Mark Mathabane, Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton and The Making of Modern South Africa by Nigel Worden. Both the books and the following discussions were a great introduction to the culture and history of South Africa. In the novels, Kaffir Boy and Cry, the Beloved Country there were reoccurring themes of custom, family, conflict, inequality, and hope. I felt, although these books were written in 1986 and 1948, they could still occur today. The shacks that Mathabane writes about, still exist. Trash continues to be a problem. The fight to rise from poverty and despair are seen every day. Similarly, from Paton’s novel, young people still lose their way. They try to get an education and then have to drop out. They might finish their education, but not find work.
The book, Making of the Modern South Africa, helps to tie these two books together. It gives context by explaining the history from precolonial, colonial, postcolonial, pre-apartheid and post-apartheid time periods. It explained what was going on both economically and politically. Ultimately, all three books deal with one group of people’s quest to maintain power by laws and social structure. And although, some things have changed, others remain the same.
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