In Cry, The
Beloved Country, Alan Paton uses descriptive imagery, antithesis, and
strong diction to describe the land. In book one, Paton utilizes the descriptors
to emphasize deeper meanings and symbolize different events. Paton inserts
these to portray a scene of a distraught country, sense of fear, and the
suffering of people enduring these things.
In chapter one, Paton
uses antithesis to explain the downfall of the African nation with crime. He
expresses the land in Ixopo as “lovely beyond any singing of it” and “holy.” He
also conveys the land as “well-tended” and that “not too many fires burn it”,
then suggests to “keep it, guard it, [and] care for it.” This plays out a scene
of a successful country because land is beautiful just as the society is. There
in the town, people are glowing with joyfulness while they admire the beautiful
views of the valleys and the people around them. The society of Ixopo is
booming with happiness and is a crime free and holy place to be. Again in
chapter one, he explains the land again, but in a different sense. He states
that the land is “[broken] down”, “bare”, and that “too many fires burn it” and
he does not suggests to “keep it, guard it, [and] care for it”, for “it is not
kept, or guarded, or cared for.” He even goes as far as to say that “dead
streams come to life, full of the red blood of the earth”, creating a sense of destructiveness.
These descriptions of the land pull to an immoral, obscene society. The society
is corrupt and there is no happiness. His words infer something terrible has
happened to not just the land, but the society as well. The town is not the
same and never will be.
In chapter twelve, Paton states
that "[there] is fear in the land" along with "voices
crying" in help. The fear is that no one can assist the damage at hand.
The people of this town are in despair for the society is not what it used to
be because of the murder of the great Arthur Jarvis. Jarvis was a well-liked
man and one who loved to support and care for others. He was a man who worked
with the black children of the city to provide a better society for the blacks
who were discriminated against. Once Jarvis was killed, everyone was in shock.
The most shocking aspect of his murder was that he was killed by a black man,
someone who he had achieved a sense of security for. This frightened the people
to where no one was very sure of who could be trusted. Anyone could murder and
it was portrayed obvious that it did not matter what race they were or even who
they were. The society has fallen and their security is no longer there.
In chapter four, Paton states that the
"tribes live [in Ixopo]" and describes the soil as "sick, almost
beyond healing." The "sick" soil is pointing towards the
suffering people in this town. The people of Ixopo are miserable and in a state
of panic. They cannot trust anyone. In addition, Paton also warns us to
"not love the earth too deeply" through a politician making a speech
about the "inheritors of fear" in Ixopo. This strong diction states
that the children should not make the mistakes that their parents have. The
parents have grown up in a wonderful place and learned to love their land which
maintains their state of happiness. Their children are the ones who have to
grow up in the evil world society has made so far and this thought brings out
worry in the adults of Ixopo. They suffer with these elements every day and are
in fear of how to manage them.
In Cry, The Beloved Country, Alan Paton uses imagery,
antithesis, and strong diction to describe the land. These descriptors help
readers understand his hidden messages and deeper meanings throughout the book.
The scene of a distraught country, sense of fear, and suffering of peoples play
out throughout Book I often. All of these deeper understandings of the text aid
the reader to know why characters act certain ways or why certain pieces of intercalary
text are inserted. The reader now understands the book much further than before.
