Cry, the beloved country

  
           In the novel Cry, The Beloved Country, Kumalo is a good description of a round character. A dynamic, or round, character is a major character in a work of fiction that encounters conflict and is changed by it. Kumalo goes through continuous changes throughout the book, good changes, bad changes, and life changing conflicts. All through his experience, he has both positive and negative attributes to his personality. How has Stephen Kumalos experiences affected him and make him into the character he is now? His experiences affected him by challenging his faith in God and making him a smarter man by seeing how others live and what their life is like.


Stephen kumalo is a major character in cry, the beloved country. He is a sweet priest with a strong faith in God and a caring heart. Kumalo is a quiet, humble man who mostly stays to himself. Kumalo and his wife are well kept with a nice house in a quiet village of umzimkulu that speaks the language of zulu in Africa, however they still struggle to save money for his wife a new stove and him new clothing.  Kumalo is not perfect; therefore he prays to god daily and repents when he lashes out unfairly.

As the novel begins kumalo takes his first journey to Johannesburg looking for his family. Kumalo is a simple man who is not prepared for the menacing drama that takes place in the city, as a angelic priest kumalo is easly tricked by putting trust into those who say they will help him. Kumalo learns quickly of the harsh ways in Johannesburg but as he's still learning it greatly hurts him emotionally and physically to hear about his son and sick sister as he is now a weak man.

Kumalo went to Johannesburg blind to everything that was going on around him, coming from a sweet homeland, Kumalo had no idea. But as he goes through life situations he slowly gains knowledge about the dirty life. Kumalo does not turn bitter and mean but however he does sometime speak out but always asked God for forgiveness. The only way Kumalo changed was by becoming smarter and proving his faith in God. He is a wonderful character and enjoyable to read about.