The pen is mightier than the
sword. Perhaps before the cliché had
been clichéd, Alan Paton had a desire to touch hearts and bring equality to his
homeland through literature. Born in the
Natal Province of South Africa in 1903, Paton was often beat by his father and
experienced firsthand the growing social differences between races in his
community. Books and religion were
Paton’s escapes from the trauma around him, later contributing to his unique
liberal writing style with a Christian spin.
Paton’s first book, and arguably
his best, Cry, the Beloved Country,
brought mixed reactions among the South Africans in power (whites). The novel was
viewed as unreasonable to some, while others realized the sad truth the book
contained and knew that change to their society was needed. Writing Cry, the Beloved Country as narrative
helped protect him from conservative backlash because his ideas could be spread
passively. Paton showed his thoughts in
the story’s characters and conflicts, such as when one character writes what is
and what is not permissible in contemporary society. The long-term effects of colonization were
also in the novel by the native city life being depicted as corrupt and lowly,
while country native life was presented as farming hopeless, barren land. Stark differences were presented between
races, and the novel suggested the whites were too selfish of the country’s
resources and power for the much-needed change to take place.
To say that Alan Paton was just a
dreamer who did not actually work towards change is largely incorrect. With his wife, he worked against Tuberculosis
in Natives for the Toc H Tuberculosis organization in Natal. In 1953, Paton cofounded the Liberal Party,
and became its leader in 1955. The
Liberal Party’s stance for human rights and against apartheid eventually led to
its disbandment in 1968 at the hands of the Nationalist Party (the
pro-apartheid party in charge). The
South African government ended the Liberal Party by creating a law that banned
multiracial parties. Even after the
people leading the society he was trying to change shut his party down, Paton
continued to write and move minds.
"There is only one way
in which one can endure man's inhumanity to man and that is to try, in one's
own life, to exemplify man's humanity to man." This quote from Paton
shows his Christian faith of helping others mixing with his liberal beliefs of
human rights. He believed that there was suffering no matter what, and that men
helping other men with the aid of God was the only way to lessen, or sometimes
just deal with, this suffering. Alan
Paton’s religious influence is shown in his work Cry the Beloved Country when he writes, “I have never thought that
a Christian would be free of suffering… for our Lord suffered. And I have come to believe that he suffered,
not to save us from suffering, but to teach us how to bear suffering. For He
knew that there is no life without suffering.”
Alan Paton inspires me to help
others, and lets me realize what a great place I live in today. His work and struggle to against apartheid
has gained recognition from both South African and international leaders. I
would recommend researching Alan Paton to anyone interested by human rights or
how South African society managed to get to where it is today.
-Xavier B, 2A
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIr7ncx4oSc
Bibliography:
"Author and Activist Alan Paton." Author
and Activist Alan Paton - English Blog | By South Africa Channel. South
Africa Channel, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2013.
"Biography of Alan Paton (1903-1988)." Biography
of Alan Paton. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2013.
"Icey Apartheid and Alan Paton” The M&G Online.
M&G, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2013.
Before reading this, i already had an idea who Alan Paton was. While i was reading this entry, i was surprised that Paton had been beaten by his father. I had no idea that he was going through such horrible things. I think it's great that he escaped his trauma by writing. Cry, the beloved country was a great book and brought my attention about apartheid. I think it's unique the Paton adds a Christian spin to his book because he creates it as his own. I like how you used quotes because it helped me understand the author more. Also, it's interesting that he was trying to change apartheid through actions, not just literature. I would like to know if he wrote other books, what were they called and were they all about apartheid?
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