Book 2 English Commentary

In Book 2, we get a glimpse of the writings that Arthur Jarvis wrote when his father discovers them in Arthur's house. In some letters he speaks about his admiration for Abraham Lincoln and how he freed the slaves in America. Another of Arthur's writings talks about how his parents raised him well though they never discussed with him the history of South Africa and he was disappointed about that. I think Alan Paton uses Arthur's writings to give us a glimpse on Arthur's character. Paton uses these letters to give the readers an insight on the mind of Arthur because we never really got to know him. The letters tell us that Arthur is an insightful and smart young man who wishes to see the end of apartheid in South Africa.

Chapters 18-20 Commentary

Chapters 18-20 are the first three chapters of Book II in Cry, The Beloved Country. Book II takes place from the perspective of James Jarvis, whose son is killed during this chapter. We are able to see his reaction to the killing firsthand. Mr. Jarvis and his wife are extremely distraught by the murder and struggle to find reasoning for the crime. I assume that the rest of Book II continues to focus on James Jarvis and I hypothesize that it will focus on the native crime and what must be done to stop it. I believe this because James Jarvis was directly affected by the native crime and it would be plausible for him to want to put an end to it after his own son was killed. It would be logical for James to carry on the mission of his son in trying to stop the crime that is constantly committed by the natives.