Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Saturday, February 22, 2014
The Change of Stephen Kumalo
Throughout Book I, I found out many things about Absalom's father, Stephen Kumalo. He is the protagonist in the story and is the moral compass in it. He is to me the most realistic character in the story and has excellent moral standards. He is truly a round and dynamic character. However, he has some negative attributes also and numerous experiences has changed him.
As I have said earlier, Kumalo is an extremely realistic character in the book. I believe this because of his life changing encounters with his family. He feels that he is the reason for his family's failures. This is a very good connection to my family. My uncle is a pastor with two daughters and every time they get into the slimmest amount of trouble he feels like a failure as a pastor and a parent. Little does he know, his children are responsibe for their own actions. There's only so much a parent can do. This is just like Kumalo. In Cry, the Beloved Country, Kumalo says "There is a man sleeping in the grass. And over him is the gathering the greatest storm of all his days...people hurry past him...and they do not wake him, they let him be" (page 139). In this piece of text, Kumalo is saying that while he and his wife have been living peacefully and happily in Ndotsheni, they were unaware of the evil and corrupt things their family was doing.
As an individual, Kumalo is a quiet, humble, and gentle man with a strong moral sense and abiding faith in God. He was extremely passionate, sober, and trustworthy as he was leaving the town where he lived in Ndotsheni. Knowing all of this, he wasn't accustomed to having sinful acts acted towards him as he arrived in Johannesburg. For example, Kumalo was robbed and scammed by a man as soon as he arrived there, lying to him about a ticket office. He wasn't used to this type of lifestyle and treatment. He eventually found out his sister Gertrude was prostituting and selling liquor. He is very disappointed and tells her that she has "ashamed [them]" (page 61). At this time of the story, he still turns to God for help and forgiveness as he says, "God forgives us...let us pray" (page 61). As you can tell from this piece of text, Kumalo still turns to God during adversity, which is one of his positive attributes to his personality. However, Kumalo tends to have angry outbursts when he's angry such as in the beginning of the novel when he yells at his wife in "loud and angry words." This hurt her, but he quickly came back to his senses.
Stephen Kumalo later reunites with his brother, John, but finds out he has nothing to do with the church anymore even though he was a priest. This news hurt Stephen also, but the most disturbing situation in Johannesburg was when he found out that his son Absalom, who he had been looking for desperately, had committed murder. Absalom told the police that John's son was there also. So when Stephen went to tell John about the situation, he betrayed him. Even though Absalom told the police the story, John quickly interrupted him by saying "Who will believe your son?" (page 134). Stephen Kumalo could not believe what he had just heard. He did not know his brother's heart was so evil with no sympathy. He showed no sympathy for his son. As if it seemed it couldn't get any worse, Stephen finally talked to his son, but he said that Absalom saw "no shame in [himself], no pity for those he had hurt" (page 141). What this means is that Absalom only thought about the consequences and himself, not the lives he has ruined.
These life-changing events caused Stephen Kumalo's entire personality to change. Being a priest, he should always keep his faith in his savior, God. However, during this time of adversity, he says that it was if "God has turned from [him]" (page 140). There was no other explanation he could think of. Where could he have possibly gone wrong? He started to just think of the negatives in the situation. He went from a passionate, sober person to an desolate, pessimistic individual. These experiences has changed his personality gradually.
In conclusion, Kumalo is a very humble and passionate elderly man whose personality took a gradual change throughout the novel. Stephen Kumalo thinks that he is the reason for his family's sins, but he does not understand that people are responsible for their own actions. Even though he is a priest, there is only so much he can do. All in all, in my opinion, he is the best parent in the book.
As I have said earlier, Kumalo is an extremely realistic character in the book. I believe this because of his life changing encounters with his family. He feels that he is the reason for his family's failures. This is a very good connection to my family. My uncle is a pastor with two daughters and every time they get into the slimmest amount of trouble he feels like a failure as a pastor and a parent. Little does he know, his children are responsibe for their own actions. There's only so much a parent can do. This is just like Kumalo. In Cry, the Beloved Country, Kumalo says "There is a man sleeping in the grass. And over him is the gathering the greatest storm of all his days...people hurry past him...and they do not wake him, they let him be" (page 139). In this piece of text, Kumalo is saying that while he and his wife have been living peacefully and happily in Ndotsheni, they were unaware of the evil and corrupt things their family was doing.
As an individual, Kumalo is a quiet, humble, and gentle man with a strong moral sense and abiding faith in God. He was extremely passionate, sober, and trustworthy as he was leaving the town where he lived in Ndotsheni. Knowing all of this, he wasn't accustomed to having sinful acts acted towards him as he arrived in Johannesburg. For example, Kumalo was robbed and scammed by a man as soon as he arrived there, lying to him about a ticket office. He wasn't used to this type of lifestyle and treatment. He eventually found out his sister Gertrude was prostituting and selling liquor. He is very disappointed and tells her that she has "ashamed [them]" (page 61). At this time of the story, he still turns to God for help and forgiveness as he says, "God forgives us...let us pray" (page 61). As you can tell from this piece of text, Kumalo still turns to God during adversity, which is one of his positive attributes to his personality. However, Kumalo tends to have angry outbursts when he's angry such as in the beginning of the novel when he yells at his wife in "loud and angry words." This hurt her, but he quickly came back to his senses.
Stephen Kumalo later reunites with his brother, John, but finds out he has nothing to do with the church anymore even though he was a priest. This news hurt Stephen also, but the most disturbing situation in Johannesburg was when he found out that his son Absalom, who he had been looking for desperately, had committed murder. Absalom told the police that John's son was there also. So when Stephen went to tell John about the situation, he betrayed him. Even though Absalom told the police the story, John quickly interrupted him by saying "Who will believe your son?" (page 134). Stephen Kumalo could not believe what he had just heard. He did not know his brother's heart was so evil with no sympathy. He showed no sympathy for his son. As if it seemed it couldn't get any worse, Stephen finally talked to his son, but he said that Absalom saw "no shame in [himself], no pity for those he had hurt" (page 141). What this means is that Absalom only thought about the consequences and himself, not the lives he has ruined.
These life-changing events caused Stephen Kumalo's entire personality to change. Being a priest, he should always keep his faith in his savior, God. However, during this time of adversity, he says that it was if "God has turned from [him]" (page 140). There was no other explanation he could think of. Where could he have possibly gone wrong? He started to just think of the negatives in the situation. He went from a passionate, sober person to an desolate, pessimistic individual. These experiences has changed his personality gradually.
In conclusion, Kumalo is a very humble and passionate elderly man whose personality took a gradual change throughout the novel. Stephen Kumalo thinks that he is the reason for his family's sins, but he does not understand that people are responsible for their own actions. Even though he is a priest, there is only so much he can do. All in all, in my opinion, he is the best parent in the book.
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