Cry The Beloved Country Essay

Cry, The Beloved Country, by Alan Paton, contains numerous comparisons between two different yet similar locations in South Africa. Each comparison further shows the deviation between the thoughts and traditions of old and new. The main conflicts in the novel revolve around the differences of two locations, Ndotsheni and Johannesburg, which represent the thoughts of the old and traditional ways, with the contradicting lifestyle and thoughts of the modern and progressive age. These thoughts are what make Cry, The Beloved Country such an interesting and profound work of literature. This can be further understood by analyzing how the two places differ, what each place represents, and how their contrast contributes to the meaning of the work. The small village of Ndotsheni vastly contrasts the large and sprawling metropolis of Johannesburg. Ndotsheni is a small village that lies in the South African province of Natal. In the beginning of the book Alan Paton writes, “Where you stand the grass is rich and matted, you cannot see the soil. But the rich green hills break down. They fall to the valley below, and falling, change their nature. For they grow red and bare; they cannot hold the rain and mist, and the streams
Alan Paton did an exceptional job of bringing these issues to light in Cry, The Beloved Country. Through his use of the two contrasting communities of Ndotsheni and Johannesburg he is able to show in a very clear light the plight that engulfed South Africa at the time. Through the differences of the two places, what each represented, and in the ways their contrast contributed to the meaning of the work, Alan Paton was able to craft an exceptional work of literature that put in simple light and simple terms the message he was trying to convey to his