Max Dalton
Carroll
A-2
1-29-14
Cry The Beloved Country Paragraph
In Cry the Beloved Country, Alan Paton presents the idea that holiness can be tainted by abuse and neglect. When the author is describing the hill, he says that it is lovely beyond “any singing of it” and when describing the valley below, it is said that it “stands desolate.” While people in the hills find the hill sacred, they don't find the valley below holy. They take care and allow the hill to grow and they do whatever they want to the valley. Man destroys land because the land is not considered holy while the holy land is taken care of. When Alan is describing the holy hill, he says you need to "keep it, guard it" so it can keep you and guard you. The men in the valley didn't keep it and guard it so it can't "keep men, guard men." The cause and effect of man keeping the land holy or not produces a huge contrast. People caring about things they own will eventually pay off for them, while people who take advantage of the things they own will face consequences. The contrast of these two items reinforces the punishment one will have if they do not care. Finally, Paton contrasts the holy hill and the tainted valley even by the way you must stand on it. On the hill, you must stand "unshod upon it" while the valley you must stand "shod upon it" because it is so coarse and sharp. The position of these presents the idea that the land is so different that you even have to stand differently because the valley's