Contrast of Things Fall Apart and Cry, the Beloved Country essays

Compare/Contrast of Things Fall Apart and Cry, the Beloved Country essays Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton are novels that revolve around the theme of social injustice but beneath that theme, we discover chaos on a deeper level. Chaos erupts on a personal level in both novels because characters refuse to accept reality. In Cry the Beloved Country, Paton points one area of his focus on separation. His story of familial separation becomes more significant against the tapestry of a country that is ravaged from within. Likewise, Achebe places his story of separation in a society that is torn between change and tradition. The backdrop of devastation reinforces the significance of communication in each context. Stephen, James, and Okonkwo undergo transformations that force them to change their perception of life and they can only come to this point through awakening to certain truths regarding life. In Cry the Beloved Country, Stephen learns a valuable lesson through the relationship with his son. He and Stephen represent a type of break that exists in the family. Only after pain and suffering does Stephen see his son for whom he really is. It takes murder, however, for this to occur. Stephen notes that his son is a stranger . . . I cannot touch him, I cannot reach him. I see no shame in him, no pity for those he has hurt. Tears come out of his eyes, but it seems that he weeps only for himself, not for his wickedness, but for his danger (Paton 109). Here we see how relationships can be torn apart because of ones actions. While we would like to believe that actions speak louder than words and blood is thicker than water, it is often difficult to find that truth in moments of desperation. Likewise, James must come to certain revelations through pain. He is like Stephen in that it takes a painful incident for his eyes to be opened to the truth. James looks at his son in a different light after he is dead and it is this light that al ...