It explores conflict between the old traditions and customs and the new ways of living and behaving; between moral values and the consequences of moral decay in rural and in urban society; between white and black people; between conservative and liberal white people; between corrupted and upright black people.
3.6.5 Conflict on a larger scale
Conflict in Cry, the Beloved Country is not limited to the story of Reverend Kumalo, his family and the community of Ndotsheni; nor to James Jarvis, his family and the white farming community of the Ixopo District. It is explored in the broader society of Johannesburg. How does one deal justly with the consequences of moral decay; with greed, exploitation, racial tensions, crime, delinquent youths, pregnant daughters, liquor sellers and businessmen?
How does Paton paint this bigger picture of conflicting opinions and social injustice in the Johannesburg of 1946 brought about by the discovery of gold? He uses snatches of conversation from white people to voice their fear of black crime and their differing opinions about how to deal with it in Book One, Chapter Twelve. These conversations follow the Evening Star report of Arthur Jarvis’ murder, of which black criminals are suspected. It becomes evident that their conflicting opinions provide no solutions to the problem of a crime-ridden Johannesburg: “There are voices crying what must be done, a hundred, a thousand voices. But what do they help if one seeks for counsel, for one cries this, and one cries that, and another cries something that is neither this nor that” (p. 65 in your school edition).
3.7 Imagery
Paton uses simile, metaphor and personification in Cry, the Beloved Country to communicate his message in a creative way.
To do: Study the definitions and examples of simile, metaphor and personification. Then complete the mix-match exercise.
3.7.1 Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that compares two different things; it shows the similarities between them. It is a direct comparison because it uses the words “like” or “as”.
Example: The following example shows the reverberating power of Msimangu’s voice in his sermon to the people of Ezenzeleni. The author compares his voice to different things that the reader knows: “The voice shook and beat and trembled, not as the voice of an old man shakes and beats and trembles, nor as a leaf shakes and beats and trembles, but as a deep bell when it is struck” (p. 78 in your school edition). The sound of his voice is compared to the sound of an old man’s voice, which it is not; to the sound of a shaking leaf, which it is not, and to the sound of a deep bell, which reverberates when it is struck. The repetition of two negative comparisons before the positive comparison increases the impact of the image on the reader.
3.7.2 Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that makes an implicit, implied or hidden comparison between two things that are unrelated but share some common characteristics.
Example: The author describes the power of John Kumalo’s voice in his public speech about higher wages for the mine workers, after the discovery of gold at Odendaalsrust: “The great bull voice is speaking there in the square” (p. 159 in your school edition). Two unrelated things are compared, a voice and a bull. They have something in common, though: power. A bull is a powerful animal and John Kumalo has a powerful voice.
3.7.3 Personification
It is a figure of speech. The human qualities are given to an object, an idea or an animal.
Example: Reverend Kumalo looks out the window on his journey by train to Johannesburg. He sees the eroded farmlands of the tribes in the Reserve of the Umkomaas River valley: “Here the tribes live, and the soil is sick, almost beyond healing” (p. 12 in your school edition). The soil, which is an object, comes to life because it is described as being ill. A person can become sick, but not the soil of the farmlands.
A person can be healed, but not soil. In Cry, the Beloved Country, nature is viewed as a character because it takes on a deeper meaning throughout the novel in the motif “sickness of the land”, and in the theme of erosion.
Mix-match exercise on imagery
Choose the correct figure of speech in the first column which is used in the quotation in the last column. In each case, write only the symbol (A, B or C) in the middle column.
| Figure of speech | Your answer | Quotation |
| A.Simile | 1.“The water sings over the stones, and the wind cools you.” (p. 50 in your school edition) | |
| B.Metaphor | 2.“There was a change in his voice, it became louder like the voice of a bull or a lion.” (p. 30 in your school edition) | |
| C.Personification | 3.“Then she sat down at his table, and put her head on it, and was silent, with the patient suffering of black women, with the suffering of oxen, with the suffering of any that are mute.” (p. 7 in your school edition) |
3.8 Style
Every author has his/her own unique way of writing. Paton’s word choice, sentence structure, figurative language and tone combine to create meaning in the text. You have already studied some ways in which the author uses his style in Cry, the Beloved Country to bring the meaning of the text to life. The explanatory notes below provide more examples.
The role of the narrator
The author is a third-person narrator. He tells the story from the viewpoint of a person who is all-knowing (omniscient). He tells the reader what the characters look like, think, say and do. Sometimes he communicates his views by using the opinions and understanding of society voiced by characters such as Msimangu or Arthur Jarvis.
Dramatic irony
Paton uses an all-knowing narrator’s voice to share information with the reader, but not necessarily with all of his characters. He uses the plot in the story to create an opportunity for dramatic irony in the story. The reader and one character already know more than another character in a highly tense situation. For example, the reader and Reverend Kumalo already know that Absalom has murdered Arthur Jarvis. The reader also knows that Reverend Kumalo recognises James Jarvis when they meet in Springs. However, James does not know the identity of Reverend Kumalo at first. When he recognises Reverend Kumalo as the old parson from Ndotsheni, he also recognises the presence of fear in the old man.
The irony lies in the fact that although the two characters know each other, only one knows what has happened. James Jarvis suspects nothing; instead, he shows compassion for the old parson. The reader shares Reverend Kumalo’s fear of James Jarvis’ reaction when he tells him that Absalom has murdered his son. This heightens the tension in these dramatic moments of the story, although James Jarvis reassures Reverend Kumalo that he will not be angry with him.
Instead of being more comfortable in the presence of a familiar figure who rode past his church in Ndotsheni, Reverend Kumalo is trembling from shock and shame. James Jarvis keeps his promise. After Reverend Kumalo has shared the information with him, they share the memory of James and Arthur Jarvis riding past Reverend Kumalo’s church in Ndotsheni.
Sarcasm
Reverend Kumalo uses words that mean the opposite of what he really wants to say in order to insult people or to show his anger. For example, in Book One, Chapter Two, he shows his hurt and anger because he doesn’t receive letters from his family by being sarcastic. He insults his wife by telling her to look for the letters “in the trees, perhaps they have been blown there by the wind” (p. 7 in your school edition).
Convincing dialogue
The author’s usage of dialogue to express the viewpoint and culture of the characters in the novel convinces the reader that they are real, life-like characters. The usage of isiZulu words and phrases convinces the reader that Reverend Kumalo is a Zulu who values his tribe’s traditional ways in communicating with his family. For example, the traditional way of saying goodbye is “Go well” to the person who is leaving and “Stay well” to the person who stays behind. These customary greetings are used throughout