Corruption In Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton Essay

Corruption is one of the most prevailing themes in Cry The Beloved Country, as well as in today’s world. In this story the author pictures many different characters in order to represent this wide spread illness of society, John Kumalo, Gertrude, Abasalom, just to name a few. Johannesburg itself is the summary of all that is wrong with cities of today. There is corruption and poverty. Crime runs rampant, and law-abiding citizens are forced to survive as they can. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; One of the most typical products of corruption in Cry The Beloved Country is John Kumalo. He has a woman living with him that he hasn’t married; he has no problems with hiring a lawyer that will lie, effectively condemning his nephew to death. His†¦show more content†¦As a matter of fact all the other corruption mentioned in the story is stemming from Johannesburg: John, Gertrude, Abasalom, crime, prostitution, racism, segregation. Johannesburg isn’t only corrupt in itself; it corrupts all most all that it touches. This city is very much a downscaled version of anyone of numerous major cities in the world today. It is a sad day when a man of the cloth cannot go unmolested through the streets. The city is overcrowded and everyone is so poor that they must stoop to rob priests just to feed themselves. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;A good example of what this city does to a person is Gertrude, the most pathetic character in the book. She has been chewed up and spit out by a city that has no room for good black people. She went off in search of her husband and ended up by herself with â€Å"many husband’s† as Msimangu said. Gertrude must also sell illegal liquor and has gone to prison. Her child runs around ragged and dirty in the streets, with no education and no supervision or name. Gertrude is like Abasalom in that she is not corrupt at heart, but it was Johannesburg that turned her. At the end of the book she chooses to remain in Johannesburg instead of going to her home, with her child. She did this because she wanted her child to have a good life, but knew that she couldn’t go back when she was that corrupted. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;This book very graphically describes all the filthShow MoreRelatedI Am Woman, Hear My Cry Essay1163 Words   |  5 Pagesto express themselves clearly and profoundly without speaking a word. The way a person sighs, cries, screams, or groans exposes his emotion and state of mind. It is a gift that all humans bear, this power to display emotion through instinctual sound. Novelist Alan Paton has a strong grasp on this aspect of the human condition, exemplifying this in his treatment of women in the novel Cry, the Beloved Country. 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