Author and activist Alan Paton wrote about life in South Africa during apartheid, and fearlessly spoke out against racial segregation, in person and through his books.
On January 11, he would have been 115 years old. In his honour, Google changed its logo to a doodle portraying the novelist.
This is his story:
South African novelist
Born in the Natal province, Paton suffered violence inside his house from an early age. His father used corporal punishment to control his sons, which lead the author to oppose any form of authoritarianism and physical punishment at an early age .
His father also introduced Paton to literature. He enjoyed Charles Dickens and Rupert Brooke, as well as the Bible. His family's religious convictions influenced his work, and the way he looked at society.
Paton studied at the University of Natal, and, in 1928, married Doris Francis Lusted. Later they moved to Pietermaritzburg, where he continued teaching.
In 1935, after travelling to Sweden, Norway and North America to study prisons, he was appointed at the Diepkloof Reformatory for young, black deliquents.
As administrator of the Diepkloof Reformatory for young, black, African offenders, he developed a different reform system that included open dormitories, work outside prison walls and home visitations.
During his term, the reformatory became a model of penal reform.
To give up the task of reforming society is to give up one's responsibility as a free man. Alan Paton
Cry, The Beloved Country
Paton volunteered for service during World War II , but was refused. He toured Scandinavia, England, Canada, and the US.
During his tours in the correctional reform facilities across the world, he started to write Cry, the Beloved Country.
The book was published in 1948, the same year apartheid was institutionalised.
The book sold more than 15 million copies in 20 languages. It is a tale of racial injustice and a social protest against the structures of the society that would later give rise to apartheid.
In an interview with the New York Times, Paton said: "I had an eye on my fellow white South Africans and white Americans when I wrote the book. It wasn't a book written for the right or the middle or the left. I hoped to influence my fellow whites.''
Paton was considered the enemy of the ruling party. His passport was withdrawn in 1960 , with no reason given.
In 1970 his passport was restored, and he continued speaking through his books, essays and publications.
Paton retired to Botha's Hill, where he lived until his death. He is honoured at the Hall of Freedom of the Liberal International Organisation.
Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear. Let him not love the earth too deeply ... For fear will rob him of all if he gives too much. Alan Paton
A Google Doodle is when Google creates a special‚ alternative logo on their homepage to commemorate people‚ holidays‚ events or achievements.
Google said the Doodle depicted Paton on a train ride during which he allegedly gained inspiration to write his famous novel Cry‚ the Beloved Country.
The internet search engine company described Paton as “a visionary who did much to fight for basic human principles of love‚ non-violence‚ and equality”.
Cry‚ the Beloved Country was first published in 1948.
“Ironically the very year in which apartheid was formally institutionalised‚ beginning four decades of racial segregation in South Africa‚” Google said.
According to South African History Online‚ by 1988 the novel had sold more than 15 million copies.
Google said on its website: “South African author and activist Alan Paton introduced the world to life in pre-apartheid South Africa‚ fearlessly speaking out against racial segregation in person and through his books‚ and propagating universal franchise and non-violence.”
Paton was born on January 11 1903 in Pietermaritzburg.
According to South African History Online: “Neither of Paton’s parents was highly educated‚ but his father was deeply religious and a strict and controlling parent that used corporal punishment to control his sons. This led to Paton’s open opposition to any form of authoritarianism and physical punishment.”
Paton studied at the University of Natal and became a teacher. In 1935 he was appointed the principal of Diepkloof Reformatory for Young Offenders where he introduced progressive reforms.
Paton toured Sweden‚ Norway and North America to study prisons and reform facilities. In was during this time that he became inspired to write Cry‚ the Beloved Country.
“His magnum opus is a moving tale of racial injustice‚ human suffering‚ and redemption‚ as two fathers come to terms with the loss of their sons — one an accidental murder and the other‚ his unfortunate victim‚” Google said.
In 1953 he helped form the Liberal Party which opposed apartheid and was elected party leader in 1955.
He died on April 12 1988.
A tribute to renowned anti-apartheid activist Alan Paton will be the first thing Google users around the world see on 11 January, Randburg Sun reports.
The search engine is celebrating the South African author and activist with a new Google Doodle, marking what would have been Paton’s 115th birthday.
READ MORE: Showbizbee acquired rights to film the story of Brenda Fassie
A Google Doodle is an artistic expression of Google’s logo on its search engine homepage and celebrates noteworthy figures and events on a global scale.
Born in Durban in 1903, Paton became a noticeable figure in both the literary and political world through his writings and public addresses that spoke out against apartheid during the mid to late 1900s.
He wrote his first and most famous book titled Cry, The Beloved Country in 1948, which brought to light racial tensions in South Africa.
The book was praised worldwide, and was adapted into two movies that were released in 1951 and 1995.
Paton passed away in 1988, only a few years before apartheid came to an end.
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He achieved things that didn't seem possible to do within the space of one lifetime
Image Credits:
You may have been hearing a lot about Alan Paton this afternoon, following Google’s decision to honour him with a ‘Doodle’ on their homepage.
It’s sparked a flurry of interest in the former anti-apartheid activist and author’s life. So we’re doing the honourable thing, and putting all his achievements into a chronological list. And what a list we’ve got.
Paton is widely regarded as one of the best South Africans to have ever lived. Everything from his revolutionary approach to schooling, and then his seminal works of non-fiction have made him a favourite son of Mzansi. There’s a lot to be proud of, here…
Alan Paton and all of his achievements:
Early life
1903 – Born in Pietermartizburg, KZN on 11 January
1925 – Graduates for University of Natal, earning a Bachelor of Science degree.
1928 – Married his first wife, Dorrie Francis Lusted.
Professional Career:
1935 – Appointed Principal of Diepkloof Reformatory for Young Offenders. He served 14 years in the role, and in fact earned plaudits for reforming the way badly behaved youths were treated.
1948 – His most famous novel, Cry, the Beloved Country, is published. It goes on to sell 15 million copies worldwide, and its subject material of racial inequality went on to be used as a fundamental part of the South African curriculum.
Political Career and Personal Life:
1953 – Plays a key role in establishing the Liberal Party: The main opposition to the reprehensible National Party and their apartheid regime.
1955 – Becomes the leader of the Liberal Party.
1960 – Presented with the American Freedom Award in New York, but has his passport confiscated by South African authorities upon returning home.
1967 – Tragedy strikes when his wife, Dorrie Francis Lusted, dies of emphysema.
1968 – The Liberal Party are forcefully dissolved by the National Party, ending Paton’s 15-year career as the opposition leader.
1969 – He marries his second wife, Anne Hopkins , who he remains with for the rest of his life.
Later years:
1970s – Returns to his initial passion of writing, publishing a further 10 books over the next 20 years.
1988 – Shortly after being diagnosed with inoperable throat cancer, Alan passed away at his KwaZulu-Natal homestead on 12 April. He was 85 years old.
Alan Paton’s legacy after death:
1989 – Sunday Times rename their award for best non-fiction book after Mr Paton.
2004 – SABC name Paton as the 59th greatest South African of all time.
2008 – His last ever publication is released. The Hero of Currie Road: The complete short pieces, compiles short stories and essays of Paton’s that were gathered together on the 105th anniversary of his death.
