When Stephen gets a letter that his sister is ill, he travels to Johannesburg to try to find his family, but what he finds out about Absalom shocks him to his very soul. Absalom had been attending a reform school that takes the place of jail time for young, black men in Johannesburg.
Absalom’s basic innocence is affirmed when he confesses everything to the police, and even they seem to suspect his friend Johannes and not him for the murder. Nonetheless, the court holds Absalom solely responsible for the crime. He tries to communicate honestly with Kumalo, though no words can explain what he has done.
Stephen Kumalo gives up a lot for his son. He spends his very meager savings in search of the boy and then does all in his power to help Absalom once the extent of his predicament is clear. However, Stephen gives up more than money.
Absalom, along with his cousin Matthew and another young man, has fallen into a life of crime. Together they plan to rob the home of the white man Arthur Jarvis. But Jarvis returns home in the middle of the robbery and surprises them. In fear, Absalom shoots him dead. When Stephen finally finds his son, Absalom is in prison on murder charges.
Mr. CarmichaelMr. Carmichael serves as Absalom Kumalo's attorney in Alan Paton's 'Cry, The Beloved Country. ' Though he is ultimately unsuccessful, Carmichael offers a vigorous defense of young Absalom Kumalo when he kills a white man in Johannesburg.
Mr. Carmichael: Absalom's lawyer; he takes his case pro deo (for God) in this case meaning for free.
Stephen Finds His Son Absalom had been attending a reform school that takes the place of jail time for young, black men in Johannesburg. He leaves the reformatory for a job, but he doesn't keep it for long.
In Cry, the Beloved Country, John Kumalo is Stephen Kumalo's brother. John feels that he does not need the church because religion has not solved South Africa's problems. Stephen decides to finds his brother and ask him why he never wrote.
Johannes Pafuri is one of the three men who robs Arthur Jarvis's house (along with Matthew and Absalom Kumalo). Johannes used to work for the Jarvis household, which is how he knew that the family was supposed to be away.
Absalom's Friendship with Matthew Kumalo travels to Johannesburg to check on his sister and son. He goes to his brother, John, for help. John's son, Matthew Kumalo, is a friend of Absalom's. Most of what the reader learns about Matthew comes from conversations between Stephen and John.
In Cry, the Beloved Country, Absalom Kumalo is a young man who commits murder and is later hanged for the crime. He is also Stephen Kumalo's (the main character) son. Despite the fact that Stephen spends most of the first half of the story searching for Absalom, he does not speak very often.
Well, then it makes sense that one of our main characters has an unusual—and significant—Biblical name. Absalom is one of the sons of King David in the Book of Samuel. He is famous for murdering his half-brother, Amnon, in revenge for Amnon's rape of Absalom's sister Tamar.
It is in a prison cell that Kumalo eventually finds his son, Absalom, who is facing trial for the murder of a white man—a man who ironically cared deeply about the plight of the native South African population and had been a voice for change until his untimely death.
Carmichael is an attorney who volunteers his services to represent Absalom during his trial for the murder of a white man. The shooting death was not intentional, but as a result of being interrupted during an attempted theft by Absalom, his cousin, Matthew, and a friend. Let's find out more about Mr.
Gertrude is Kumalo's little sister—much littler, in fact, since she is twenty-five years and a whole generation younger than Kumalo. Before the beginning of the novel, Gertrude's husband left her with her small son to go work in the mines, and stopped writing letters home.
Why did Stephen Kumalo go to Johannesburg? He received a letter informing him that his sister who had moved there was not well. He went to see what he could do for her. While there, he intended to try to find his brother and his son who also had gone to Johannesburg to live.
Though Absalom is at the center of the plot of Cry, the Beloved Country, he is a somewhat mysterious figure. Having left home like most of the young people of Ndotsheni, Absalom finds work in Johannesburg. For reasons that are never made clear, however, he loses touch with his family and falls into a life of crime. Young and impressionable, Absalom carries a gun for protection, but when he fires the weapon in fear, he ends up killing Arthur Jarvis. Absalom’s basic innocence is affirmed when he confesses everything to the police, and even they seem to suspect his friend Johannes and not him for the murder. Nonetheless, the court holds Absalom solely responsible for the crime. He tries to communicate honestly with Kumalo, though no words can explain what he has done. Originally afraid to die, Absalom appears to reconcile himself to his impending execution and writes respectfully to his mother and father until the time of his death, demonstrating a newfound maturity that allows him to approach death gracefully.
Originally afraid to die, Absalom appears to reconcile himself to his impending execution and writes respectfully to his mother and father until the time of his death, demonstrating a newfound maturity that allows him to approach death gracefully.
Young and impressionable, Absalom carries a gun for protection, but when he fires the weapon in fear, he ends up killing Arthur Jarvis. Absalom’s basic innocence is affirmed when he confesses everything to the police, and even they seem to suspect his friend Johannes and not him for the murder.