Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Is there a connection between Cry the Beloved Country and To Kill a Mockingbird?

This is an interesting topic because while the settings
are completely different (Southern United States vs. South Africa) the themes have much
in common.  Both novels ultimately center around a crime and the subsequent trial of a
black man who is accused doing wrong to a white person.  In To Kill a
Mockingbird
Tom Robinson is accused of raping a white woman, but the audience
knows very clearly that he is innocent of the charges.  In Cry, the Beloved
Country,
Absalom is accused of the murder of Jarvis and he admits to his role
in the crime.  In each of the novels, there is a trial and in both cases, the young
black men have EXCELLENT legal representation.  Atticus does a superb job in his defense
of Tom, but the guilty verdict comes down because of the inherent racism of the time and
place. Absalom has an excellent and very fair minded lawyer who does the best he can,
but the letter of law has no choice but to find Absalom guilty, even though there are
other defendants in the case.  Both men ultimately die -- Absalom is sentenced to death;
Tom dies in a vain attempt at escaping prison -- an act that he had to have known could
result in his death.  Race plays a much more significant role in the crime and trial of
Tom Robinson than in that of Absalom, but the situations that get the men in trouble in
the first place are very race driven -- Tom is accused because it is easy to accuse a
black man and it is a "face-saver" for Mayella and Bob Ewell.  Absalom is robbing people
and ends up killing Jarvis because as a young black man he has no economic prospects and
is running around with the wrong crowd.


Another common
element between the novels is that the aftermath of the crimes and trials has a positive
affect on those around.  As awful as the deaths of the two young men are, a change in
attitudes about race come about.  Jarvis's father is moved to better understand his son
and he ultimately tries to help the native black people in his district by bringing in
agricultural experts to help the people learn better farming methods.  The mere fact
that Tom Robinson's jury actually spent a good amount of time before coming back with
the guilty verdict is small victory and a small sign that the attitudes of white people
towards blacks is changing.

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