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3.5.1 Setting influences character development

You don’t behave exactly the same at school and at home; you act and react differently when you are in a different environment. When you return to your home town from your trip to another town or holiday destination, you feel that you have learnt something. You are not the same person you were when you left. You have experienced different people in a different setting. Your view of the world has developed based on your new experiences.

Similarly, setting in Cry, the Beloved Country influences character development. The two main characters in the novel who changed most are Reverend Kumalo and James Jarvis. They leave Ndotsheni for Johannesburg. When they return to Ndotsheni, their experiences in Johannesburg have changed their worldviews because the borders of their world have expanded.

The structure of the novel contrasts the different views and worlds of Reverend Kumalo and James Jarvis by presenting Reverend Kumalo’s view in Book One and James Jarvis’ view in Book Two. However, they share the same landscape. The same description of the hilly rural landscape appears at the beginning of the first chapter in Book One and in Book Two. This repetition emphasises the fact that Reverend Kumalo and James Jarvis share a love for the same countryside where both have grown up and live. The structure of the novel is cyclic, that is, it forms a circle from beginning to end. Book Three describes their return and how they use their enriched worldviews to restore and develop the community of Ndotsheni.

The schematic presentation below illustrates how the structure of the novel supports Paton’s plea for land and social reform. Both main characters undergo change and growth in Johannesburg in order to restore the farmlands and the community of Ndotsheni so that they are better prepared to face the challenges of a developing country.

3.5.2 Applying the growth test to the characters in Cry, the Beloved Country

A novel has both round and flat characters. Round characters have undergone significant change and growth during the course of the novel. They are the main characters. Flat characters have stayed the same or they have not changed or grown much. They are the minor characters. Minor characters are also important in the novel. They support the development of the major characters. For example, John Kumalo’s moral corruption in Johannesburg contrasts with his brother’s sincere efforts to restore his family’s moral values.

To do: Read the list of characters in the following table. Look at the brief descriptions of who they are. Use your knowledge and understanding of them to decide whether they are round (main) characters or flat (minor) characters. Think of what the characters were like at the beginning of the story and whether, and how, they have changed towards its end. Consider whether they have grown in their ability to demonstrate compassion for those who are suffering. Have they used their compassion to ease suffering? Tick (P) your answer in the appropriate box (Round or Flat).

Character	Who are they?	Round (major)	Flat(minor)
Reverend Stephen Kumalo	An old parson (Zulu priest) of St Mark’s Church in the valley of Ndotsheni.
Mrs. Kumalo	She is only known as Reverend Kumalo’s wife.
Theophilus Msimangu	A reverend at the Mission House in Sophiatown. He is the host and guide of Stephen Kumalo in Johannesburg.
Father Vincent	A priest from England who stays at the Sophiatown Mission.
Mrs. Lithebe	A woman from the church in Sophiatown.
Gertrude Kumalo	Reverend Kumalo’s sister.
John Kumalo	Reverend Kumalo’s brother who becomes a successfull businessman.
Absalom Kumalo	Reverend Kumalo’s son.
Absalom’s girlfriend	She is only known as Absalom’s girlfriend, and after the marriage, as his wife.
Matthew Kumalo	John Kumalo’s son.
Johannes Pafuri	A thief who leads the robbery at Arthur Jarvis’ house, where he used to work as a garden-boy.
Mr. Carmichael	Absalom’s lawyer.
The Judge	The judge who presides over the case of Arthur Jarvis’ murder.
Dubula	A committed political leader, who fights for the rights of black labourers.
Tomlinson	A clever political leader, who fights for the rights of black labourers.
James Jarvis	A white farmer of High Place, a farm above the valley of Ndotsheni.
Margaret Jarvis	James Jarvis’ wife.
Arthur Jarvis	James Jarvis’ son who has been shot dead by Absalom.
Mary Jarvis	Arthur Jarvis’ wife.
“The small boy”	Arthur Jarvis’ son.
Mr. Harrison	Mary Jarvis’ father.
John Harrison	Mary Jarvis’ brother.
Barbara Smith	One of Margaret Jarvis’ favourite nieces.
The chief	The chief of the Reserve in which the valley of Ndotsheni lies.
The headmaster	The headmaster of the school at Ndotsheni.
Napoleon Letsitsi	The young agricultural demonstrator in Ndotsheni.

3.5.3 Creating characters

Authors use various techniques to bring their characters to life and to convince the reader that they are real. In Cry, the Beloved Country, Paton uses characters’ titles and names; descriptions of what the characters look like; what they say (dialogue); what they do (action); what they think to show and tell a convincing “story of comfort in desolation”.

Characters’ titles and names

Reverend Kumalo: He is introduced as “The Reverend Stephen Kumalo” (p. 3 in your school edition). He is called umfundisi in isiZulu. It is the title for a parson in the church and it is also a sign of respect. His first name, Stephen, reminds the reader of Stephen, the first Christian martyr in the Bible. The European superintendent of Ezenzeleni addresses Kumalo as Mr. Kumalo, “which is not the custom” (p. 75 in your school edition). The lawyer, Mr. Carmichael, also addresses him as Mr. Kumalo, “which is not the custom” (p. 106 in your school edition). In the 1940s, it was unusual for white people to address black people as “Mister”. Paton promotes social equity and respect for all South Africans, regardless of whether this goes against the accepted customs of the period.

Absalom Kumalo: Reverend Kumalo’s son is called Absalom, which is the name of King David’s son, who betrayed his father and who was killed. King David mourned the death of his son and wished that he could have died in his son’s place. Reverend Kumalo also mourns for the loss of his son.

Father Vincent: Father Vincent is described as “a young rosy-cheeked priest from England” (p. 17 in your school edition). His title reminds the reader of the official Church of England. He conducts the marriage ceremony of Absalom and his girlfriend in prison. He helps Reverend Kumalo to restore his faith and he arranges for Mr. Carmichael to defend Absalom’s case pro deo (for God), which means free of charge.

Description, dialogue, action and thought

In real life, people do not appear, speak, act and think in neatly organised and separate compartments. Paton portrays convincing characters who look, talk, act and think like real people by combining the literary techniques of description, dialogue, action and thought. Reverend Kumalo is a convincing character because he has flaws and strong points. His humility and faith help him to overcome his weaknesses of vanity and anger.

For example, in Book One, Chapter Three, Reverend Kumalo is described as a humble man when he gets onto the first train on his way to Johannesburg. The passengers in the carriage for non-Europeans notice his clerical collar “and moved up to make room for the umfundisi” (p. 10 in your school edition). Paton contrasts the description of Reverend Kumalo’s humble appearance with his dialogue, action and thought. Typically human, Reverend Kumalo wants to be respected for more than simply being a parson; he wants to be respected for being a seasoned traveller who often goes to Johannesburg. He creates this impression through his dialogue and the business-like way in which he taps his pocket. The author cleverly uses the technique of thinking aloud to increase the effect of pretence.

“Kumalo’s voice rose a little, as does the voice of a child, or indeed of a grown person, who wants others to hear.

– Tell him that when I am in Johannesburg I shall go to this place at Springs. He tapped the pocket where the paper was safe in his wallet. Tell him I shall make inquiries about the girl. But tell him I shall be busy. I have many things to do in Johannesburg.

He turned away from the window. It is always so, he said, as if to himself, but in truth to the people.”

This incident of Reverend Kumalo’s vanity contrasts with an event in Book Two, Chapter Eight, where he goes to the address in Springs to look for Sibeko’s daughter. He is deeply humiliated when he tells James Jarvis that Absalom has killed his son. At first, James Jarvis does not recognise him as the parson from Ndotsheni. He describes Reverend Kumalo as follows: “The parson was old, and his black clothes were green with age, and his collar was brown with age or dirt” (p. 153 in your school edition). Paton vividly describes Kumalo’s body language in a moving scene that illustrates his shock and suffering. “Are you ill, umfundisi? But the old man did not answer. He continued to tremble, and he looked down on the ground, so that Jarvis could not see his face, …” (p. 153 in your school edition). James Jarvis’ compassion for Kumalo’s suffering restores his dignity somewhat.

Stereotyping characters

A stereotype is a fixed idea of what a particular group of people are like or do. In real life, you can sometimes predict the way in which some people, or groups of people, behave because they share the same fixed views about what a particular type of person is like. These views are often biased, which means they believe unfairly that some people are better than others. In Cry, the Beloved Country the author stereotypes Mr. Harrison’s way of treating black people. Harrison unfairly believes that most of them are “up to no good” (p. 129 in your school edition). Mr. Harrison is also biased against Afrikaners. He thinks they are short-sighted because “they have some fool notion that the mining people are foreign to the country, and are sucking the blood out of it, ready to clear out when the goose stops laying the eggs” (p. 130 in your school edition).

The author contrasts Mr. Harrison’s fixed and biased view of black people with his son’s liberal views. John Harrison and Arthur Jarvis characterise a new, liberal way of thinking.

They co-own the Boys’ Club in Gladiolus Street, Claremont. At the beginning of Book Two neither of the fathers, James Jarvis and Mr. Harrison, agrees with their son on “the native question” (p. 117 in your school edition). However, James Jarvis wants to visit the Boys’ Club and he reads his son’s papers. He changes his views, whereas Mr. Harrison’s opinions remain unchanged.

Mr. Harrison and his son are flat characters, whereas James Jarvis and his son both undergo change. Arthur Jarvis recorded his growth in his article called “Private Essay on the Evolution of a South African” (p. 150 in your school edition). This article helps to ease the suffering his father experiences at the loss of his son. It also triggers James Jarvis’ active participation in restoring the farmlands, and in rebuilding the church in Ndotsheni.