"Cry, the Beloved Country" Summarized and Analyzed

By Teacher Forum

The story of the novel revolves around Stephen Kumalo, the protagonist of the novel, who happens to be a black Anglican priest from a rural Natal town in South Africa. He goes in search of his son Absalom in the city of Johannesburg.

According to the American publisher Bennett Cerf, there were only three novels worth reading that year and “Cry, the Beloved Country” was one of them.

The book has also been adapted into movie two times. Both versions of the movie have been highly successful.

"Cry, the Beloved Country" Summarized and Analyzed
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Overview
Chapter Three: Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
Book One
Book Two
Book Three
Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: Apr 5, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311019530

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Cry, the Beloved Country Summarized and Analyzed

Copyright

Cry, the Beloved Country Summarized and Analyzed

Teacher Forum

Copyright@201 Teacher Forum

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Chapter One: Introduction

Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton was first published in 1948 in New York City. This novel by the South African novelist was very well received both by critics and readers.

The story of the novel revolves around Stephen Kumalo, the protagonist of the novel, who happens to be a black Anglican priest from a rural Natal town in South Africa. He goes in search of his son Absalom in the city of Johannesburg.

According to the American publisher Bennett Cerf, there were only three novels worth reading that year and Cry, the Beloved Country was one of them.

The book has also been adapted into movie two times. Both versions of the movie have been highly successful.

The book was internationally acclaimed and by the time the author passed away in 1988, more than fifteen million copies of the book had been sold around the world. The book has been translated and published in twenty different languages.

Since the book was first published in the United States, and South Africa was facing the problems of racial inequality, the praise for this novel remained muted in South Africa. The book created much controversy there. However, Paton continued to remain one of the greatest South African writers.

He wrote two more novels Too Late the Phalarope and Ah, But Your Land Is Beautiful but they failed to get the amount of appreciation that Cry, the Beloved Country had received.

The book has also found its place in course of study at several schools and colleges in English speaking countries. It is often discussed among various literary circles and modern critics and reviewers.

Chapter Two: Plot Overview

The novel opens in a remote village of Ndotsheni. It lies in the Natal province of eastern South Africa. Reverend Stephen Kumalo lives in that village.

One morning, he gets a letter from a fellow minister. That priest happens to have summoned Reverend Stephen to Johannesburg, a city in South Africa.

The letter explains that Reverend Stephen Kumalo is needed in Johannesburg to help his sister Gertrude. The letter reveals that his sister has fallen ill.

It is a very difficult and expensive journey from Ndotsheni to Johannesburg; however, Kumalo undertakes the journey. He hopes to help Gertrude. He also wants to find his son in the city.

It transpires that Kumalo’s son Absalom had gone to Johannesburg from the village but he never came back.

When Kumalo arrives in Johannesburg, he is warmly welcomed by Msimangu, the fellow minister who had sent the letter.

Kumalo is provided a very comfortable lodging by Mrs. Lithebe. She happens to be a Christian woman who takes it as her duty to help others.

In Johannesburg, Kumalo visits Gertrude. It transpires that Gertrude is now a whore and she is also a liquor-seller. The priest tries his best to persuade her to come back to the village with her young son.

Now Kumalo and Msimangu begin to search the big and complex city for Absalom, Kumalo’s son. First of all, they visit John, Kumalo’s brother. It transpires that John is now a very successful businessman and politician.

Kumalo begin to gather clues, and consequently one clue leads to another. Kumalo keeps on travelling from place to place in Johannesburg. During his quest, he begins to see the gaping racial and economic divisions that seem to be threatening to spit South Africa.

Finally, Kumalo finds out that his son has spent time in a reformatory and that he had made a girl pregnant.

In the meantime, the news comes that Arthur Jarvis, a famous white crusader for racial justice, has been assassinated in his home by a gang of burglars. Kumalo and Msimangu come to know that the police are looking for Kumalo’s son, Absalom.

Eventually, Absalom gets arrested for Jarvis’s murder. Kumalo had already suspected that. It is revealed that Absalom has already confessed to the crime, but he says there were two other people who had helped