Cry the Beloved Country: May 2012

Saturday, May 26, 2012

5th Post for Chapters 32-36

Why, sometimes, does the author use a u in front of a person's surname, such as on page 265, (uJarvis), and sometimes not?

Any thoughts?

4th Post for Chapters 32-36

New words I have discovered...

1. overwrought
2. wattles
3. lobola
4. arum lilies

3rd Post for Chapters 32-36

mentioned on page 251....where Napoleon Letsitsi is from

Krugersdorp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krugersdorp

from page 247...

How can Kumalo just let the small boy forget Gertrude, his mother? How can he himself forget her, she is his sister. Why didn't they look for her the morning that they were preparing to leave for Ndotsheni. She could have been anywhere. Maybe she was just out for a walk, and didn't want to get left behind. After all the trouble he went through to help her and save her, how can he leave her in Johannesburg and forget about her?

1st Post for Chapters 32-36

from page 245

When Mr. Jarvis says "go well," why doesn't Kumalo say "stay well?" Is he angry at Mr. Jarvis. Mr. Jarvis was very kind to him, even though Kumalo's son killed his son, and he even gave the priest milk for the dying children. Why doesn't he thank Jarvis for what he has done?

6th Post for Chapters 25-31

mentioned on page 219...

Mooi River

5th Post for Chapters 25-31

from page 214...

I don't understand what Msimangu means when he says that he is retiring into a community, forswearing the world and all of its possessions, and that this is the first time in South Africa that a black man has done this. What does he mean? What community? Why is he giving his money away?

Can anyone explain this?

4th Post for Chapters 25-31

from page 189

The African Mine Workers' Union

http://www.sahistory.org.za/birth-african-mine-workers-union

3rd Post for Chapters 25-31

When the narrator says that John Kumalo lifts the people up and lets them fall, time after time, what does he mean?

Is John Kumalo making promises as he speaks, and telling the people what they want to hear, and then not taking any action. I think this is what the narrator means.

Any thoughts?

2nd Post for Chapters 25-31

Read page 184

Do you think that Arthur Jarvis and John Kumalo are on the same side?

1st Post for Chapters 25-31

As I was reading, I was wondering if Odendaalsrust was a real place.

Here are some pictures of the mining shafts there.

5th Post for Chapters 19-24

I was wondering what Mr. Jarvis looked like, and since there was a movie made, I found a picture of him and Mr. Kumalo. Do they become friends?

4th Post for Chapters 19-24

On page 139 there was mention of the language Sesuto, and I had never heard of it before so I was wondering what it was and who speaks it.

Here is a link....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sotho_language

(I think this is the same language, even though it is spelled differently)

3rd Post for Chapters 19-24

On page 138 there is mention of an organization called the Daughters of Africa. I was wondering if this was a real organization, so I looked it up. Turns out it is. Here is a link to their website.

http://daughtersofafrica.co.za/

2nd Post for Chapters 19-24

from page 138...

(talking about the death of a child)

-It's always worse for the mother, Jarvis. (Harrison)
-Yes. (Jarvis)

Why does Harrison think that the death of a child is always worse for the mother. I know that if I died, my parents would be equally as sad, because they both love me the same. Is this man saying that Mr. Jarvis doesn't love his son as much as Mrs. Jarvis does? Or is he saying that Mr. Jarvis will handle it better, simply because he is a man and she is a woman?

Any thoughts?

1st Post for Chapters 19-24

from page 137

My son and I didn't see eye to eye on the native question, John. In fact, he and I got quite heated about it on more than one occasion. But I'd like to see what he wrote.

My father and I didn't see eye to eye on the native question either, Mr Jarvis. You know, Mr Jarvis, there was no one in South Africa who thought so deeply about it, and no one who thought so clearly, as Arthur did. And what else is there to think deeply and clearly about in South Africa, he used to say.

I thought it was interesting how Arthur thought that there was nothing else in South Africa to think deeply and clearly about, that there were no other pressing issues, that this was it. Is "the native question" the same as questioning whether or not to have apartheid?

Any thoughts?

5th Post for Chapters 13-18

Before Chapter 18, the book is split into another book, Book II, and the beginning of Book II is much like the beginning of Book I. Why is this?

Is this because it is the story of two men who come from the same place, Ndotsheni, and one man has killed the other man's son?

Any thoughts?

4th Post for Chapters 13-18

on page 135

Did they catch the native?
Not yet, Mr. Jarvis.

The tears filled the eyes, the teeth bit the lips. What does that matter? he said.

Why wouldn't Mr Jarvis think that it mattered that they caught the man that killed his son? Doesn't he want justice and closure?

3rd Post for Chapters 13-18

page 135

After the captain comes to bring the bad news to Mr. Jarvis, the author says " Out of a cloudless sky these things come." This can be interpreted literally, because there is a cloudless sky over the farm, but I think it means something deeper. I think it means that even when things seem to be going well, horrible events can take place....(or something along those lines).

Any thoughts?

2nd Post for Chapters 13-18

I thought the conversation starting on the bottom of page 121 and continuing onto page 122 was interesting.

They were your friends? (Kumalo)

Yes, they were my friends. (son)

And they will leave you to suffer alone? (Kumalo)

Now I see it. (son)

The son is caught anyway, and it is needless for his friends to get caught with him. A real friend wouldn't throw his friends under the bus. There is no use dragging his friends down with him. Why doesn't Kumalo see this?

Any thoughts?

1st Post for Chapters 13-18

Wondering...

Throughout the book, no one ever says Good-bye. They always say "stay well" and "go well." I thought this was interesting, so I looked it up. I think that their good-bye translated into English literally means, "stay well" and "go well."

Here is a link that shows how to say Good-bye in different languages.

http://ss.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Multilingual_word_list#Goodbye

Friday, May 25, 2012

5th Post for Chapters 7-12

from page 56....

There are planks at the Baragwanath Hospital, left there by the builders.

Baragwanath Hospital

Wikipedia Article about the Hospital.......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Hani_Baragwanath_Hospital

4th Post for Chapters 7-12

Passage from Chapter 9

Yes, this house is full, and that house is full. For everyone is coming to Johannesburg. From the Transkei and the Free State, from Zululand and Sekukuniland. Zulus and Swazis, Shangaans and Bavenda, Bapedi and Basuto, Xosas and Tembus, Pondos, and Fingos, they are all coming to Johannesburg.

I wondered who all of these peoples were, and what they were like, and I found a little information on each one of them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zulu_people

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swazi_people

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsonga_people (Shangaans are a group of Tsonga people)

http://www.ezakwantu.com/Tribes%20-%20Ba%20Venda%20-%20VhaVenda%20-%20Vhavgona%20-%20Vhavhenda%20-%20Vhenda.htm

http://www.ezakwantu.com/Tribes%20-%20Ba%20Pedi%20-%20Bapedi%20-%20Northern%20Basotho.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sotho_people

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xhosa_people

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tembu

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pondo_people

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fingo_(Mfengu)

3rd Post for Chapters 7-12

An important passage...

All roads lead to Johannesburg. If you are white or black they lead to Johannesburg. If the crops fail, there is work in Johannesburg. If the taxes are to be paid, there is work in Johannesburg. If the farm is too small to be divided further, some must go to Johannesburg. If there is a child to be born that must be delivered in secret, it can be delivered in Johannesburg.

I thought that this was a well-written passage. Based off of what we know so far in the story, Johannesburg doesn't seem like a great place to be. This passage only confirms what we have read so far, because it seems that people come to Johannesburg because they have problems and have nowhere else to go. It seems like a city where people gather because they have troubles in their lives, but it also seems like a city of hope, otherwise, why would people go there?

Any other thoughts? Opinions?

2nd Post for Chapters 7-12

As I continued to read, I saw the word "Kaffir", and wondered what it meant. Here is the conversation it was used in...

The white man said to my friend, he said it twice, Jy is 'n goeie Kaffer, you are a good Kaffir. Something touched him, and he said it in the words that he had.

- I am touched also.

I found out a lot about what the word means from this Wikipedia article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaffir_(racial_term)

1st Post for Chapters 7-12

When I was reading about bus boycott, I was wondering if it actually happened, and whether or not Dubula was a real person. I did a little research, and it turns out that Dubula is just a a character, not a real person, and that the events are fictional. But, there was a bus boycott similar to the one described in the book, that actually did happen. Here is a link to information about the boycott...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1957_Alexandra_Bus_Boycott

Thursday, May 24, 2012

5th Post for Chapters 1-6

The railway to Johannesburg seemed to be very important, with all of the details about it, saying how it was a "white man's wonder", and how "all roads lead to Johannesburg" including the railroad of the train.
I have found a blog that mentions what I think is the same railway mentioned in the book. Here is the link to it.....

http://steam-locomotives-south-africa.blogspot.com/2009/04/durban-railway-station.html

Here is an old article about the railway: