Cry The Beloved Country-Fathers Share A Journey

Both fathers in the novel, Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton share a journey of self-sacrifice and understanding of one another. Kumalo travels in search for his son but also travels through his emotions towards tradition. Mr. Jarvis travels to understand what his son did and traveled to find a way to coupe with loss.

As the novel begins, Kumalo undertakes his first journey to the city of Johannesburg. He was intimidated and overwhelmed by the city, betraying the simple background he knew of. Receiving help from generous hosts, he was able to put his fear aside and search with determination for his son. As the search continued on, one became aware of Kumalo's physical weaknesses. According to African tradition, he had reached the time in his life when his children should be caring for him. Unfortunately, he was forced to search for his son. When the reader understood that Absalom was in trouble, one felt Kumalo's body break with grief. When his faith paused, he looked for the help from friends in the church, who supported him and prayed with him. By the time Kumalo left Johannesburg, he was deeply saddened. When he returned to hi village in Ndotsheni, Kumalo worked on improving the lives of his community. In the end, he faced his son's death with mourning, but also with a sense of peace.

James Jarvis's journey began with him reconsidering the native people of South Africa. After he realized what his son was trying to do for them and began to help Stephen Kumalo's village. When Kumalo told Mr. Jarvis that Absalom killed his son, he was compassionate and understanding. For example, when Stephen first told James about his connection to Arthur's death, he was not angry he was sympathetic. Mr. Jarvis saw that Kumalo was damaged by this event and was moved. He had respect for Kumalo and knew what he was going through since Kumalo was about to lose his son, as well. Mr. Jarvis was doing his best to change his ways in order to honor his son. He astonishingly changed his behavior to be considerate to the natives, especially towards Kumalo. This act of altering