Separation and its Internal Damage

There are a lot of internal damages which Stephen experiences in the story Cry, The Beloved Country. Having to leave his home for the dreaded Johannesburg, the protagonist has been through a lot internally and having problems that may not be visible unless if we dive deeper into his character. While it is clear that he experiences the internal problems of sadness and pain, one of the damages I would like to touch on is that of separation. Considering that Stephen and his son Absalom have been apart for several years, it is very obvious how this distant relationship is impacting him.

With Stephen unknown of Absalom’s whereabouts, this separation really affects him internally. For one, Stephen clings on to the hope that Absalom will return, even though many people told him to give up and that everyone who went to Johannesburg rarely comes back. Especially with Stephen’s wife saying that the money he saved up for Absalom won’t really matter, Stephen still insists that Absalom will return. It really goes to show how the love that a father has for a son can really be seen when they are separated, because Stephen really tried everyway to get him back. He wants to find a way to see Absalom and bring him back, even though it may seem hopeless. The separation impacted him to pursue this goal of finding Absalom as soon as possible.

In my personal life, I have been impacted by separation as well. Although definitely not in the extreme way Stephen is impacted by his split from Absalom, it did give me some internal damage as well. I’m talking about when I had to “separate” from my old school friends and come to ICS. It was really challenging for me because I had spend so many years with them in my old school, so it took me a while to get over. When I recently moved here, I would find myself always thinking of them and possibly of a reality where I was able to move back and spend more time with them. In the end, I had to move on from this hope because ICS had already become my new home, and I had to find other ways to keep in contact with them. So although the separation didn’t really impact me to go the whole way to take the relationship back, I was really impacted by it just like him and I really could relate to the journey of him really wanting to see someone he loves again.