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Cry The Beloved Country

In the book Cry The Beloved Country, Stephen Kumalo, portraits as a dynamic, round character. Stephen Kumalo, a priest from Ndotsheni, goes in search for his sister and son at the popular city, Johannesburg. He finds his sister living in the wrong neighborhood and then searches for his son. To his bewilderment he finds his son in jail arrested for murder of a well known white man. During his journey to find his son, he reveals his good and bad qualities and labels himself as a round, dynamic character.

Stephen Kumalo plays a realistic role in this book. Kumalo lives just like a regular person would live and tackles problems just like others. He falls into a situation and finds a scapegoat to blame on. In the book when Kumalo finds out his son is in jail he cannot keep himself in a stable state because he is not emotionally strong. While talking to Father Vincent he says, “It seems that God has turned from me.” In this part Kumalo detaches himself from everything and cannot pray to God. A regular person would probably react the same just as Kumalo did. Kumalo justifies as a round character because he reacts to situations the same way as we do.

Kumalo is not a perfect character like one expects for a priest. He is like a normal person and defines his character as very realistic. He is similar to people today and lives the same way. Not only does Kumalo live in the same way, but he also behaves in a similar manner as a realistic person would do. Kumalo sometimes intentionally likes to hurt people and give them pain just as a normal person. When Kumalo goes to see the girl who Absalom loves, he gets the feeling of hurting the girl. “A wish to hurt her came into him.” Maybe not knowingly, but kumalo did have the thought to hurt someone. He clarifies himself as a round character by behaving realistically.

Kumalo being a round character, shows his good and bad qualities that he posses. He is humble gentle man with moral values and does not give up hope. Throughout the novel  Msimangu, a fellow priest, and Stephen Kumalo go in search for Absalom Kumalo. Everywhere they go they find no hope. Even with these circumstances Stephen Kumalo does not give up. He goes on and on looking for his son even if he is nowhere to be found. Although this is a good quality of Kumalo, it also turns to be his bad quality. When Kumalo finds out his son is in jail, he is heartbroken. He gives up hope in god and says “There is no prayer left in me.” Kumalo behaves in a realistic manner in this way because he loses his power of believing in something.

Because Kumalo is a realistic character, this effects his life choices and changes him as a person. Kumalo behaves realistically which means all his actions have a reaction on him. After Kumalo goes to his son’s to be wife and talks to her rudely, he feels bad for what he said and feels uncomfortable. This changes him as a person because he responds in a gloomy way. Stephen Kumalo is a very round,dynamic character in the book.

"California Girls are unforgettable. Daisy duke bikinies on top"

    The cold frosty air chiseled my face with its gentle touch. The A/C was blasting on me making my face pink. I wasn’t used to cold weather. It always bothered me to have the breeze making its way through along my hair and stinging my ears at the point where it became numb. I reached over and turned of the A/C vent and exhaled. The buzzer went off and the amiable voice of the pilot came on.

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen. We will be landing in 30 minutes. It is currently 92 degrees in Los Angeles and please buckle up”

“Oh my! It’s a sizzling 92 degrees out here. Gee! L.A is never going to get cold.”

    I could hear my mom screaming from her bedroom. I honestly did not even care because I didn’t even know what “92 degrees” meant. It was all Greek to me. I still could not reach the remote which my mom kept on the mahogany table. I guess my five- year- old legs weren’t meant to reach up high. The only thing running around in my head was my favorite T.V show, Bob the Builder. My little fingers twinkled around the remote trying to grab hold on it. I stretched my feet as high as possible trying to leap forward and somehow grab  the remote. After a few minutes, my small feet got tired and gave up. My eyes flooded with tears breaking its way through my eye lids. I curled up in a ball and started mourning. Suddenly, my flirting eyes came across my mom's ostentatious shoes. Her shoes sparkled like a million stars in the sky. It's awkward shape had a pointed end on the front and a large stick on the bottom of the heel. I always laughed when I saw them because I thought my mommy wore them so she could be taller, but my dwarfish mind did not know any better. I went for my mom's shoes and slipped them on. When I came to the table to grab the remote my mom walked in.

"Oh my! Sweetheart what are you doing with mommy's shoes"

"Mommy, whenever you wear your shoes you magically turn tall. So, I wore them to turn magically tall"

My mom looked at me and cracked in laughter.

"Clank. Clank. Clank"

"Sweetheart. What are you wearing."

"OMG! Mom I am in seventh grade and they are just high heels."

    For some reason my mom doest not get that I am twelve and not a baby. The seventh grade party that I am going to is very important to me. Over their all girls wear high heels. What's the big deal? I hate this weather. Its always 92 degrees or hotter in L.A. I guess some things will never change.

"Ouch! Mom when are you going to change this stupid mahogany table of yours. What its been like ten years? I just tripped because of it"

    As I tripped and fell, I broke my high heels and sprained my ankle. Great this was just what I needed. I can't go to the best party ever because of my stupid sprain. Apparently I am stuck with my mother for the rest of the day. No cool girl would want to do that. It was so outdated to hang out with your mom.

    Later that day my mom made me hot chocolate to help soothe my leg. I didn’t know how that was going to help, but in her theory everything she did made sense.

“Hot chocolate. Eww! Mom give me coffee. I am an adult and I am to old for hot chocolate. It’s only for babies.”

    I did not like hot chocolate. It showed total weakness and it was only for whinnies. Adults drink coffee and I was an adult. I am to cool for hot chocolate.

“Sweetie what do you want to drink?”

“Ummm. I will have a glass of hot chocolate with two marshmallows.”

    The sound of that made my mouth water. Yummy, hot chocolate with marshmallows. I felt that life has more bounties to offer than we see. With the cup of hot chocolate covering me with its warmth and the pleasant smell of the air shifting its way through, I scanned the neighborhood searching for something different. I let out a sigh. I was finally 13 and in a few days I will be 14. Time flies by so fast and there is nothing you can do. You are either the person standing and waiting for a miracle or you are the person who is doing the miracle. The hot chocolate still fresh in my hands burning it making it blister. Each gulp of hot chocolate scraped down my esophagus stinging and prickling it. I have never felt so calm and happy. Everything seemed so serene and the whole moment could not get any better. Right then, the patio door slammed open and my mom stepped out in her regular heels. My mom asked me to sit inside, but because of my snarky teenage attitude I obviously refused.

“Sweetheart are you serious its hot outside. For crying out loud its 92 degrees and you are drinking hot chocolate.”

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Our flight has landed and it is currently 92 degrees here in Los Angeles. Have a nice and safe visit. Thank you”

    Finally here. I grabbed my suitcase and shuffled my way through the crowd. I could not wait anymore. Summer break was finally over and I could finally see my mom. After the long break at grandparents house, I died to go back home. Usually they don’t let kids travel on their own, but I was 15. All grown and ready. I rushed out the gate and followed signs to find my way out. Yes, it was happening in a few seconds I would see my mom. I felt my legs speed up and almost felt like a terrorist running with a gun and being chased by airport security. My legs hit the escalator. As the escalator got lower, the better my view became. I could finally see people waiting with signs in their hands, I could see people with big smiles about to explode in happiness, I could see my mom. I could see my mom right there with her teeth shoving out of her mouth and her hands out almost embracing the air. Her bright gold sparkly shoes were as clear as the bright sky. I was finally there with her.

"Its a MONSTER. I repeat its a MONSTER."

      "Ahhh! A monsters coming no its an alien no its a monster. The outside is paperback and it has pages in it. Oh no! A BOOK IS CHASING ME!"- That's how I felt before I saw the beauty inside the book. If I go in flashback mode I can remember exactly how it all began. According to my mom, I hated books and books hated me. We both gave each other derisive looks and challenged each other for a duel. Books came at me wanting me to give in, but I stayed strong and hated books like I always do.

      I was in second grade when I actually started reading a book. I had a collection of more than 100 books in my bedroom. I used to make my mom buy books for me so I can make paper airplanes out of them. Out of all the hundred books almost all of them had no pages because I used them to make my paper airplanes. My mom found out about this when she was looking for her car keys. She looked all around the house till she entered my room. My room was covered with scattered paper air planes. It was more like a museum exhibit than my room. My mom was incensed when she saw this and grounded me for three days.

      After three days, my mom made me join the "Mommy and Daughter" classes. I remember when I first entered that class I saw that all the mothers were there with their little toddler babies. I gave my mom a disdainful look and she just smiled back at me knowing how angry I was. I was the oldest mature person out of all the little toddlers. Even the instructor laughed at me. The instructor made me and my mom read The Captain Underpants book together. I looked at the title and started to laugh. The instructor found this rude and gave me and my mom a dictionary instead. We had to read five pages each day and write the definition for each one for a week. By this time I was enraged at my mom.

   My mom set a deal with me. She said if I read a book more than 50 pages then she will stop the classes. Of course I chuckled at my mom's ludicrousness. Apparently it was not funny to her and she made me clean the dishes for laughing. Because of my rebellious attitude, I refused to read a book and had to pay for it by cleaning every little thing my mom found for me to clean

   After two weeks of rough and dry hands, I finally decided to read a book. My first book that I sincerely picked up was The Main Street series. I read the first 20 pages and instantly fell in love with it. I started reading more than I ate. Books became a major part of my life. Thanks to my over obsessive mom I learned how to read.

"I'm not crazy. I'm better"

I am a complicated person with desires.

I wonder how long I can hold my breath till I faint.

I hear my mom yelling at me all the time.

I see stars in the morning.
I picture myself as the next Bill Gates.

I want to jump of a plane. (with a parachute)

 

I am a complicated person with desires.

I pretend that I am the only person in the world.

I feel like it's the end of the world.

I pinch myself everyday and realize it was just a dream.

I worry if I will ever win in the game of Life.

I cry when i cannot please everyone.
I have a fear of babies. 

 

I am a complicated person with desires.

I  finally understand that 2+2=fish.

I say YOLO all the time.

I dream that my dreams are not a fantasy but a reality.

I try to act as if nothing is wrong.

I hope that one day Channing Tatum will appear at my doorstep.
I believe that one day aliens will come and make me their queen.

I am a complicated person with desires.

It' simple.

YOU BIG BULLY

          "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" is a humorous short story about an angel who appears at the doorstep of Pelayo  and Elisenda. When we hear the word “angel” we usually refer to a beautiful man with pulchritudinous wings and light glowing out of him. To our bewilderment the angel is covered in lice and all most looks like he came from a garbage can.

          When the people, in the story, find out about the appearance of an angel, they are delighted. They first put the angel in a cage and treat him worse than an animal. It really amazes me how selfish people can be. It's really funny how ridiculous we all are. The angel had a lot of patience till the end he flew away. If we take the angel as a good example it will be best. Like the angel people get bullied so much that at the end they have no option but to end their own life.

          People bully others to the limit. Just like in the story how the villagers bullied the angel. We humans do that to, but in different manners. People bully others just for their satisfaction. I have seen many cases in high school like this. The “One Boy’s Story” is one example of a bullying case. The more you bully someone the more heartbroken they feel and they start hating themselves. We all are guilty in bullying someone or witnessing it happen and not do anything.  

          You are going nowhere if you are bullying someone. It actually fascinates me how much people can push it. Make a stop to it or else someone else will. There is no satisfaction in bullying someone or being mean to them. Only a stupid person would make a ludicrous move of bullying. Bullying needs to stop NOW. We all are humans and we need to be treated the same way.