Read chapters 18-23 of Alan Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country and write/post a journal: Identify and explain something James Jarvis learns about his son.

-- Anonymous, February 23, 2005

Answers

Can We Say First?............................... Something James learned about his son was that he was called a missionary, pg. 174. This was unexpected because Jarvis did not think of his son as a missionary, and Jarvis did not think much of missionaries anyway. Jarvis didn’t see the point in missionaries, hence the shock of his son being called a missionary.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2005

One thing that Jarvis learned was that his son was a very intellectual/smart person. With all the bookcases and information about Abraham Lincoln, he realizes how knowledgable his son was. Also he found he was a good writer, being captivated by a mere few pages.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2005

And I thought I would be first. Alas . . .

James Jarvis learns post the death of his son, Arthur, that, just to refine Sean's statement, Arthur had not only exceptional ideas but was also able to effectively communicate them through exceptional writing. The narration of Mr. J. Jarvis senior states that he never really paid much attention to either words or ideas, as evidenced by, " . . . for he had given little time in his life to the savouring and judging of words" (page 188). This combined with the fact that Jarvis senior is a farmer on inherited land suggests that James was not very well educated. This makes the fact that Arthur became so incredibly successful even more amazing because Arthur came from such modest roots. Too bad he was shot, though. So much for South Africa.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2005

One thing that Jarvis learned was that the native people were talking about "getting him to stand at the next election" (pg. 172) He didn't know that his son spoke out about many subjects such as the comound system in the Mines. Jarvis did not know any of this about his son so he listened intently. He listened "to this tale of a stranger."

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2005

Something that James Jarvis learned about his son was that he had taken very proactive actions for his beliefs. James Jarvis had known the opinions of his son, but he never knew that his son had actually done something major about them. Another thing that Mr. Jarvis learned was that there were those who wanted his son "to go slow a bit", or in other terms, to stop pushing for so many reforms that could put them out of business. This may hint at an actual plan to murder Arthur.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2005

There is one main thing that James Jarvis learned about his son Arthur. He learned that Arthur was a very intelligent person that had many opinions. What James notices that he never sees before is that Arthur expresses his opinions in many ways such as through his writing. I also think that Chris makes a good point in saying there were people who wanted Arthur to not push for so many reforms in fear they would lose their businesses.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2005

One fairly important thing that James Jarvis learns about his son is not only that he is well- informed, intelligent, and interesting, but that he can convey it incredibly well. He can get his message across to people who do not even agree remotely with his point and make them understand his reasoning and show them where he is coming from. As Harrison says on page 185, (Chapter 21) "I didn't agree with him... but I had great respect for anything that he said."

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2005

Something that James Jarvis learned about his son was that he was incredibley generous. There are always going to be leaders but more often than not those leaders will be getting more than just love respect from the people and self gratification. Arthur just offered so much to the community, like being president of the African Boys Club and participating in a lot of other things that go unnoticed. James realized, when he feels is too late, what a selfless person he had raised.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2005

When James Jarvis comes to Johannesburg upon the death of his son, he discovers the reasons why his son chose to live in Johannesburg in the first place. James was very disappointed that Arthur did not choose to return to the farm and live with his father, and by the time of the murder Arthur had become a "stranger" to his father. Arthur chose to stay in Johannesburg because he felt that it was a place that desperately needed help and that he was able to give help to. He realized that the native peoples of South Africa were being exploited and that the only way to make South Africa better was to help the natives. James Jarvis discovers this through the writing and correspondence left behind by his son, and this discovery makes his very regretful that he did not know his son's work while Arthur was alive.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2005

Something that James Jarvis learns about his son was that he was a caring humanitarian. Arthur Jarvis's heroes consisted of Abraham Lincoln and Jesus. Both of them were concerned about the humanity's well-being and it was obvious Arthur was, too. At the funeral, you could tell how much respect he was given by the white and black people. Even the ones who didn't believe in what he stood for, they would still give him tons of respect.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2005

James learned that his son Arthur was a righteous man. He learned that his son discovered many things that he never had researched or tried to learn. He also learned that his son died by the hand that he had been trying to help. -Zach

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2005

IM NOT LAST TODAY!!! YEA!!! *ahem*

Upon completing another installment of "Cry, The Beloved Country"(Chapters 18-23), a part of the story that "jumped" out at me was this quote on page 188, in paragraph 2. "Jarvis sat, deeply moved. Whether because this was his son, whether because this was almost the last act of his son, he could not say. *cut to later* There was increasing knowledge of a stranger. He began to understand why the picture of this man was in the house of his son, and the multitude of books." The man he was referring to was Abraham Lincoln, a great man of his time, and our 16th President. Abraham Lincoln was also an incredible orator. He knew how to appeal to the people's wants and needs in his writings and speeches. Arthur Jarvis used Abraham Lincoln as a model to shape his speeches to better get the word out to the populace. He obviously became very successful in doing this, represented by the letters on his desk.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2005

James Jarvis learns many things about his son. He learns of course that his son was a great man to many people and was very well known in the area, but he also learned that his son was so well informed and such a powerful speaker, that he could change the way people thought about issues the same way great men of the past did.

The four pictures on his wall summed up everything he learned about his son. The crucifix showed him that his son was a religious man. The picture of Abraham Lincoln showed him of how powerful of a politician and speaker he had become. The other two pictures showed the deep-thinking, soft side of his son that may not have been apparent to him before, but may have been apparent to his wife.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2005

James Jarvis, after visiting his son's office, finds that his son, Arthur, was a very smart man. He came to this conclusion because his son had many books in which he read and studied. Also, he discovered that his son was trying to create some type of peace with the natives and the violence that some of the natives create. These are two things that Jarvis discovers about his son, Arthur.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2005

--I'm posting sort of late, so it's difficult to find something that hasn't already been mentioned...this one is kind of surface-level and superficial...sorry--

James Jarvis learns that his son, Arthur, "spoke Afrikaans like an Afrikaaner. He spoke Zulu...[and] he was talking of learning Sesuto." (pg 172) This shows how incredibly dedicated Arthur Jarvis was to making a difference in his world. This also shows how far apart father and son were at Arthur's death.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2005

After Jams Jarrivs had been to his son’s work place he noticed that his son was quite the scholar. His son had many books on very important people and had written many papers himself. He was a leader in the black community and people looked up to him for that. Once James had left he understood why is son was in Johannesburg

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2005

Basically James Jarvis learned a bunch of things about his kid. Good things, such as, he was educated (he could speak various languages). He also discovered that his kid was pretty well respected and very opinionated and spoke of his ideas and whatnot. James also learned the reason his kid was in Johannesburg...to help people.

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2005

Of course James Jarvis learns about how good Arthur was and what an inspiration his son had become. But James also learned about Aruthur's inspiration, Abraham Lincoln when he visited his house. James didn't know anything about his son or Abraham Lincoln but when he read the passages written by both, he felt enlightened and inspired. James even took the book home to read more on. This is different for James because he feels that natives are inferior.

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2005