Throughout Alan Paxton’s novel, Cry The Beloved Country, he gives
several images of Africa, some distorted and twisted, some peaceful and alive.
One view of Africa is of the tribal lands, and one view is of the city and
whites. These two views give the audience two extremely different connotations.
In
Chapter One, Paxton’s introduction was an antithesis of Africa. The first view is
of an Africa where “the grass [was] rich and matted, you [couldn’t] see the
soil. It [held] the rain and the mist, and they [seeped] into the ground.” This
imagery of Africa gives the reader a feeling that the land is lush and there is
a sense of tranquility that comes with the land. Later in Chapter One, Paxton
contrasted the lush and peaceful view of Africa. This image of Africa becomes one
where “the rich, green hills [were] breaking down. They [were falling] into the
valley below,” and changing the land; “[the ground couldn’t] hold the rain and
mist.” This view compared to the first view gives the reader the connotation
that the land is dying and being morphed. Paxton uses this antithesis to
foreshadow a breakdown within the culture and how the land changes as the
tribal lands move towards a more industrial city type of land.
In
Chapter One, Paxton gives another antithesis between the lively valleys and the
industrial city. The first view of Africa is one where “not too many fires [burned]
it,” and “the ground [was] holy,” it “[kept] men, [guarded] men, [cared] for
men.” This imagery hits the audience with a powerful feeling of a strong, immaculate
land. The way Africa is described hints to the audience that this view is one
of the tribe lands and the valleys due to the very religious connect between
the tribes and the land; African tribes and cultures typically cared for the
land and saw religion as a relationship between land and supernatural forces.
The second view of Africa is one where “too many cattle [fed] upon the grass,
and too many fires have burned it,” and it “no longer [kept] men, [guarded]
men, [cared] for men.” This imagery is one of the cities of Africa; the cattle
in “too many cattle [fed] upon it is a metaphor for people and the destruction
they cause to the land. Compared to the
first view, this Africa is being annihilated and transposed. Paxton uses this
antithesis to give the reader a connotation of an extreme change occurring in
society and the land; this antithesis also foreshadows the breakdown of Kumalo
and his family.
In
Chapter Ten, Paxton introduces a new city, Shanty Town. This city is the best
example of the breakdown of society in the book that gives the reader the
connotation of a twisted and corrupted Africa. Paxton describes the city where
“a sheet of iron, a few planks, hessian (a burlap type cloth) and grass, an old
door from some forgotten house” made a house. As Kumalo walked past the houses,
he looks at the sky and wonders “what will they do when it rains?” As the
audience sees the state of Shanty Town, there’s a feeling of stark and utter
hopelessness that makes the readers question how the people live in those
conditions. If you compare Shanty Town to the lively and lush valley from
chapter one, you realize that this part of Africa is extremely different; this
part of Africa is very blighted, appalling, and contorted.
Paxton’s
views of Africa and the land contradict each other, and normally, foreshadow to
an event that will occur later in the book. The connotations the views give to
the reader are ones of stark hopelessness, tranquility, and one of change.
