Corruption in Cry, the Beloved Country essays

Corruption in Cry, the Beloved Country essays Corruption is probably the most prominent theme in Alan Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country, as well as in today's world. In this story, the author pictures many different characters to illustrate this widespread corruption of society. John Kumalo, Absalom, and Gertrude are a few of the characters he uses to help carry out this theme. Johannesburg, itself, is the sum of all that is wrong in cities today. There are corruption and poverty; crime runs rampant, and law-abiding citizens are forced to live where only the strong survive. John Kumalo is one of the most typical products of corruption in Cry, The Beloved Country. He lives with a woman that he is not married to. He has no problem hiring a lawyer that will lie to condemn his nephew to death. His only positive trait is that he uses his political power to help further the cause of the African natives, but even this is marred by the fact that he is only doing it to further his ambitions. His weakness is that he does not have the heart necessary to be a revolutionary leader. If John were willing to go to prison and make sacrifices for what he believed in or wanted, he would have much more power than he has now. Absalom is a good example of corruption that does not come from the heart. Unlike John, Absalom does not want to be corrupt, and he is not proud of what he has done. When he killed Arthur, he was horrified; when the police found him, he didn't deny what he had done but confessed. Absalom was simply corrupted by Johannesburg and by his "friends." Gertrude, the most pathetic character in the novel, is another good example of what Johannesburg does to a person. She has been chewed up and spit out by a city that has no room for decent black people. She goes off in search of her husband and ends up by herself with "many husbands" as Msimangu said. Gertrude also sells illegal liquor and has gone to prison. Her child runs around ragged and dirty in the streets, with ...