Читать книгу Best Books Study Work Guide: Cry, the Beloved Country - Lucille Smuts - Страница 15

Songs, paintings and tapestries are examples of works of art. Poems, dramas, short stories and novels are different kinds, or genres, of art in literature. All works of art use the principles of repetition and contrast to communicate more powerful and artistic messages to their listeners, readers and viewers. When you listen to a song, you usually remember how the melody and words repeat to express its message. When you look at a painting, you appreciate how the repetition of bright colours contrast with darker colours to bring its message to life. When you read a story, you notice how some ideas, phrases and images are repeated and contrasted to communicate a powerful message to the reader.

Paton refers to Cry, the Beloved Country as his “love song” for South Africa. You already know that he wrote this love song in the format of a novel. However, he uses phrases in his novel that repeat. They remind the reader of a song. He paints pictures of the landscape and of the characters that the reader can see in his/her mind’s eye. These repeating images and phrases form part of the motifs in the novel.

Definition: Motifs are repeating structures, descriptions, phrases, images and symbols that develop and explain the themes of the novel; they support the themes.

Motifs help to communicate the message of the novel: Cry, the beloved Country communicates an urgent plea for social justice and reform. Paton uses a story to paint a picture of how caring for people can ease suffering. In the subtitle of the novel “A story of comfort in desolation” the themes of caring and restoration are contrasted with the themes of erosion, suffering and fear. This contrast shows the powerful impact of compassion and of God’s saving grace to restore a fearful society, which is suffering from crime and violence, because of moral decay. Motifs that develop and explain these themes are used to contrast and to relate the themes to one another.

3.3.1 Examples of motifs in the novel

Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika; “Cry, the beloved country”; descriptions of the landscape; “sickness of the land”; “according to the custom”; “such a thing is not lightly done”.

To do: Study the following description of how the motif Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika supports the themes of caring, suffering, fear and restoration in the novel. Then turn to Annexure B to study the descriptions of the remaining five motifs quoted above. After you have studied these descriptions, think about your first reading of the novel. Can you remember a phrase, a description or an image that caught your eye because it continued to crop up? Find the motif in the novel and describe how this motif supports the theme(s) in the specific context where it appears. Write your example in the space provided.

Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika

Motif	Text reference	Theme(s) supported
“Outside there is singing, singing round a fire. It is Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika that they sing, God Save Africa. God save this piece of Africa that is my own, …”	1 & 9: 50(Book One, Chapter Nine, p. 50 in your school edition)	CaringSufferingFear
Description: Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika. This sentence is the first sentence in a hymn. It means “God bless Africa”. It has become the first sentence of the South African national anthem. Paton explains that although the sentence means “God bless Africa”, in the novel it means “God save Africa”. This motif develops the idea of God’s saving grace and love to support the theme of caring. It contrasts with the themes of fear and suffering. The mother fears that her daughter, who is suffering from tuberculosis, will die in Shanty Town. She prays to God to save her child.
Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika, “Yes, God save Africa, the beloved country. God save us from the depth of our sins. God save us from the fear that is afraid of justice. God save us from the fear that is afraid of men. God save us all.”	3 & 1: 193	CaringFearRestoration
Description: The meaning of “God save Africa” is explained in this paragraph. The phrase repeats four times. It is a reflective paragraph. The repetition of the word “us” includes the reader. The plea for God’s saving grace becomes universal. The first sentence is a prayer for God’s caring love to save Africa; it develops the theme of caring. The second sentence is a plea for God’s mercy and compassion to forgive the sins committed by mankind. It develops the idea of God’s infinite compassion. The third and fourth sentences ask God’s protection from fear to do what is right and from fear of the power of men. This motif links the theme of caring with the theme of fear to illustrate the need for God’s powerful love in order to overrule the power of fear. The last sentence appeals to the restorative power of God’s love. It develops the theme of restoration.
“Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika, God save Africa. But he would not see that salvation. It lay afar off, because men were afraid of it.”	3, 7: 236	FearRestoration
Description: Reverend Kumalo prays for God’s love to save Africa. The restoration of racial relations is a process that will take a long time. It is still far off and he will not live to see it happening.He prays for the power of love to conquer the fear caused by racial tensions so that everybody can work together to build free and meaningful lives in South Africa. This motif combines the themes of fear and restoration in a powerful message of faith in God’s love to restore moral decency, self-worth and social equity.

Your example:

Motif	Text reference	Theme(s) supported
Description:

3.3.2 Symbols

Definition: Symbols are objects, colours, images, concepts and figures that represent the meaning of other abstract ideas or concepts in the novel. They function as motifs because they repeat and gain meaning as the novel unfolds. They are used to develop and enrich the themes in the novel.

Examples of symbols:

The colour red; the church; the concept of brightness; dawn.

To do:

Study the following description of how the colour red supports the themes of erosion and suffering, as well as caring and restoration. Think about a symbol that you have noticed during your first reading. Add the symbol and a brief description of how this symbol supports the theme(s) in the novel in the space provided.

The colour red

Symbol	Text reference	Theme(s) supported
“The great red hills stand desolate, and the earth has torn away like flesh. The lightning flashes over them, the clouds pour down upon them, the dead streams come to life, full of the red blood of the earth.”	1, 1: 23, 3: 2103, 5: 221	ErosionSuffering
Description: Red is mostly used to describe the destructive effect of erosion on the hills and the farmlands in the Reserves. Red is the colour of blood. The image of red, bleeding hills symbolise the suffering of the land and its people.
“Although his money was little, he bought her a red dress and a white thing that they called a turban for her head.”“The little boy was there, the red dress and the white turban were there. But Gertrude was gone.”	1, 7: 282, 12: 186	CaringRestorationMoral decay
Description: Reverend Kumalo buys his sister a new dress. In this context Gertrude’s red dress symbolises the colour of life and hope, which is brought about by her brother’s act of kindness. He gives Gertrude a chance to start a new life in Ndotsheni. Here, the symbol develops the themes of caring and restoration.Gertrude has disappeared. She has chosen to return to her old life that leads to sickness and death. The colour red is used to symbolise the sickness of moral decay. It develops the theme of moral decay.
“He sat down, and took out a large underline handkerchief to wipe his face.”	1, 7: 31	Moral decay
Description: After John Kumalo has made a speech about the liberating experience of his new life in Johannesburg, he wipes his face with a red handkerchief. In this context, the colour red symbolises the corruption of his moral values. He uses the power of his voice to justify why he has left his church and his wife. Although he is a successful businessman and politician, he is sick because he is corrupted. The theme of moral decay is supported.
“Does she not look well in her red and white, and her cap upon her head?”	1, 10: 54	CaringRestoration
Description: The life-giving aspect of red blood is symbolised in the description of the nurse who works in Shanty Town.
“He too used to ride past Ndotsheni. On a red horse with a white face.”“And for a moment he caught his breath in astonishment, for it was a small white boy on a red horse, …”	2, 8: 156–1573, 2: 200	Restoration
Description: The descriptions of Arthur Jarvis and his son riding on red horses symbolise the arrival of new life and hope for restoration. These support the theme of restoration.

Your example:

Symbol	Text reference	Theme(s) supported
Description: