Family serves as a support system, always there for each other when needed. Often family serves as the only thing a person may have, or the only support a person can rely on. In the contemporary literature novel Cry, The Beloved Country, Alan Paton uses parallelism to reveal the importance of family, especially in time of need.
Strong families work together to overcome diversity. When Kumalo finds out that Absalom will soon face trial, Kumalo takes the effort to find a lawyer, even though he has not seen his son in a very long time, which shows how Kumalo cares about his son. Although in the end, Absalom’s trial finds him guilty, Kumalo and Absalom share a few precious moments. When Kumalo sees his son for possibly …show more content…
After Kumalo tells Absalom to use bravery and to have courage, he hears his son tell him that he feels afraid, and the true importance of family in times of diversity shows. Paton uses the imagery of feelings such as compassion and sadness as well as the imagery as he feels Absalom’s head, to show the feelings passed between father and son in such times of diversity and struggle. When Absalom’s image seems as that of a criminal, his family supports him and sees his as more than a criminal. The moment of compassion and as one oversomes of diversity reveal the importance of family, especially in times of death. Paton uses the imagery and the compassion to show that whether family shares close bonds or not, each member of a family shares importance within the family, and so family will always support you, therefore you must support them. After they learn that their son will face death, Kumalo and his wife cry out in the courtroom after the hearing as “all is not silent” because the sounds in the room show the anguish and heartbreak of the couple as the sounds consist of the cries of Absalom and “a women wailing and an old man …show more content…
Often, characters and people alike must care for one another and care for their families greatly. The Jarvis family and the Kumalo family must work to care for their members and help each other often. Father Vincent tells Kumalo that he must care for his family and he must “pray for Gertrude and for her child,” pray for his “wife and all of Ndotsheni,” “ the soul of him who has killed” and for,” your [his] own rebuilding” (142). Paton uses the imagery to show brokenness and deep emotion between the Father and Kumalo. Also, Paton shows the fact that, you have more people to care for and look out for than you even realize, however you must do so, as it serves as an essential factor for many people. Kumalo must pray for many people, especially his family in order to care for them and support them. Family often acts as all that one may count on and therefore, Kumalo must take much time and effort to care for his family and to pray for his family. Soon after Jarvis learns of the death of his son, he sees “his wife and his daughter-in-law hand in hand” as they walked together and soon he talks to his wife and “she wept again and sobbed against him” (170). The imagery Paton uses shows the true suffers the family must endure as the sounds of the sobs, and the visual effect of the women as they hold hands, causes deep understanding of the emotions and sadness. Paton shows how family does not have to have blood relations, family should simply