Depiction of Black People in 'Cry, the Beloved Country'

Introduction

Between white and black individuals there has been a thought black people are worse than white people. Black and white people are both equal and we should not view them as different just because one has darker or lighter skin than the other. We can see in the story “Cry, the Beloved Country” that the author tries to portray this thought black individuals are worse. He makes black people thieves, and killers, and he portrays white men and women as people that are very nice with lots of money. Also, “King Solomon’s Mines” we can see that the author as the men with lighter skin as smart strong men and the Kukuana who were darker-skinned people were not. What people do not understand is that we are all from one race, we have all come from Adam and Eve. The only reason a person has darker skin is because they have more melanin in their skin. It is not right that we judge people and hurt them when we are all from the same race, it is just that they have more melanin than people with lighter skin.

Similarities in 'Cry, the Beloved Country' and 'King Solomon's Mines'

Between “Cry, the Beloved Country” and “King Solomon’s Mines” there are a few key points that make these two stories similar. Both stories require the main characters to leave and go looking for someone special to them. In “Cry, the Beloved Country” it is a father who was a South African preacher that goes looking for his son. The father Stephen Kumalo eventually finds his son Absalom who was in jail because of a connection with a robbery where a white man had been killed. In “King Solomon’s Mines” we see that it is Sir Henry looking for his brother George.

In “Cry, the Beloved Country” it shows us how black women were treated. When Stephen went looking for their son, his wife was left at home and she could not share how she felt because black women were to stay silent. When Stephen had left, she really had no say in this matter, “and she watched him through the little window, walking slowly to the door of the church. Then she sat down at his table, and put her head on it, and was silent, with the patient suffering of black women, with the suffering of oxen, with the suffering of any that are mute” .

“King Solomon’s Mines” goes back and forth between the thought that black people are horrible. Yet, the author describes some of them in some points throughout the story as what it sounds like amazing people. It was hard to figure out what he (the author) was trying to get across in his message throughout the book.

Once you finish the books, look back and reflect on how the big picture is shown, we can see that the author of “Cry, the Beloved Country” Alan Paton tried expressing how he felt about the hardship and injustice that men and women from South Africa had to face. By doing this he tried to bring change and help others understand what was really going on. Same with H. Rider Haggard the author of “King Solomon’s Mines” he had men with darker skin described as men that were handsome, strong, brave and hard-working. This is a complement because people would say nothing nice to them so to describe them as strong handsome men was very nice.

Conclusion

It really does not matter what coloured skin you may have because we are all loved and created by the same God whether you believe in Him or not. What is truly amazing is that even when we mess things up, He is still the one that cares for us the most. It doesn’t matter to Him whether we have darker of lighter skin, so why should it matter to us and why do we judge those with darker skin? We are to love like Christ, which means we are to love and care for everyone no matter the skin colour.