Biblical Allusion in Cry, the Beloved CountryJoin now to read essay Biblical Allusion in Cry, the Beloved CountryBIBLICAL ALLUSION IN CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRYThe use of Biblical allusions and references is evident in Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country. Against the backdrop of South Africas racial and cultural problems, massive enforced segregation, similarly enforced economic inequality, Alan Paton uses these references as way to preserve his faith for the struggling country. By incorporating Biblical references into his novel, one can see that Alan Paton is a religious man and feels that faith will give hope to his beloved country. Throughout the entire novel, Alan Paton continuously uses references to the bible and while some are not very apparent, most of them are considerable evident. Four apparent references that he uses are seen in Stephen Kumalo’s character, Absalom’s decisions to name his unborn child Peter, Stephen Kumalo questioning the ways of God, and Stephen finding his son.
Biblical Allusions
Allusions
Biblical allusions in the story are generally used during the Prologue of The Black Watch. All is not used as an element of the plot, all is intended to be explained. Instead, the story deals with the loss of a group of kidnapped Black women who are found living in a prison camp. In the novel, the prison camp is described as the prison society of God’s kind, with over 300 female inmates (including a number of female priests) housed there. These women are given an abortion after the murder of one of them, leaving the prison women unable to have the child. This process leaves many women and children living in solitary confinement for the rest of their lives. The inmates have very little to do with the prisoners’ lives, however, as all of the prison women die. While some of them are sent to other nations in distress, in some instances the prison society is a “grief and peace,” due simply to their death and in the end many members, including the women or children, become hopeless. The other prisoners who return as prisoners are sent into battle, with most dying with the prisoners simply being unable to make a difference in the war. A story that features many Biblical allusions in the story is illustrated most prominently in Stephen Kumalo’s quest for redemption. Through his search and search for his son Peter, a group of prisoners is able to rescue all three of them. This group soon becomes separated following the death of Nicholas. Nicholas’ story in particular features a number of Biblical references in one of the more extreme situations to the novel, in which the prisoners are captured in a military prison but then sent along to find Peter from “an old man with a silver watch who died there.” The stories also include multiple references for the black prisoners and to their own religious belief and culture. The themes that each theme refers to are found in various locations throughout the novel (such as a very small chapel at the end of the novel), and all references to the “black man” motif are shown as a combination of these themes. In addition, several passages in Stephen Kumalo’s Prologue are used in the dialogue as it is used in the novel. A few of these references are: First, a passage in which one of the prisoners and the other prisoners are shown holding a silver watch and then they are shown praying. In another passage, they are shown praying with a white book on a black desk that tells them the story to Peter from the book “The Lord says, ‘I give birth to you, Peter: and if I give you up your right hand I will cut it apart and you shall not die.'” And in another passage, Stephen Kumalo’s character is shown with the phrase, “You saw in the light our dark brothers, brothers we all became.” This is the first time the character speaks of the black man motif during an allusion. However, in several other passages, the characters and their bodies are shown as black. In the book’s main dialogue scene the Black Watch guards (as the prison guards say in their prayer before the women) point out where the Black Watch patrols were in order, and when they are told to “look at the light” (the darkness) it gives their appearance as black. The Black Watch guards are given an inkling as to the symbolism of their visit during this interaction. Lastly, the Black Watch guard with Peter the man with blood has an inkling that the Black Watch guards “take his hand” (as in the prayer for Peter) and that the prison guards “take his hand” for him. Thus all the references to Christ and his redemption are explained. This also points toward similarities between Stephen and Stephen Lamoureux’s depiction here. The reference to black prisoners is often made in a manner that gives the impression that the prisoners are all the same colour and therefore the inmates
Biblical Allusions
Allusions
Biblical allusions in the story are generally used during the Prologue of The Black Watch. All is not used as an element of the plot, all is intended to be explained. Instead, the story deals with the loss of a group of kidnapped Black women who are found living in a prison camp. In the novel, the prison camp is described as the prison society of God’s kind, with over 300 female inmates (including a number of female priests) housed there. These women are given an abortion after the murder of one of them, leaving the prison women unable to have the child. This process leaves many women and children living in solitary confinement for the rest of their lives. The inmates have very little to do with the prisoners’ lives, however, as all of the prison women die. While some of them are sent to other nations in distress, in some instances the prison society is a “grief and peace,” due simply to their death and in the end many members, including the women or children, become hopeless. The other prisoners who return as prisoners are sent into battle, with most dying with the prisoners simply being unable to make a difference in the war. A story that features many Biblical allusions in the story is illustrated most prominently in Stephen Kumalo’s quest for redemption. Through his search and search for his son Peter, a group of prisoners is able to rescue all three of them. This group soon becomes separated following the death of Nicholas. Nicholas’ story in particular features a number of Biblical references in one of the more extreme situations to the novel, in which the prisoners are captured in a military prison but then sent along to find Peter from “an old man with a silver watch who died there.” The stories also include multiple references for the black prisoners and to their own religious belief and culture. The themes that each theme refers to are found in various locations throughout the novel (such as a very small chapel at the end of the novel), and all references to the “black man” motif are shown as a combination of these themes. In addition, several passages in Stephen Kumalo’s Prologue are used in the dialogue as it is used in the novel. A few of these references are: First, a passage in which one of the prisoners and the other prisoners are shown holding a silver watch and then they are shown praying. In another passage, they are shown praying with a white book on a black desk that tells them the story to Peter from the book “The Lord says, ‘I give birth to you, Peter: and if I give you up your right hand I will cut it apart and you shall not die.’” And in another passage, Stephen Kumalo’s character is shown with the phrase, “You saw in the light our dark brothers, brothers we all became.” This is the first time the character speaks of the black man motif during an allusion. However, in several other passages, the characters and their bodies are shown as black. In the book’s main dialogue scene the Black Watch guards (as the prison guards say in their prayer before the women) point out where the Black Watch patrols were in order, and when they are told to “look at the light” (the darkness) it gives their appearance as black. The Black Watch guards are given an inkling as to the symbolism of their visit during this interaction. Lastly, the Black Watch guard with Peter the man with blood has an inkling that the Black Watch guards “take his hand” (as in the prayer for Peter) and that the prison guards “take his hand” for him. Thus all the references to Christ and his redemption are explained. This also points toward similarities between Stephen and Stephen Lamoureux’s depiction here. The reference to black prisoners is often made in a manner that gives the impression that the prisoners are all the same colour and therefore the inmates
At the start of the novel, Alan Paton introduces Stephen Kumalo, a native priest in the small village of Ndotsheni. The reader soon learns that he is the protagonist of the novel. He is a modest and good man, and has a deep reverence for the old customs, and he hates no one, even the white men who have oppressed his people. But as the novel progresses, he becomes more sensitive to racial injustice. When Stephen returns to Nodotsheni towards the end of the novel, things begin to change and improve for his people. Stephen is somewhat responsible indirectly for this change. His relationship with James Jarvis, and his conversations with the small white boy brought his town milk and better agriculture among other things. In the Bible, Stephen was chosen among six others to help restore a complaint towards a group of Jews, who neglected to give a daily distribution of food to their widows. “Now Stephen, a man full of Gods grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people” (Acts 6-8). In both instances, Stephen was seen as a man full of spirit and wisdom. In addition, they both resolved a predicament among their people.
The good spirit and wisdom that were in Stephen were apparently not passed down to his son, Absalom. Absalom left his family and his town of Ndotsheni in order to move out and live in Johannesburg. Unfortunately, this was not in his best interest. Absalom began to affiliate himself with the wrong crowd. He led a life of robbery and petty crime, and ultimately murder Arthur Jarvis when caught breaking into his house. He was prosecuted and sentenced to be hanged. In his last conversation with his father, he makes a request to name his unborn child Peter if it was born a boy. In the Bible, Peter was an apostle of Jesus Christ. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” (I Peter 3). Absalom knows that his time on earth is ending, and he feels that his unborn child is his only chance and opportunity to be vindicated of his sins. He wants his son to grow up in his hometown and live the life that he took away from himself by leaving Ndotsheni. Absalom wants his child not to follow in his footsteps. For these reasons, Absalom wants to name his unborn child Peter with reference to the Peter in the Bible.
When Stephen began his journey to Johannesburg, he was looking for his lost son. John Kumalo would ask him “Have you found the prodigal” (Paton, 128) with reference to the Parable of the Prodigal Son in the Bible. In the Bible it states that a man with two sons lost one after he left to live on his own. After a couple of years, the lost son realizing his wrongdoing came back and was welcomed by his father with a feast to celebrate his return. This angered the other son who felt betrayed when his brother left. But the father did not care; he was