What Is The Tone Of Cry The Beloved Country

Novelist Alan Paton, in his book Cry, The Beloved Country taught his readers that one needs help from others to be able to recover. He showed this through the main character Stephen Kumalo who was frightened by the struggling of his family, who were struggling to make life better for themselves. Instead of fighting by himself he looked up for his brother’s support to overcome the fear. He delivered his message by altering the tone of the book whenever Kumalo felt down and used pathos to show Kumalo’s emotional rollercoaster as he strived to reach happiness.
Alan Paton used altering the tone of the book from happy to sad to express the struggle of the land how the land had died and needs of recovery. Alan Paton introduced the book with a sad
They are valleys of old men and old women, of mothers and children. The men are away, the young men and the girls are away. The soil cannot keep them anymore.” (P.34). This quote shows how the land was struggling to live because all of the young people had abandoned it. By saying “in the valley women scratch the soil that is left” and it's in need of recovery to the old days. Alan Paton describes the valley as a place for the old and weak, as the valley was dying. He did this by comparing the maize to the height of men which allowed the readers imagine how much the valley was struggling. Also by saying “the soil can not keep them anymore” it emphasizes that not only the people were weak but the land as well. The villagers were fighting to make their land as it used to be, beautiful and green with a colorful view of the valley. The sad tone helped Alan Paton show his readers how strongly he felt about the land’s death. Later on, the villagers were determined to change their land from the desperate and dry land into a green beautiful place. By coming together, and focusing on healing the land they were able to make change, as shown in