•The village of Ndotsheni exists. ________________________________
•The farm called “High Place” doesn’t exist. ________________________________
•The characters in the novel are real. ________________________________
•The author uses events that really took place in South Africa in the 1940s in his story. __________________________
The Author’s Note below show Paton’s continued concern that his readers should receive updated information about the composition and numbers of the South African population. The signature at the bottom of the note indicates that he was living in the province of Natal in South Africa when he wrote it.
The 1959 edition: updated facts and statistics
Paton updates the statistics about the South African population and its composition. He comments on the tremendous growth of Johannesburg. This city now has one-and-a-quarter million inhabitants. He informs the reader that Mr Harry Oppenheimer has succeeded Sir Ernst Oppenheimer, who died in 1958.
In his last Author’s Note Paton gives information about the novel. He informs the reader where he had written the novel; he explains how the novel got its title, what kind of book it is and what value the novel holds for him and his family.
The 1987 edition: The title, format and value of Cry, the Beloved Country
The author explains that the novel is about South Africa, but that it was not written in this country. It was written in Norway and in America. It was sent to American publishers. Maxwell Perkins, Senior Editor of the publisher Charles Scribner & Sons, accepted the script at once. He told Paton that the land, South Africa, was one of the most important characters in the novel. The author uses questions and answers to structure the rest of his note.
How did the novel get its title?
Paton had a little competition about finding a title for the novel with Aubrey and Marigold Burns, who typed and sent the novel to publishers. All three of them wrote the same title Cry, the Beloved Country on a piece of paper!
Where did the title come from?
The title came from three or four passages in the novel that have the words “Cry, the beloved country”. The author quotes the text of one of these passages in his note. The passage is in Book 1, Chapter 12 (p. 69 in your school edition). Paton explains that he communicates his own love for South Africa in this passage. He explains to the reader that he has used the technique of poetic licence (the freedom of a poet to change rules in order to make a story more effective). The quoted passage offers no suggestions about how one could prevent oneself from loving the country too deeply.
What kind of novel is it?
Paton answers this question by quoting from another book of his: For you the Departed, published in 1969 by Charles Scribner & Sons. He answers that Cry, the Beloved Country is a love song for South Africa which expresses his longing for his country and for an ideal land where there will be no destruction, death, sorrow or crying. He continues to explain that it is a story of the beauty – and extreme fear – of human life.
The value of the novel to him and to his family lies in its worldwide success as a novel. It changed his family’s lives by opening up new opportunities, which they grasped. It has enabled the author to continue writing. He ends this note by expressing his gratitude for the empowering effect that the novel has had on their lives.
Test your understanding:
Answer the questions below. Remember to practise writing in full sentences and to communicate clearly what you want to say.
1.Paton wrote messages in the format of Author’s Notes to his readers. What is the purpose of these messages?
2.What kind of novel is Cry, the Beloved Country, according to the author?
1.3 The purpose and format of the novel
When you want to send a message about what you are thinking or feeling to someone or to yourself, the type of message that you send depends on the reason why you are sending it. For example, you could write a note, an SMS, a WhatsApp or a Tweet or post something on Snapchat to your friends to communicate why you like or dislike the latest Top Hits playlist. You would use a different format to communicate your thoughts and feelings when you write an examination essay on “The Power of Money”. The purpose of the message determines its format.
Why did Paton write Cry, the Beloved Country?
Purpose: to advocate the need for social and political change.
He communicates a powerful message of love and compassion needed to change the suffering of a land and its people caused by social and political injustices in South Africa.
In which format did Paton choose to write his message?
Format: A novel
He wrote his message in the format of a novel. Although Paton says that Cry, the Beloved Country is a love song, it is not written in the form of a song nor a poem. Poetry, drama and short stories also express messages in text, but according to the rules or conventions of their specific kind of literature (or genre). The novel is a specific genre in the art of writing literature. It expresses the author’s message in prose; it uses words and sentences that are spoken and written in everyday communication. The sentences are organised in paragraphs, chapters and, in this novel, in books.
Historical novel
Cry, the Beloved Country is a historical novel. The novel describes real events and refers to real personages but only in so far as these form part of a story with a plot and fictional characters. Its setting is the 1940s in South Africa. It shows how segregation and the migrant labour system could destroy values of love, caring and respect. It also illustrates the struggle to uphold these values through forgiveness and reconciliation.
Racial segregation means the separation of races in everyday life. When Paton wrote the novel, racial segregation was enforced by law. The purpose of racial segregation laws such as the Native Land Act of 1913, the Pass Laws and Native Urban Areas Act of 1923 was to restrict the freedom of the black people to buy land and to live wherever they wanted to live. They could only buy land and live in tribal areas called “Reserves”. These areas were not large enough for the growing population. The families who depended on crops produced by the land lived in poverty. They also had to pay taxes to the government. Men and boys aged eighteen and older had to go and look for jobs on the mines, in towns and on farms owned by white people. They became migrant workers who provided unskilled labour for low wages during a fixed period of time before returning to their families in the Reserves. This system was known as the “migrant labour system”. Many of these migrant workers failed to send their families money and never returned. The racial segregation laws and the migrant labour system were used to enforce and control cheap labour in order to ensure continued growth and prosperity in mining, industries and agriculture.
Apply the knowledge and understanding that the pre-reading activities have provided to help you make meaning of Cry, the Beloved Country during your first reading of the novel.
2. Reading for plot and main ideas
While you are reading the novel you will be scanning the whole text for main information in the story about who does what, where and when. You will also discover how the plot organises what happens (the action) in the story in a logical way to help you understand why it happens; the plot links the action in the story to its main ideas.
2.1 Use plot to make sense of what happens in the story
To do:
Read the following two sentences. Explain the difference between the two sentences.