Description
Alan Paton Cry, the Beloved Country PB 1948, Worldwide Best Seller. Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton is a powerful 1948 social protest novel set in South Africa. It follows Stephen Kumalo, a rural Zulu priest, who travels to Johannesburg to find his troubled family, only to discover his son Absalom has murdered Arthur Jarvis, a prominent white advocate for racial justice. If your interest is sparked by reading books with themes of racial injustice, redemption and forgiveness, and fear and hope, you won’t be able to put this book down! Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton is a powerful 1948 social protest novel set in South Africa. It follows Stephen Kumalo, a rural Zulu priest, who travels to Johannesburg to find his troubled family, only to discover his son Absalom has murdered Arthur Jarvis, a prominent white advocate for racial justice. PLOT: Stephen Kumalo leaves his impoverished village of Ndotsheni to locate his sister Gertrude and his son Absalom in the sprawling, crime-ridden city of Johannesburg. He finds that Gertrude has turned to prostitution and Absalom has become involved in criminal activity. TRAGEDY: Absalom and his accomplices rob and accidentally murder Arthur Jarvis—a well-known white civil rights activist fighting for racial equality. Absalom is arrested, tried, and sentenced to hang. INTERSECTIONS: During the trial, Kumalo meets Arthur’s father, James Jarvis, a wealthy white landowner who lives near Kumalo's village. Despite the tragedy that connects them, the two grieving fathers find a way to connect and understand one another's pain.