Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

Cry, the Beloved Country

 

Absalom lacks the proper guidance because he does not want to follow his father's advice. Absalom is caught and sentenced to death for his crime, along sentencing Stephen Kumalo's faith in Absalom to an endpoint. Separations of father and son are not always caused by harshness of Johannesburg. James Jarvis and his son Arthur Jarvis are distanced because of their distinct viewpoints. After being informed about Arthur's death, James Jarvis says, "My son and I didn't see eye to eye on the native question. In fact, he and I got quiet heated about it on more than one occasion." (p.170) Like most white people, James Jarvis is not educated about Africans. He shakes hands with a black person for the first time, and he acquiesces with John Harrison's racist comments. Many white people, including James Jarvis, are taught wrongly about Africans. Arthur Jarvis is different from most white people and his father, Arthur seeks to understand the real story between black and white. Because of this, Arthur Jarvis is more understanding towards the blacks. James Jarvis wishes for his son to be like him and most white people. South Africa's misguidance creates people with different view, even for fathers and sons. .
             Johannesburg is a place where Christian values are lost. After Stephen Kumalo discovered that his son is the killer of Arthur Jarvis, he questions God of fairness. Stephen Kumalo is a person who sees the inequality of racial ethnicities. He describes Arthur Jarvis as "a white man, a good man, devoted to his wife and children. And worst of all-devoted to our people I cannot suppose it to be less than the greatest evil I have ever known." (p.141) Arthur Jarvis's death is very unfortunate; he is a man who fights for justice and equality among the apathetic and ignorant white people. Stephen Kumalo feels that there is no righteousness in God's way. He does not understand God's reason for taking the life of an exceptional person who done nothing other than to try to help others.


Essays Related to Cry, the Beloved Country