Cry, the Beloved Country

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This article is about the novel. For other uses, see Cry, the Beloved Country (disambiguation).
Cry, the Beloved Country
First US edition
AuthorAlan Paton
CountrySouth Africa
LanguageEnglish
Genrenovel
Set inJohannesburg and Natal, 1940s
PublisherScribners (USA) & Jonathan Cape (UK)
Publication date
1 February 1948[1]
Media typePrint (hard~ & paperback)
Pages256 (hardback ed., UK) 273 (hardback ed., US)
ISBN0-224-60578-X (hardback edition, UK)
OCLC13487773
823.914
LC ClassPR9369.3 .P37

Cry, the Beloved Country is a 1948 novel by South African writer Alan Paton. Set in the prelude to apartheid in South Africa, it follows a black village priest and a white farmer who must deal with news of a murder.

American publisher Bennett Cerf remarked at that year's meeting of the American Booksellers Association that there had been "only three novels published since the first of the year that were worth reading… Cry, The Beloved Country, The Ides of March, and The Naked and the Dead."[2] It remains one of the best-known works of South African literature.[3][4]

Two cinema adaptations of the book have been made, the first in 1951 and the second in 1995. The novel was also adapted as a musical called Lost in the Stars (1949), with a book by the American writer Maxwell Anderson and music composed by the German emigre Kurt Weill.

Plot[edit]

The story begins in the village of Ixopo Ndotsheni, where the Christian priest Stephen Kumalo, a Zulu, receives a letter from the priest Theophilus Msimangu in Johannesburg. Msimangu urges Kumalo to come to the city to help his sister Gertrude, because she is ill. Kumalo goes to Johannesburg to help her and also to find his son Absalom, who had gone to the city to look for Gertrude but never came home. It is a long journey to Johannesburg, and Kumalo sees the wonders of the modern world for the first time.

When he gets to the city, Kumalo learns that Gertrude has taken up a life of prostitution and beer brewing, and is now drinking heavily. She agrees to return to the village with her young son. Assured by these developments, Kumalo embarks on the search for Absalom, first seeing his brother John, a carpenter who 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 will have a child with a young woman. Shortly thereafter, Kumalo learns that his son has been arrested for murder. The victim is Arthur Jarvis, a white man who was killed during a burglary. Jarvis was an engineer and an activist for racial justice, and he happens to be the son of Kumalo's neighbour James Jarvis.

Jarvis learns of his son's death and comes with his family to Johannesburg. Jarvis and his son had been distant, and now the father begins to know his son through his writings. Through reading his son's essays, Jarvis decides to take up his son's work on behalf of South Africa's black population.

Absalom reveals at his trial that he was pressured into committing the burglary by and with his three "friends", who later denied their involvement and threw Absalom under the bus. 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. She joins Kumalo's family. Kumalo returns to his village with his daughter-in-law and nephew, having found that Gertrude ran away on the night before their departure.

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. 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 wound up dead.

Characters[edit]

  • Stephen Kumalo: A 60-year-old Christian Zulu priest, the father of Absalom, who attempts to find his family in Johannesburg, and later to reconstruct the disintegrating state of his village. Book three focuses heavily on his relationship with James Jarvis.
  • Theophilus Msimangu: A priest from Johannesburg who helps Kumalo find his son Absalom and his sister Gertrude.
  • John Kumalo: Stephen's brother, who denies the tribal validity and becomes a spokesman for the new racial movement in the city; a former carpenter.
  • Absalom Kumalo: Stephen's son who left home to look for Stephen's sister Gertrude, and who murders Arthur Jarvis. His name is an allusion to Absalom, wayward son of the Biblical King David.[5]
  • Gertrude Kumalo: The young sister of Stephen who becomes a prostitute in Johannesburg and leads a dissolute life.
  • James Jarvis: A wealthy landowner whose son, Arthur, is murdered. He comes to the realization of the guilt of white residents in such crimes and forgives the Kumalos.
  • Arthur Jarvis: Murdered by Absalom Kumalo, he is the son of James Jarvis. He had many liberal racial views that are highly significant and influential.
  • Dubula: A big man who was the "heart" of anything and everything Arthur Jarvis did, including wanting peace between the races.
  • Mr. Carmichael: Absalom's lawyer; he takes his case pro deo (for God) in this case meaning for free.
  • Father Vincent: A priest from England who helps Stephen in his troubles.
  • Mrs. Lithebe: A native housewife in whose house Stephen stays while in Johannesburg.
  • The Harrisons: A father and son who represent two opposing views concerning the racial problem. The father, who is Arthur's father-in-law, represents the traditional view, while the son represents the more liberal view.
  • The Girl: A teenage girl, approximately 16 years old, impregnated by Absalom, whom she later marries. She tells Kumalo that Absalom will be her third husband and that her father had abandoned her family when she was quite young. Given her young age it is unclear if any of these marriages were wholly consensual.

Main themes[edit]

Cry, the Beloved Country is a social protest against the structures of the society that would later give rise to apartheid. Paton attempts to create an unbiased and objective view of the dichotomies it entails: he depicts whites as affected by "native crime" while blacks suffer from social instability and moral issues due to the breakdown of the tribal system. It shows many of the problems with South Africa such as the degrading of the land reserved for the natives, which is sometimes considered to be the main theme, the disintegration of the tribal community, native crime, and the flight to urban areas.

Another prevalent theme in Cry, the Beloved Country is the detrimental effects of fear on the characters and society of South Africa as indicated in the following quotation from the narrator in Chapter 12:

Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear. Let him not love the earth too deeply. Let him not laugh too gladly when the water runs through his fingers, nor stand too silent when the setting sun makes red the veld with fire. Let him not be too moved when the birds of his land are singing, nor give too much of his heart to a mountain or a valley. For fear will rob him of all if he gives too much.

Paton makes frequent use of literary and linguistic devices such as microcosms, intercalary chapters and dashes instead of quotation marks for dialogue to indicate the start of speech.

Background[edit]

Cry, the Beloved Country was written before passage of a new law institutionalizing the apartheid political system in South Africa. The novel was published in 1948; apartheid became law later that same year.

The book enjoyed critical success around the world. It sold over 15 million copies before Paton's death.

The book is studied currently by many schools internationally. The style of writing echoes the rhythms and tone of the King James Bible. Paton was a devout Christian.

Paton combined actual locales, such as Ixopo and Johannesburg, with fictional towns. The suburb in which Jarvis lived in Johannesburg, Parkwold, is fictional but its ambiance is typical of the Johannesburg suburbs of Parktown and of Saxonwold. In the author's preface, Paton took pains to note that, apart from passing references to Jan Smuts and Sir Ernest Oppenheimer, all his characters were fictional.

Allusions/references to other works[edit]

The novel is filled with Biblical references and allusions. The most evident are the names Paton gives to the characters. Absalom, the son of Stephen Kumalo, is named for the son of King David, who rose against his father in rebellion. Also, in the New Testament Book of Acts, Stephen was a martyr who underwent death by stoning rather than stop declaring the things he believed. The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts are written to Theophilus, which is Greek for "friend of God".

In the novel, Absalom requests that his son be named "Peter", the name of one of Jesus's disciples. Among Peter's better-known traits is a certain impulsiveness; also, after Christ's arrest, he denied knowing Jesus three times, and later wept in grief over this. After the resurrection, Peter renewed his commitment to Christ and to spreading the Gospel. All that suggests Absalom's final repentance and his commitment to the faith of his father.

In another allusion, Arthur Jarvis is described as having a large collection of books on Abraham Lincoln, and the writings of Lincoln are featured several times in the novel.

Paton describes Arthur's son as having characteristics similar to his when he was a child, which may allude to the resurrection of Christ.

Film, television and theatrical adaptations[edit]

In 1951, the novel was adapted into a motion picture of the same name, directed by Zoltan Korda. Paton wrote the screenplay with John Howard Lawson, who was left out of the original credits because he was blacklisted in Hollywood for refusing to give information to the House Un-American Activities Committee. Kumalo was played by Canada Lee, Jarvis by Charles Carson, and Msimangu by Sidney Poitier.[citation needed]

In 1983, a historic stage adaptation was performed by the Capital Players theatre group at the Moth Hall in Gaborone, Botswana. The country was at that time one of the leading "frontline states" to apartheid South Africa and a centre for artistic activity that often stood in quiet opposition to the racist regime just across the border. The premiere was attended by Paton himself, who had travelled from Natal, as well as Botswana's then-President Quett Masire (with political acumen, the director had arranged for the first performance to take place on the President's birthday). School students from across the country were bussed to the capital to see the production.[6]

Another film version was released in 1995, directed by Darrell Roodt. James Earl Jones played the Reverend Kumalo and Richard Harris filled the role of Jarvis.[citation needed]

A stage version by the South African playwright Roy Sargeant was developed in early 2003; it was first staged at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape on 27 June 2003 and at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town on 8 July 2003. The director was Heinrich Reisenhofer. The script, together with notes and activities for school use, was published in 2006 by Oxford University Press Southern Africa.[citation needed] The play was produced by Independent Theatre in Adelaide, Australia, in 2006 and again in 2008.[7]

Musical adaptation[edit]

In 1949, the composer Kurt Weill, in collaboration with the American writer Maxwell Anderson (book and lyrics), composed a musical based on the book called Lost in the Stars. The original Broadway production opened on 30 October 1949 at the Music Box Theatre and starred Todd Duncan and Inez Matthews. It ran for 273 performances before closing on 1 July 1950. It was made into a movie, starring Brock Peters and Melba Moore, released in 1974.[citation needed]

Lost in the Stars is the last work Weill completed before his death in 1950. Although he was influenced by spirituals, jazz and blues, Weill's distinctive and original style shines throughout the score.[citation needed]

Israeli contratenor David D'Or performed in a stage version at the Israeli National Theater ("Habima Theater") in 2004.[8][9] Maariv in its review wrote: "D'or's outstanding voice is meant for great parts. His voice and presence embraces the audience, who showed their appreciation by a lengthy standing ovation."[8][10]

In August 2012, the Glimmerglass Opera of New York produced the work, in conjunction with Cape Town Opera, directed by Tazewell Thompson.[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Chiwengo, Ngwarsungu (2007). Understanding Cry, the Beloved Country. Westport, CT: The Greenwood Press. p. 21. ISBN 9780313335082.
  2. ^ "Reader's Digest: Gossip, news: J. F. Albright reports on A.B.A. meeting", The Dallas Morning News, 30 May 1948, p. 6.
  3. ^ Mossman, Robert (1998), "South African Literature: A Global Lesson in One Country", The English Journal.
  4. ^ Travis, Molly Abel (Summer 2010),"Beyond Empathy: Narrative Distancing and Ethics in Toni Morrison's Beloved and J. M. Coetzee's Disgrace", Journal of Narrative Theory, Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 231–250.
  5. ^ Bartel, R. (ed.) Biblical Images in Literature. (1975:65–66). United States: Abingdon Press.
  6. ^ Cited by former President Masire in a foreword to "More Sherlock Holmes than James Herriot", a memoir by the director of the Gaborone production, veterinarian Roger Windsor, published in 2015 by the Book Guild [1]
  7. ^ Harris, Samela (March 2019). "Story: 35 Years Young and Independent". The Barefoot Review. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  8. ^ Jump up to:a b "Eurovision Song Contest 2004 on Star Radio". Star Radio. Archived from the original on 10 May 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
  9. ^ "Israel in 2004". esctoday.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  10. ^ "About David D'Or & The Philharmonic". Yediot Achronot. April 2003. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
  11. ^ Galbraith, Susan (3 August 2012). "Lost in the Stars at Glimmerglass". DC Theatre Scene.com. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
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마이리뷰
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[마이리뷰] Cry, the Beloved Country

남아프리카의 아픔과 눈물로 범벅된 나라 사랑 그리고 깨어있는 의식이 전하는 아름다운 변화에 대한 이야기이다. 책 전반을 관통하는 단어는 Fear이다. 차라리 슬픔이 두려움보다 낫다. 왜냐하면 두려움은 끊이지 않는 끔찍한 여정이고 슬픔은 적어도 도착지이기때문이다. 새의 노래, 산, 계곡 등의 자연이 전하는 감동에도 지나친 기쁨을 표현하는 것을 자제해야하는 남아프리카이다. 질투심이 있는 두려움(Fear)이 엄습하여 기쁨을 앗아갈 수 있으니까 말이다.

신마저 등돌린 나라처럼 보이기에 신이 주는 고통의 이유에 대해 이해하려고 기도해서는 안되는 남아프리카에도 사회문제에 관심을 갖고 양심 선언을 하는 백인 Arthur Jarvis가 있다. 그가 다같이 생각해 보도록 던지는 질문에 permissible이 반복된다. 과연 어떤 명분으로 남아프카에서 금광개발, 종족체제의 붕괴, 원주민 공동체의 분열, 노동력 착취가 혀용되어야 하는가? 원주민의 값싼 노동력을 이용한 금광개발로 백인의 삶은 풍요로워지지만 여전히 가난한 삶에 허덕이는 남아프리카 사회의 도덕적 문제를 기독교인으로서 회피해서는 안된다는 그의 절규가 있다.

개발이라는 이름으로 오히려 많은 것을 잃고 귀중한 전통 가치가 파괴되는 그래서 결국 마음은 더욱 가난해지는 삶이 있다. 원주민의 늘어가는 범죄의 원인과 해결책에 대해 고민하던 백인 Arthur Jarvis는 그 어떤 신의 섭리에 의해 가난한 원주민 Absalom Kumalo에게 살해 당한다. It was a secret이란 문장도 두 번 이상 반복된다. 무지한 인간의 한계로 어찌 이런 역설을 이해할 수 있단 말인가? Ndotsheni 지역의 시골 목사 Stephen Kumalo도 살해범이 되어 결국 교수형에 처하게 되는 아들에 대한 신의 계획에 대해 엄청난 고통과 번민과 싸워야 한다. 아들이 살인범인 목사가 감당해야 하는 슬픔을 말로 표현이나 할 수 있을까?

결국 그는 도시로 도시로를 부르짖으며 요하네스버그로 몰려들며 교육의 기회도 박탈당한 채 여전히 처참한 가난과 싸워야 하는 수많은 아프리카인들의 삶을 개선하기 위한 노력을 하게 된다. 또한 Arthur Jarvis의 백인으로서 아프리카 원주민를 위해 했던 고민과 죽음은 헛되지 않음이 증명된다. 링컨의 책으로 꽉 찬 아들의 서재와 아들의 마지막 사회적 문제에 관한 원고를 수도 없이 읽으며 아버지 James Jarvis의 마음이 움직인다. 오지 Ndotsheni 지역에 댐건설, 농작법 교육, 교회 복원 등의 변화가 그의 노력으로 시작된다.

변화의 잔 물결은 아주 작은 것에서 시작이 되는지도. 무더운 날씨 우연히 들렀던 목사의 집에서 시원한 우유를 달라했던 어린 소년. 그는 그 목사의 아들이 본인의 아버지를 살해했다는걸 모른다. 우유가 없어 동네 아이들이 죽어간다는 소리에 다음날 그는 아이들에게 주라고 우유를 배달시킨다. 살해당한 아버지처럼 아프리카를 이해하기 위해 목사와 천진난만하게 아프리카 언어 Zulu를 배우는 소년의 밝은 얼굴과 따뜻한 심장에 천사가 있다. 그로 인해 시작된 변화가 남아프리카에서 기쁨의 표현조차 삼가해야 하는 원주민들에게 새로운 희망과 활력을 제공한다.

아들이 요하네스버그에서 교수형에 처해지는 날 목사 Stephen Kumalo는 산에 올라가 철야기도를 올리게 된다. 죄의 고백으로 시작되어 감사의 조건을 올리는 그의 기도가 눈물겹다. 결국은 언제나 그렇듯 새벽은 올 것이다. 그렇게 찾아든 새벽에 아들은 교수형에 처해질 것이고, 새벽과 함께 해방이, 구속의 공포가, 공포의 구속이 올 것인지는 아무도 모른다. 여전히 신의 섭리에 의한 비밀이다. 지금 이 순간에도 먹을 물이 없어 일일 식량이 없어 죽어가고 있는 무고한 사람들이 겪는 고통을 무지한 인간의 머리로 어찌 이해할 것인가?

요하네스버그에서 목사가 만난 Mrs. Lithebe는 도움을 주기 위해 태어난 천사로 Why else were we born? 이란 말을 연발한다. 어쩌면 우리는 사랑받기 위해 태어난 것이 아니라 늘 주변을 도우며 사랑을 실천하도록 태어났는지도. 작년에 읽었던 아프리카 소설 Thing That Fall Apart와 언제 읽어도 영감을 주는 To Kill a Mockingbird를 연상시키는 책이다. 슬픈데 아름다운 감동이 있기에, 이 책을 읽은 나는 작은 변화의 실천을 위해 오늘 무엇을 할 것인지 생각하게 한다.
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serendipity 2020-03-27 공감(9) 댓글(0)
Thanks to
 
공감
     
인간에 대한 자긍심을 되찾게 되는 소설 
 
작가가 45세에 쓴 글이다.놀라웠다. 이런 글을 남아프리카에서, 그것도 1950년대에 쓴 사람이 있다는 것이,그것도 백인이.

주제를 정하고 쓴 것이 아니라는데(분명히 그랬을 것이다.왜냐면 억지로 짜 맞춘 듯한 흔적이 전혀 없다.) 물 흐르는 것처럼, 삶의 현장 속을 돌아다니며 본 것처럼 써 놓아서 마치 따라다니며 본 것같은 느낌이 든다.

 시골이 따분하다며 대도시(요한네스버그)로 떠난 아들을 찾아 가는 아버지(흑인 목사)는 우여곡절끝에 아들을 만나지만, 그는 이미 절도를 하려다 백인을 죽여 사형선고를 받은 상태.
하필이면 그 살해된 백인은 흑백평등을 위해 운동하던 사람이었으니.

아들이 죽은 뒤 아들이 주장하는 것에 대해 그리고 아들의 아름다움에 대해 깨닫게 되는 백인 지주와 아들이 올바르게 살기를 바랬으나 죄를 짓자 그 죄갚음을 담담히 하도록 도와주는 흑인목사.2대에 걸친 흑백 부자의 이야기다.

사형당하는 아들을 위해 기도하는 늙은 흑인 목사가 신에게 드리는 기도가 인상적이었다.

  • 그래, 비극은 벌어지고 인간은 그곳에서 고통을 당한다.
  • 우린 어떤 선택도 할 수가 있어,하지만, 무엇보다 기억해야 할 것은 
  • 도와주려는 사람들이 있었다는 것.
  • 고통속에서 신음할때조차 기억해야 할 것은 감사할 것이 있다는것을 잊지 말아야 한다는 것을 ...
  • 만일 우리가 냉정히 세상을 바라본다면 말이다.

 인간이란 것이 무엇인가, 고통과 재난과 부정의를 어떻게 극복해나가야 하는가 하는 물음에 대해 가장 존경할 만한 해답을 제시해준다.

그 해답이 무엇인지 한번   알아보시길...

인간의 지성과 배려,신뢰,선 그리고 진정한 의미의 용서를 생각케 하는 좋은 소설.
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이네사 2007-07-25 공감(1) 댓글(0)

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