As I read through Book I of Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan
Paton, I obtained an understanding of the character, Stephen Kumalo,
particularly well. Stephen Kumalo, a priest from Ndotsheni, travels to
Johannesburg in search of his sister and son. Kumalo soon finds out where his
sister is along with finding out about his brother. His sister has become a
prostitute and his brother is a very successful man in Johannesburg. He finds
out his son is being sought after by the police and his journey becomes more
difficult than he could ever imagine. Along this journey he comes face to face
with problems that he must conquer, and his dynamic and realistic character
serves as a key to conquering them.
Stephen Kumalo is portrayed as a dynamic and realistic
character because of his dialogue in conflicts and conversations, and his
thought process throughout the book. When Kumalo talks to Father Vincent about
his son, Absalom, he says that "it was a search" at first and "the
anxiety [turned] to fear, and [the] fear grew deeper step by step." His
dialogue with Father Vincent shows him to be very realistic and dynamic by the
emotions he expresses. When you think about how we react in situations and how
we hold conversations, Kumalo seems like he could easily be real and not a fictional
character. Most parents would react the same way and take the same actions
towards the situation as Kumalo did.
While Kumalo is a dynamic character, he has positive and
negative attributes to his personality. In the book, there are many occasions
where he "knelt down" and "prayed quietly". This shows one
obvious positive attribute that Kumalo has, which is faith. I believe that
because he is a priest, it helps him along his "bitter journey" to
finding his loved ones. It helps him deal with obstacles he faces by being able
to cope well and not let the obstacles overrun him. At the same time, he doubts
his faith along his journey saying that “it seems [like] God has turned from
[him]”. With a little help along the way from Father Vincent, he comes to learn
how to get his faith back. Kumalo also becomes judgmental of people such as his
son and his son's girlfriend. He wonders how he could raise a thief and states
that his son is now a "stranger" to him. In the end of Book I, Kumalo
talks face to face with his son's girlfriend, a teenager who is pregnant with
his grandchild. In the beginning of the conversation it seems like he's almost
giving her an interview in an interrogation room. As the conversation
continues, he realizes he's wrong and tells her he's "sorry" and
"ashamed" of the question he asked. This leads to him learning who
she truly is as a person and he starts to be satisfied with her.
Throughout Kumalo’s experience on his journey he changed
overall as a person. In my opinion, coming to Johannesburg has changed him for
the better. Kumalo’s experiences have helped him look at situations
differently. For example, he now knows what it is like to have criminals in his
family and realizes that the “tribe [is] broken” and can’t “be mended”. Kumalo
also knows how to keep from losing his faith in God and how difficult things
can be when he loses his faith. In life it takes experiences, good and bad, to
become a better person. Some experiences can make you become a bad person, but
Kumalo’s experiences have definitely helped him become a better person. He’s
not only a better person for himself but also for his family.
What kind of person it would take to deal with the
tribulations Stephen Kumalo went through? It would take a person who has
similar traits to Kumalo's character. His character traits help him by giving
him the strength to continue his long journey to find his answers. Alan Paton
did such a remarkable job creating such a realistic character that some of his
readers could easily relate to Kumalo and the things he has been through.
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