Non-fiction / The Contrasting Stories of Job and Stephen Kumalo
English 112
Thursday, December 8, 2005
The Contrasting Stories of Job and Stephen Kumalo
Many people have made comparisons between Stephen Kumalo, the main character from the book “Cry, The Beloved Country”, and the biblical character Job. Jane Marshall writes in her curriculum unit “The Family and Identity” that “Kumalo has also been likened to Job, for like Job, Stephen finds his faith tested time and time again.”(Marshall) While there are similarities that exist between the themes of story of Job, and “Cry, The Beloved Country”, such as suffering, inequity and injustice, there are also a substantial number of differences that heavily outweigh any similarities. Not only are the main characters themselves very different in nature, but the terrible situations they experience, the way they react to their situations, the support they get from others, the type of inequity and injustice, and the resolution of the inequity and injustice are very different. Therefore, it is better to make contrasts instead of comparisons between Job and Stephen Kumalo, and their stories.
While there are some similarities that exist between Job and Kumalo, they differ greatly in their nature. Both are men of faith, and believe that the Devine one has some control over what happens, and provides a sense of order to the world. However, for men of faith this should be viewed as a Social Fact, “Emile Durkheim’s term for patterned ways of acting, thinking, and feeling that exist outside any one individual but that exert social control over each person” (qtd. in Weiten 13), as opposed to a similarity in their personalities. There seems to be a substantial difference between Job and Kumalo when considering their “Locus of Control”, “a personality trait involving a generalized expectancy that people hold regarding the degree to which they control of their fate.” (qtd. in Weiten 102)
Stephen Kumalo seems to have an external locus of control, and doesn’t seem to believe that he has much control of his life and his destiny. It is not until he receives a letter requesting him to come to Johannesburg, and his wife pressures him to go, that he ventures out to discover what happened to his family members that disappeared in Johannesburg. Kumalo states during the conversation with his wife “I do not hurt myself, it is they who are hurting me.”(39) Later in the story while Kumalo waits for the train at Carisbrooke he thinks of “the wife of Mpanza of Ndotsheni” when she “saw her son Michael killed in the street.” “He stepped out into danger, but she was hesitant” and “the great lorry crushed the life out of her son.”(p42) Statements and thoughts like these seem to express his frustration and sense of lack of control in his life. The argument could be made that his reluctance to act is partially because of a condition of “Learned Helplessness”, “A syndrome described by Seligman involving passive behavior produced by prolonged exposure to unavailable aversive events,”(qtd. in Weiten 163) that is a result of life long repression from the racial inequality and injustice that exists in South Africa. However, both psychological models are simply an attempt to explain Stephen’s apparent helplessness and insecurity, and the fact that he seems to need encouragement to act.
Job seems to have a more of an internal locus of control, believing that he can control his future and surroundings. This can be seen when Job offers sacrifices for his children to prevent any divine punishment to them for the guilt that they may have brought upon themselves. (Tanakh, Job 1.5) When Job defends himself from the accusations of his three friends he says “If I have withheld aught that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail; Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof. . . The stranger did not lodge in the street; my doors I opened to the roadside.” (Tanakh, Job 31.16 – 32) His deeds of social action that he references indicate that he feels empowered to remedy the misfortunes of others as well as his own misfortunes.
The friends and family that interact with Kumalo are very different from the friends and family that interact with Job. Kumalo’s wife is almost always very supportive of him, and makes great efforts accommodate his needs, even at the expense of her own needs. When the time for their son’s execution approaches, “Kumalo said to his wife, I am going up into the mountain. And she said, I understand you.”(305) The mountain was a place of refuge for Kumalo that he had visited before for solitude and reflection. This is a great sacrifice on her part since, not only is it her son that is being executed, but Kumalo is leaving her alone to deal with their new daughter in law who is nearing time to give birth to their grandchild. From the time the letter is sent to Kumalo, to the point he goes up to the mountain, Kumalo’s new friends, such as Msimangu and Father Vincent, go out of their way to help him find and help his lost sister and son. This is a sharp contrast to the way Job’s Wife and friends treat him.
Job’s wife and friends act very differently when they deal with him. Job’s wife, experiences every loss that he does, except she keeps her health and is not plagued with sores, and disease. While Job is suffering from his health problems, she attacks him saying “Dost thou still hold fast thine integrity? blaspheme God, and die.” (Tanakh, Job 2.9) Three of Job’s friends come to mourn with him, but after the seven days of mourning are completed they constantly oppose him. Job initially expresses his grief, the sentiment that the good can suffer, and his desire to die. Eliphaz is the first to challenge Job stating “Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? Or where were the upright cut off? According as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow mischief, reap the same.”(Tanakh, Job 4. 7 – 8) Job’s three friends choose to defend the Almighty, and their belief that the Almighty only causes the unjust to suffer, as opposed to lending support to their friend Job, who has just lost everything. This is a sharp contrast to the way Kumalo’s Wife and friends treat him.
While both the story of “Job” and “Cry, The Beloved Country” have themes of suffering, inequity and injustice, the type of inequity and injustice expressed in each story is different. The theme of inequity and injustice in “Cry, The Beloved Country” is about racial inequality and injustice, in particular the prejudice, discrimination, and repression of the black in South Africa. The theme is about man repressing man based on differences in race. Although the white engineer, Arthur Jarvis, is murdered in the story, this is more an element of irony than a break from the theme since Arthur is a champion for justice and equality for the black South African, and his murderer is Absalom, the son of the main character, Reverend Stephen Kumalo.
The theme of suffering, inequality, and injustice that is evident in the story of Job is quite different from that in “Cry, The Beloved Country.” Job takes the stance that the wicked can prosper, and anyone can suffer greatly through no fault of their own, including the innocent, and the righteous. Job also implies that the Divine one may also be responsible for these occurrences at times. This can be seen when Job declares “I am as one that is a laughing-stock to his neighbour, a man that called upon God, and He answered him; the just, the innocent man is a laughing-stock,” and “The tents of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure, in whatsoever God bringeth into their hand.” (Tanakh, Job 12. 4 – 6) Job’s three friends defend their belief that the Almighty only causes the unjust to suffer, and that if a good person is suffering it is only because they have sinned some how, whether they know it or not. Job’s friends also maintain that wicked can prosper only for a period time, and that they will eventually be punished. This theme of suffering, inequality, and injustice differs greatly from that in Kumalo’s story.
There are differences in the resolutions that occur in “Cry, the Beloved Country” and the story of Job. The story “Cry, The Beloved Country” seems to indicate that there is hope for the future. Although Kumalo’s son is sentenced to death, and his sister disappears again, at the end of the story he returns to Ndotsheni with his daughter in law, who is getting ready to give birth to his grandchild, and nephew. The town of Ndotsheni is starting to prosper, and become self sufficient due to the contributions of James Jarvis. The story ends in the dark of morning with Kumalo on the mountain, that he goes to for solitude and reflection, looking to the east as the light of dawn start to emerge. The light from the rising sun seems to indicate that things will be getting better in the approaching future, and that there is hope that the advocates for racial equality in South Africa will make progress.
While Job may have more children, and be prosperous once again, the resolution of the theme of suffering, inequality, and injustice differs greatly from that in Kumalo’s story. The Divine settles the conflict between Job and his friends, and declares “My servant Job shall pray for you; for him will I accept, that I do not unto you aught unseemly; for ye have not spoken of Me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.“(Tanakh, Job 42.8) The reference “the thing that is right” “must be to the theories they put forth in regard to God’s providence and the meaning of afflictions. On this point the friends spoke in regard to God what was not right, while Job spoke that which was right.”(qtd. in Cohen 220) Therefore, innocent people will continue to be included among those who suffer, while unjust people will continue to be part of the group that prospers. This resolution differs greatly from that in “Cry, The Beloved Country” where there is hope for a more equality and justice.
While there are similarities that exist between the themes of story of Job, and “Cry, The Beloved Country”, the differences heavily outweigh them. Not only are Job and Kumalo very different in nature, but their experiences, and social support from their family differ as well. The themes of inequity and injustice, and their resolutions also stand in contrast. Therefore, it is better to make contrasts instead of comparisons between Job and Stephen Kumalo, and their stories.
Works Cited
Rev Dr A Cohen, ed. Job The Soncino Books of the Bible. New York: The Soncino Press, 1978.
Marshall, Jane K. “The Family and Identity” The Family in Literature Vol. 1. 1986
Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. 3 Dec. 2005
Paton, Alan. Cry, The Beloved Country. New York: Scribner, 2003.
Tanakh: The New JPS Translation. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 2003.
Weiten, Wayne. Psychology Applied to Modern Life Adjustment in the 80s. 4th ed. Ed. Claire
Verduin. Monterey: Brooks/Cole, 1986.
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I write notes as I read, so here you go:
-empty thesis statement
First paragraph is very fluffy!!
“Not only are the main characters themselves very different in nature, but the terrible situations they experience, the way they react to their situations, the support they get from others, the type of inequity and injustice, and the resolution of the inequity and injustice are very different.” (The statement is wordy and requires too many re-reads)
improper internal citations – were you required to use APA OR MLA?
middle level diction – I’d elevate the vocabulary by choosing more specific verbs and less pedestrian jargon.
When discussing theme, you should include the topic of the theme AND the author’s opinion/comment and/or message about it. You write, “The theme of suffering, inequality, and injustice…” This is another empty statement!
It is difficult to evaluate this paper because when the thesis of any paper/essay is weak, the paper will be weak. I also am not sure if the content of what you are writing is correct, so I do apologize for not offering accolades on that aspect.
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