"The Twelve" and the Bolshevik Revolution

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Major Theme

Alan Paton expresses many themes in his novel, Cry, the Beloved Country. One theme especially made itself perceptible to me. Alan Paton’s most prominent theme in his book is Religion. The theme is very evident in Book I of Paton’s novel throughout the entire section of the book. It’s expressed by the way the main character of the section acts, how he struggles to understand what’s happening with the younger generations, and also by the decisions he makes about his family.

 The main character in Book I, Steven Kumalo, is a religious leader of the local church in his village. He receives a letter from another pastor from Johannesburg telling him that his younger sister, Gertrude, is very sick. Kumalo packs and makes his way to Johannesburg to help his lost sister; he also goes in hopes he’ll find his son and brother whom he hasn’t heard from in years. He meets many people throughout his journey, and a lot of the people he meets use the terms, “umfundisi” which implies respect, and “man of God,” indicating Kumalo’s reverential status. Kumalo keeps his faith in mind throughout Book I and his search for his family members.

Before Steven Kumalo makes it to Johannesburg he comes face to face with the crime that is developing throughout the place by getting robbed. As he continues his search for his lost family members, he finds his brother, John Kumalo, who has become a politician who believes that “… what God has not done for South Africa, man must do…” (pg. 55). As a man of faith, this strikes Steven Kumalo in a very tender part of his heart. Steven Kumalo also finds his sister, Gertrude, who has become a prostitute with “many husbands.” He convinces her to repent and come back home with him. Also, Kumalo finds his son, Absalom, who has been imprisoned for murdering a white man. The news brought grief to Kumalo’s heart and caused him to briefly question the faith he had in his God. But he quickly recovers his faith.

Alan Paton makes the theme of Religion relevant in Book I of his novel, Cry, the Beloved Country, by the main character’s decisions that he bases on his faith. When Steven Kumalo finds his sister, Gertrude, to be a prostitute, he tells her on page 61 that, “God forgives us…,” In chapter 16, Kumalo asks the girl from Pimville- who is pregnant by his son- to promise him that she will have no more “husbands” and that “if [she] should ever repent from [their] plan… [she] must not shut it up inside [her], or run away…” The girl promised and Kumalo agreed to let her live with his family. This was quite the decision for him to make. Kumalo made this decision off of his faith and love for his son and family.

In conclusion, Alan Paton expresses the theme of Religion in Book I of his novel, Cry, the Beloved Country. He gives the main character, Steven Kumalo, an intense faith as he is a religious leader of the church in his village. Kumalo makes very difficult decisions on his trip to Johannesburg. His faith is also challenged during his trip to Johannesburg. However, Kumalo stands steady on his faith in God and he works toward bringing his family back together.

Worth Fighting For

When I was in the eighth grade I was clinically depressed. My mother didn't believe in using medication to help things that should be natural, so I was on my own. Leading up to the semester that changed the way I look at the world.

The first week back from Christmas break in my eighth grade year was when it all started. I didn't want to do anything. I didn't see happiness anywhere I looked. I felt as if I was falling in a dark abyss that never seemed to end. No one noticed really until it got out of control. I never slept, never ate, and I never interacted with anybody. By this time all things seemed hopeless to me.

By the time my mother realized what was going on with me it was almost too late. I was numb, nothing seemed worth it anymore, and I just wanted to die. So I said, "Why not?" My parents still don't know about that last part, but I have a feeling my brother knew. My parents only noticed my loss of appetite and my loss of interest in things I used to love. My mother took me to the doctor and he told my mom to watch out for depression veering its ugly tentacle towards my mind. My mother, being the Southern Baptist she was raised to be, told me that I just had to read my bible and pray even more. I tried, I really did, but it just didn't do the trick. In fact, my depression got worse over time.

By the time spring break was near, my attempts to ease the numbness were getting hard to hide. I'm confident that my brother had an idea of what was going on because during this time he didn't insult me or tease me like he used to. My best friend knew, and she knew that I knew about her knowing. Finally she decided I couldn't fight it by myself and that my mother wasn't going to help any. So she started her plan to get me out of my dark cloud.

Every time she greeted me she would compliment me, then she'd talk about plans for later in the week or something of that sorts, and she'd invite me to them every time. She'd make sure I was getting involved with people and making new friends. I thank her every day for what she's done for me.

Grandma's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

•  2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cups brown sugar
• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 sticks sweet unsalted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 bag chocolate chip cookies

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the flour, salt, and baking soda into a small bowl and set aside. Mix the brown sugar, and granulated sugar into a larger bowl. Pour the vanilla extract into the bowl of various sugars. The smell of vanilla always reminds me of sitting in my grandma's kitchen in Concord, Arkansas mixing the ingredients together for her famous chocolate chip cookies. We would always laugh together about the news she kept blaring from the living room. Being five years old at the time, I never really knew what was happening, but I never cared. All I cared about was making the cookies and spending time with Grandma.

After you pour in the vanilla extract into the bowl of brown and granulated sugar, soften the two sticks of butter and pour them in with the vanilla. Beat the mixture until it becomes creamy. I would always dance to the sound of the beater, making up the silliest song I could while spinning and jumping just like the electric mixer. Once the mixture was creamy enough Grandma would join in making it even sillier, sending me into fits of uncontrolled laughter.

Once the mixture is creamy, break the eggs and mix them into the bowl evenly. Once the mixture is mixed evenly begin to mix in the flour, salt, and baking soda slowly. This time Grandma decided to let me pour the bowl of dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients. I was so excited I poured it all in at once. All of the dry ingredients made it nearly impossible to mix with the dry ingredients, so Grandma had to stir it by hand. My mother still asks if thats what I'm doing whenever I make the cookies.

After the dry ingredients are mixed evenly with the wet ingredients all that's left is the chocolate chips. Mix the chocolate chips in the same way as the rest of the ingredients. Once the chocolate chips are mixed in its time to begin putting the dough on the pan to bake.

Take a small amount of cookie dough from the bowl and form it into a ball. Be sure to account for the fact that the cookies will flatten and expand outwards. Grandma always used two spoons to get each cookie about the same size. I remember sitting at the little round breakfast table in the kitchen with a baking sheet almost as tall as me with two spoons.

Grandma was trying to teach me how to get the right size. "Do it like this Chickadee," she would say with a warm smile while demonstrating the correct spoon technique. I never really paid attention, and I always got too much or too little. Grandma would just laugh and say, "That one's mine then," or, "We'll give that tiny one to your brother." It always made me feel better about messing it up.

Grandma would always tell me I could take a little cookie dough out of the bowl and eat it, but my mother never approved.

"The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World"

Gabriel Garcia Marquez's story, "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World," is a story about a drowned man that washed onto the shores of a village that thought he was so handsome that they practically worshiped him. Marquez wrote this story very well, using imagery to keep the story entertaining. This helps the story flow through. It also helps the reader keep up with what is going on.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez's story is about a drowned man who washed onto the shore of a small village. He weighed "almost as much as a horse," and he was so tall that "there was barely enough room for him in the house." The men went to neighboring villages to see if he belonged to any of them while the women stayed to clean him up and dress him. After they cleaned his face they saw how handsome he was and gave him the name Esteban. He was so handsome that the women sobbed over him as if he was one of their own, and they covered him in flowers and holy relics. Before they sent him back to the sea the villagers picked out two people to act as his parents and a few to act as his aunts and uncles.

One way Marquez catches your attention in the story is through imagery. Marquez creates the scene of the "dark and slinky bulge," that washes onto the shore of the. The author also did well in describing the height and weight of the stranger given the name Esteban. Marquez's wording when describing what the women saw in the stranger's face and his body, "They thought that he would have had so much authority that he could have drawn fish out of the sea simply by calling their names..." Marquez uses the wording in such a way that the images flow together perfectly.

In conclusion, "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World," is a story about a handsome drowned man that washed onto a village's shore, and he was so handsome that the entire village fell in love with him. The author captured the imagery of the small village and the tall, heavy, and handsome stranger so well that it all flowed together nearly perfect.

"How They Croaked" Cleopatra

Many people believe Cleopatra, the famed Egyptian queen, to have died from a snakebite to the chest as Shakespeare wrote it in Antony and Cleopatra. That is not the case. Georgia Bragg's book, How They Croaked, shows that Cleopatra did not die from a snakebite to the chest, but a poisoned hairpin prick to the arm! Georgia Bragg tells how it happened, why it happened, and still keeps a somewhat casual attitude as she gives you all of the details and background stories.

Cleopatra had fallen in love with Mark Antony, and they were secretly married. Years after the Romans, led by Octavian, waged war on them. Antony and Cleopatra decided to split up to survive, and Cleopatra hurried home to gather all of her valuable treasures and put them in a mausoleum in the royal cemetery. She then took her hairdresser and her lady-in-waiting and locked all of them and herself in the mausoleum with enough kindling to burn it to the ground if needed. Antony got word that Cleopatra was dead, so he stabbed himself in the stomach, but soon after he got word that Cleopatra was not dead. So he went to Cleopatra and he died in her arms. After that Cleopatra was captured and put on "palace arrest." She sent a request to be buried next to Antony, and by the time the soldiers got there she and her two maids were dead with no proof but two pinpricks from a poisoned hairpin.

Throughout the telling of the death of the two lovers, Bragg keeps an upbeat attitude. She keeps the reader interested by adding her own fun facts at the end of an article, and she uses a more casual wording. For example, when Bragg describes Cleopatra she uses words like, "glitzy," and "bling." So the reader stays interested throughout the entire book and not just one article.

In conclusion, Georgia Bragg's book How They Croaked gives some very interesting facts about how a famous person in history died. Bragg's writing style keeps the reader interested by inserting fun facts and by keeping the mood upbeat and somewhat casual. By doing this, the book becomes a more fun read than expected.

Annonated Photo

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