A Look at James Jarvis, From ​
Cry the Beloved Country
Andrew Parkin Honors English 4B
Final Draft September 24, 2014
In the novel ​
Cry the Beloved Country ​
by Alan Paton, James Jarvis transforms himself from being a self­concerned man, who only puts great thought into himself and his family, into a man who is giving and caring for all the people of Africa, regardless of their cultural, ethnic, or economic background. Jarvis becomes a man who gives freely of almost all he possesses after losing his son and wife. The beneficiaries of Jarvis’s giving are the people of Ndotsheni, especially Reverend Stephen Kumalo. The people graciously receive his gifts and help, which allow them to continue to farm their land; however, Jarvis would not have given up so much without experiencing the death of his son and meeting Stephen Kumalo. Jarvis’s relationship and understanding of Stephen Kumalo, understanding of his son, Arthur, and Jarvis’s charity to the people of Ndotsheni, transformed Jarvis into a giving and charitable character to all people.
The character who contributed the largest amount to the transformation of James Jarvis is his murdered son Arthur Jarvis. Arthur was murdered by a trio of native boys who were robbing the house, the loss of his son causes James Jarvis to look through the possessions and writings of his son which has great effects on the way that James Jarvis thinks about the way he affects the natives and the way they affect him. Before Arthur’s death James Jarvis knew very little about Arthur, for a son. On many occasions it is evident that Jarvis does not really know his son as well as he thought he did, for instance “Jarvis filled his pipe slowly, and listened to this tale of 1 Parkin
his son, to this tale of a stranger,” (172) this quote shows how Jarvis knew and loved his son; however, he did not know what he actually did most of his life and why he did it. An example of this is the boys’ club Arthur planned to set up. James Jarvis knew that Arthur had plans for this, but he did not know why Arthur cared about the natives or felt any responsibility or obligation to them. The example that Arthur sets for James Jarvis makes Jarvis see the causes of native crime and destruction of culture as at least partially his fault. His recognition of this leads him to give away much of his money to people who need it such as the boys’ club and the people of Ndotsheni. Another character who influenced James Jarvis’s life was Stephen Kumalo.
Growing to understand Reverend Stephen Kumalo challenges James Jarvis to not judge Kumalo because of what his son did. Kumalo’s son killed Jarvis’s son, Arthur, and Jarvis does not judge Kumalo for what his son did, or for what other members of Kumalo’s race did. In Chapter 25 Kumalo and Jarvis meet and speak to each other for one of the first times. Jarvis does not even recognize Kumalo as the Father of the man who murdered his son. When Kumalo tells him that his son killed Arthur, Jarvis must take a moment to compose himself, but he is not angry with Kumalo. This chapter shows how Jarvis does not become angry at Kumalo for what his son did, or for what a member of his race did. Jarvis grew to understand that the natives in South Africa all must work and deal with native crime. Jarvis is tempted to judge all the natives for what one man did, but he does not. When Jarvis overcomes this stereotype he becomes more charitable to the native South Africans. Jarvis and Kumalo also have a series of encounters and conversations, whether in person or by letter, which brings them to understand one another better. This series includes their encounter on the mountain, Kumalo’s letter to Jarvis about his 2 Parkin
deceased wife, and many encounters between Kumalo and Jarvis’s grandson. On the mountain Jarvis and Kumalo, among other things, talk about Jarvis’s grandson and about Absalom, who is to be executed the following morning. This shows that they have become close to each other and also that they have an understanding of each other which impacts both Jarvis and Kumalo greatly.
Jarvis also did not know the people of Ndotsheni, he was ignorant to their problems and he became a charitable person by helping the people of Ndotsheni. In the village of Ndotsheni, the people do not know how to farm or care for the land. They are frequently overcome with drought and many of their youth move to Johannesburg in search of work, but most become involved in crime. The people of Ndotsheni have an uncertain future. At the beginning of Book II Jarvis is indifferent about the famine and the decline of surplus food storage in Ndotsheni. He does not hate the natives, he simply thought they were “ignorant, and knew nothing about farming methods.” Through Arthur, Jarvis grew to care for, and to feel a responsibility to the people Ndotsheni. This can be seen through his gifts of milk, the instructor, who was to teach the people farming methods, the new church he paid for and the dam he arranged to be built. Jarvis grew to want to help the natives and to show them how to farm. He changed himself in the process of changing the future of Ndotsheni.
James Jarvis’s compassion, caring and charity came from his understanding of his son after he was killed, his relationship with Stephen Kumalo and his charity to the people of Ndotsheni. Jarvis became a caring man who gave up much of what he owned for others. Jarvis 3 Parkin
was able to see past himself and his family, which allowed him to help many people from the City of Johannesburg, to the valley of Ndotsheni. Through the death of his son he realized that he has a widespread impact on the people of South Africa, and how he could change the lives of the people Ndotsheni forever.
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