Roles of a Parent

          Paton expressed many themes in the novel, "Cry, The Beloved Country." The most prominent theme in the novel is a parent's role. Stephen Kumalo took a big part in a role of a parent. There are different ways parents tend to raise their children. However, the question is, was Stephen Kumalo a good parent? Personally, I agree and disagree with some of Kumalo's actions.
          While Kumalo was maturing as a person, he faced physical and mental aspects to where he was stressed in the search of his son Absalom in Johannesburg. Kumalo mentions how he does not know where his son is because he has not spoken or written to him. I believe that if he truly was a good father, he would have left to look for him before now. Also, if he was as good as people portrayed him to be, he would have been worried for the sake of his future. By the time that Kumalo and Absalom finally met, they seemed like they were strangers to one another. Kumalo set his standards high for Absalom; however, he was let down when he heard the rumors about Absalom. The rumors that Absalom were faced with is that he shot and killed a man. However, after Kumalo knew that Absalom was a murderer, he still wanted to help him. Kumalo's characteristic traits are then extended because he shows that he truly loves Absalom.
          Kumalo's first down fall was with his daughter, Gertrudis. She was the reason why Kumalo came to Johannesburg. With Kumalo being a priest, he was very hurt to hear that his daughter was a prostitute. She also had a son at the same time of being prostitute. They key characteristic of Kumalo is that he faced all these controversies, but never thought twice about not loving his children. Kumalo stated, "Cry for the broken tribe, for the law and the custom that is gone" (pg. 104-5). His family had turned on him and their custom. Later in the novel, I noticed that Kumalo starts to turn on his customs as well. He starts getting angry a lot easier, and he also does not turn to God as often as he used to. He seems like he is falling into the same steps as his children did when they moved to Johannesburg. I think Paton is showing that the force of peer pressure is really strong. However, it is easy to get off track, but nothing is stronger than the tribe of a family.
          Paton focuses on a role of a parent throughout the novel. This is something that Paton probably takes very serious in his life as well. He relates to Kumalo because he finds out that Jarvis does not know many things about his son either. Jarvis did not realize how much the equality of blacks and whites meant to his son. After reading his sons letters, he noticed how important, and how many people showed a sense of gratitude for his work. Paton includes this in the novel to show that the role of a parent is very influential to everyone's life.