Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

Cry, the Beloved Country is certainly a social-problem novel with a focus on apartheid in South Africa. Many years have passed since Alan Paton wrote the novel in 1948, and dramatic social changes have occurred in South Africa in the last few decades. These facts do not alter the novel’s relevance. From a historical viewpoint, it is a valuable document, revealing destructive aftereffects of colonialism and a society based on racial divisions. Paton’s work reminds us not to forget the past, lest we be doomed to relive it.

The novel presents memorable characters in a vivid setting. Paton’s style blends effects of both prose and poetry. The plot features complex conflicts, overlapping struggles of human beings with themselves, with society, and with nature. Thematically, the novel is very rich, demonstrating the destructive legacy of bigotry, the fallout from the clash between tradition and modernization, and the healing power of compassion as the only possible way to bridge social chasms.

About the Series:

Novel/Drama curriculum units contain complete lesson plans with preliminary and follow-up work, teacher notes with plot summary, background, and rationale, ready-to-use worksheets, and suggested answers for student questions. These study guides encourage the development of thinking, reading, speaking, research, and writing skills as well as critical thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.