The Importance of the Land

The land is a very important part of this book. It is said that the land is the main character in the book and some suggest that Stephen Kumalo is a representation of the land.

I think that this quote from the beginning captures the importance of the land. It says, "Stand unshod upon it, for the ground is holy, being even as it came from the Creator.  Keep it, gaurd it, care for it, for it keeps men, guards men, cares for men.  Destroy it and man is destroyed." (Cry, the Beloved Country pg 33)

Basically, this quote says the only reason man is alive is because of the land.  People need to take care of it so it can continue to provide for them.  I think that the novel is implying that the land is being "destroyed" and that with it, man will be destroyed.  But, man is a symbol.  Depending on how you interpret the book, man could be the tradition of the natives, it could represent the lives of man (the natives), or even man itself.  I think that it is a combination of all of those.  Because the land is dying, the natives traditions are dying and people are leaving because they can no longer find support from the land with the "maize hardly reaches the height of a man" (Cry, the Beloved Country pg 34).  In the novel, the native people's lives are dying also because the land cannot support them.  They have to move away to find work in the mines of in the cities, which was the reason Stephen Kumalo's family was split up.  Man can also simply be man because when the land dies, no food or water can be found there. Without food and water, people die.  Those three reasons is why I feel as if man can represent many different things throughout the novel.

The land could also represent the good and bad times of life.  In the first chapter of  Cry. the Beloved Country it describes the hills first.  It tells of their thick, green grass that is very lush.  There are streams and you can hear the titihoya's beautiful song.  This could be compared to the good times of life because everything is beautiful and you are "high" on the roller coaster of life.  But the hills break down into a valley that is bare and cannot hold water making all of the streams dry.  The valley is basically on its way to death.  This could be compared to the low times of life.  When we are down, everything seems to be dead, or at least heading in that direction.

This video shows the importance of the land in South Africa and how the culture is heavily influenced by the land.

"Tourism Linking Cultures- Cape Town"

I really like the quotes from this video, especially the one that reads, "The land, oceans, and mountains form part of our rich culture and heritage." (It appears at about 1:14)

I think that the quote captures the importance of the land because it says that it is the land that is part of our culture, and, again from the video, the culture in South Africa is very diversified.  It also shows that many South Africans think the land is very important and it needs to be used wisely.  This connects to the novel because both show the importance of the land, the video through the lands effect on culture and the novel because it keeps people alive.