Compare and Contrast Essay – Cry, the Beloved Country
Assessment #1:
One way you will demonstrate your understanding of the novel is write a comparison/contrast essay. Choose
one topic below. Your essay must be a minimum of six paragraphs (introduction, four body paragraphs,
conclusion). You must complete the writing process: a prewriting, an outline, a rough draft, peer evaluations,
self-evaluation, and a final draft. Your final draft is worth 100 points. The other parts of the process will be worth
points, too. The scoring guide is on the back.
Essay Topic Choices
Both Stephen Kumalo and James Jarvis undergo revelations during the novel. Jarvis finally
sees the injustice of South African society, and Kumalo realizes the consequences of losing
the old tribal customs. Compare the two men’s journeys over the course of the novel. In
what ways are they alike? In what ways do they differ?
In Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country, the author draws parallels between the unities of
family and nation. In what ways are the two similar, and in what ways are they different? To
what extent does one depend in the other?
In Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country, the two brothers, Stephen and John Kumalo, are
foils. Among other things, they serve to establish the contrast between city and country, and
between Christianity and secularism. How does the contrast between these two characters
help to establish the main themes of the novel?
In Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country, Absalom Kumalo and the young girl he marries in
prison share similar character qualities. What are those qualities? Do both of them
experience the themes of sin and redemption in the same way? How do their experiences
differ, and why?
In Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country, Gertrude and the young girl who bears Absalom
Kumalo’s child serve as foils for one another. In what ways is this the case? How do their
characters differ, and how do those differences lead to different outcomes for the two
women? How do their plights reflect the major themes of the novel?
Alan Paton had been reading John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men just before writing his
great novel Cry, the Beloved Country. Compare and contrast the social messages of the
two works. In what ways are the depictions of the plight of blacks in South Africa and that of
migrant workers in the United States similar, and in what ways are they different?
In Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country, Stephen Kumalo and Theophilus Msimangu are
two Zulu men who have chosen to serve others as Anglican priests. They are “brothers in
Christ.” In what ways are the two similar, and in what ways are they different? How do the
differences of each help to enrich each other’s lives?