Many countries around the world exhibit numerous different cultures. Some countries have cultures that provide unity and education, while other countries' cultures exploit diversity and tragedy. However, with the concept of multiculturalism, differences of cultural or ethnic groups within a country can be allowed and respected. Significant traits such as politics, race, religion, and environment dominate the concept of multiculturalism in today's world. Multiculturalism is very common within the borders of the country of South Africa. Indeed, Alan Paton delves into detail how traits of multiculturalism play a crucial role in South Africa's multicultural context through his novel, Cry, the Beloved Country. In Paton's novel race is examined in depth and professionally within the country of South Africa. Gender roles and religion are also discussed in the novel. All three of these traits could not be described without the significance of the setting of this novel. In Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton, the concept of multiculturalism in South Africa is best understood by the novel's discussion of race, gender roles, religion, and environment. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Race is a vital element of South Africa's multiculturalism. Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country is built around the concept of race. First of all, the focus of the novel itself is about a Zulu priest searching for his son convicted of murdering a white male. Thus, one can immediately deduce that from the central plot of the novel, racial injustice is a common South African problem in the country's daily life. Secondly, Alan Paton is a South African author known for specializing his writings on apartheid. According to a SAHO article, Paton “has been credited with stimulating awareness of apartheid abroad.” This serves as evidence that Paton has experience and specializes in South African racism. Finally, this novel was published the same year that apartheid was introduced in South Africa. That year was 1948. According to a separate article written by SAHO, “Apartheid was the ideology supported by the National Party government and was introduced into South Africa in 1948.” This shows that race is a main part of Paton's novel due to the significant time period in which the novel was written. Throughout Paton's novel, race foreshadows the importance of South Africa's multiculturalism. Paton's novel itself also provides a couple of quotes regarding racism. Paton describes a quote in his novel, and it is almost described to the point where the reader may think that South Africans are used to race being an issue in their country. Paton states: “Kumalo entered the carriage for non-Europeans, already filled with the humblest people of his race, some in strange assortments of European clothing, some with blankets over their strange assortment, others with blankets over the semi-nakedness of their clothes. primitive dress...". This quote almost forces the reader to think that racism is just an ordeal in South Africa. In fact, it seems ordinary enough to the point that the reader can perceive that it is normal enough that it can actually be allowed and respected within the country, creating an atmosphere of multiculturalism. To accompany Paton's quote, he also mentions another long quote about race. In chapter ten, Paton mentions how white nurses are more engaged in training than black nurses. However, at the end of the paragraph, Paton mentions, “But iour friends have stayed put and will train there until we have a place of our own." This quote shows that instead of the two races arguing about training, the blacks decide to work with the whites, as it states that the two races contain friends in the opposite skin color. Both of these quotes tie together because they demonstrate that multiculturalism develops from opposing races cooperating with each other instead of forming heated arguments with each other. Therefore, it is proven that race is a vital part of South Africa's multiculturalism , in Cry, the Beloved Country, racial concepts are inconsistent with real-life aspects of race in South Africa because Paton writes about racial cooperation while apartheid exists in the real world of South African cultures. However, the plot of the novel involves racial injustice, so comparisons between the book and real life seem inconsistent Along with race, the role of gender is crucial when it comes to the multiculturalism of the country of South Africa. Both genders have numerous differences within South African cultures. Men and women are very different when it comes to achieving goals. In South Africa women have to endure great suffering. In fact, “30% of African families and 26% of all families are headed by women – this usually means there is no man contributing to the family income.” This statistic shows that a good portion of South African women have to carry their families on their shoulders. Additionally, men in South Africa are paid significantly higher than women in the country. Even when men and women do the same job, in most cases men are still paid more than women. Another example of the scrutiny women are subjected to is the fact that most women receive less sleep and less free time than men, and most poor women work “nearly double the hours per day than their male partners”. It can certainly be argued that women receive unfair treatment in South Africa. All the pain women face ties in well with Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country. A quote is provided in the novel to show how accurately Paton describes the real-world gender role in South Africa. Much like reality, the women in the novel are forced to endure overwhelming suffering. They too are forced to suffer in silence. In the novel, Paton writes: "God save this piece of Africa that is mine, freed from labor by my body, nourished by my breast, loved by my heart, for this is the nature of women." This quote is from a mother of a newborn child who suffers from poverty in her life. As stated in the quote, it can be concluded that the poor woman is crying out to God because this is the only way she can give vent to her emotions. She cannot release her painful feelings in any other way due to the context of the book: the woman must suffer in silence. In Cry, the Beloved Country, it is vividly shown how women face harsh consequences both in the novel and in real life. The last significant criterion for South Africa's multiculturalism is the country's diverse types of religion. There are different types of religions that different South Africans belong to. These religions include Buddhists, Christians, folk religions, Hindus, Jews and Muslims. There is a wide variety of religions in South Africa, but only one religion is worth mentioning. According to Global Religious Futures, Christians made up 81.2 percent of the country's population in 2010, while each of the other listed religions made up less than 1 percent of the population. The second highest percentage was 14.9%, whichrepresented the unaffiliated ones. In 2020, the percentages are expected to be about the same. These data serve to show Christian dominance in South Africa. Most Christians in South Africa are related to each other and do not affiliate with any other religion. According to a peer-reviewed newspaper article written by Tessa Freeman, one of the biggest problems in South Africa is that Christians over there struggle to interact with other people of different religions. Because of Freeman's statement, South Africa is a predominantly Christian country. In Cry, the beloved country, different religions unite the country, instead of struggling to accept each other's differences. This produces a great example of multiculturalism. In Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country, the discussion of religion provides a sense of unity and cooperation. Instead of being a Christian atmosphere to the world, the novel provides an atmosphere of acceptance of the differences of others. There are two quotes that perfectly describe the way religion brings people together in Cry, the Beloved Country. In the first quote, Paton writes: “I HAVE a place to sleep, my friend, in the house of an old woman, a Mrs. Lithebe, who is a good member of our church. She is Msutu, but speaks Zulu well. He will think it is an honor to have a priest in the house." Regardless of the differences between Msutu and Zulu, religion unites both in this context. This is very different from how religion is approached in reality. Another example of how religion provides a sense of togetherness in this novel is when the priests sit and eat with Kumalo. Paton writes: "They entered a room where a table was set, and there he met many priests, both white and black, and they sat down after the grace and ate together." This quote shows how religion not only unites people, but it also shows how religion can unite different races as well. This also adds to the inconsistency of racial discussion in this book. Regardless, religion is shown to unite the characters in Alan Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country in a very unique way. Unlike the reluctance to collaborate with others, Paton shows his way of uniting the country of South Africa through the concept of religion. It would not be possible to discuss race, gender roles, and religion without the setting of Cry, the Beloved Country. For starters, the theme of race is deeply influenced by the setting of this book. First of all, Cry, the Beloved Country was written in the late 1940s, which was the same time that apartheid was introduced in South Africa. This shows the blueprint of the story. Since Paton's novel was published in the late 1940s, it is likely that the novel mentions something related to race. Due to the time period in which the novel was written, the racial topics discussed in the novel are visibly displayed due to the introduction of apartheid. Regardless of whether apartheid was introduced before or after the novel in 1948, it is obvious that racial segregation was a major concern in those times, setting the spark to introduce apartheid. Secondly, gender roles are also influenced by the setting of Paton's novel. The two locations where the story takes place are Ndotsheni and Johannesburg. Ndotsheni is a fictional village while Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa, according to Benjamin Sawe. Since Ndotsheni is not a real village, it is difficult to conclude how gender roles are influenced there. However, in the city of Johannesburg, it is possible to describe the gender role. According to a newspaper article written by Marnie Shaffer, women are responsible for household tasks without much support from.