Stephen shows regret sadness
towards Jarvis’s situation.
• Stephen and Jarvis both go to the trial of Absalom. The trial ends as Absalom is
sentenced with the death penalty.
• Kumalo sees Absalom for the last as he leaves with the girl and his group back to his
village.
• When Kumalo returns to his village, he is overwhelmed by the loss of the development of
the village.
• Arthur Jarvis and Stephen became friends. Arthur Jarvis helps Kumalo out by donating
toward his village.
• Jarvis starts helping to rebuild the village. He first donates milk, and also hires an
agricultural expert to show the village proper techniques for farming.
• Jarvis’s wife dies and Kumalo thinks that his son’s killing was the purpose of that; Jarvis
disagree.
 RESOLUTION

• Kumalo’s son was executed.

• Peace returned to the village.
 FORESHADOWING

Paton’s Foreshadowing happens when Stephen

Kumalo learns that James Jarvis's son has been killed in
Johannesburg. Stephen does not yet know that his own son is
the killer. 'Cry, the beloved country,' the narrator says, 'these
things are not yet at an end.' This statement foreshadows
events that will occur soon, as Stephen discovers that his son
Absalom has killed James Jarvis's son.
 POINT OF VIEW

In the story, the point of view is considered third

person omniscient.
 THEME
Reconciliation Between Fathers and Sons
Cry, the Beloved Country chronicles the searches of two fathers for their sons. For Kumalo, the
search begins as a physical one, and he spends a number of days combing Johannesburg in search of
Absalom. Although most of his stops yield only the faintest clues as to Absalom’s whereabouts, the clues
present a constantly evolving picture of who Absalom has become. As Kumalo knocks on the doors of
Johannesburg’s slums, he hears of his son’s change from factory worker to burglar, then from promising
reformatory pupil to killer. When Kumalo and Absalom are finally reunited after Absalom’s incarceration,
they are virtual strangers to each other. The ordeal of the trial brings them closer together, but it is not until
after the guilty verdict that Kumalo begins to understand Absalom. In Absalom’s letters from prison, Kumalo
finds evidence of true repentance and familiar flashes of the little boy he remembers.

The Vicious Cycle of Inequality and Injustice

Kumalo’s search for his son takes place against the backdrop of massive social inequalities, which,
if not directly responsible for Absalom’s troubles, are certainly catalysts for them. Because black South
Africans are allowed to own only limited quantities of land, the natural resources of these areas are sorely
taxed.
 SYMBOL

The Church
The church in Ndotsheni is a simple, rough structure that represents a
faith that is humble and unpretentious. With its leaky roof, the church seems to
offer little shelter from the elements, but confirmations and other ceremonies
occur there nonetheless—with nothing better available, the congregation must
simply make do.
 REFFERENCES

• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alan-Stewart-Paton
• https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/cry/summary/
• https://prezi.com/qwu0-ngotjq3/cry-the-beloved-country/
• https://prezi.com/vebrxyekipkg/cry-the-beloved-country/
• https://study.com/academy/lesson/point-of-view-in-cry-the-beloved-
country.html