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Knowing Stephen Kumalo

As I have read Cry, The Beloved Country, I have gotten to learn and know so much about Stephen Kumalo. Stephen Kumalo can be described as both a round and dynamic character. He is known to be this because he encounters an indefinite amount of conflict with his family and Johannesburg, and he is changed by it throughout the whole book.

            What makes Stephen Kumalo realistic is the way that I can relate people in my life to his experiences in his life. I know some parents who go ballistic because their child starts experiencing the big world and it starts getting them into the trouble that it causes. They feel as though they have failed their children, but in reality they have to learn that their children have to grow up at some point. They also have to learn that their children are responsible for their own actions. They have to learn on their own from those actions, so they will know better. Kumalo put all the blame for his family’s failures on himself just like typical people in society do today. There are many reasons that people feel like something is their fault. The simplest reason comes from just assuming.

            At the beginning of Cry, The Beloved Country, Kumalo was a very passionate and trustworthy person as he was leaving Ndotsheni, his hometown. He set the example of a humble man that had full faith in God. His was basically devoted to God because he became a priest. As Kumalo stayed in Johannesburg his personality began to change. He said, “It seems God has turned from me.” The more he went through, the more he started losing his faith in God. As he lost his faith, Kumalo’s personality grew into a very tired and empty person.

            Stephen Kumalo encountered a substantial amount of encounters with his family in Johannesburg. On Kumalo’s journey he had no idea that there would be so much disappointment and pain caused by his family. I believe this attribute is what makes up Kumalo’s personality after he left his home. It changes his way of life and the way he sees his life. For one, his sister has been selling liquor, been in prison multiple times and has become a prostitute. As high classed as Kumalo is, he was ashamed of his sister and the image she was giving off to him. John Kumalo, Stephen’s brother, also disappointed him. John betrayed his brother when Absalom, Stephen’s son, was charged with murder. Absalom claimed he was not the only one in the house when the man was killed. He said John’s son was with him. “He seems to think, then he says to his brother, you see, my brother, there is no proof that my son or this other young man was there at all. Yes, John Kumalo smiles at that, he seems quite recovered. –Not there at all? But my son- Yes, yes John interrupts him, and smiles at him. Who will believe your son?” These words from John reveal who he is as a person and as an untrue family member. Instead of being there comforting Stephen, John is being selfish and thinking of a scheme to keep his son from doing any prison time.

            This experience has had a humongous effect on Stephen Kumalo. It has made him realize he cannot blame himself for his son’s actions because everyone is accountable for their own actions. Absalom chose the path he wanted to go down in life and he had to deal with consequences. Kumalo may not know, but he was a great father although the outcome for Absalom showed otherwise. It also changed him by seeing that your family is not always loyal or real even though you expect them to be.