Oppression in Cry Freedom Cry, the beloved countryFor years, the government of South Africa has repressed its black population. An oppression that was not deserved, an oppression based on color difference. In these two works, the cries of South Africa were heard. The cries of the black people who are the foundation of South Africa, the black people who were at the heart of what South Africa was. In both stories, there is the fact that the only way to change your habits sometimes has to be through suffering. In Cry Freedom, we see change through extreme suffering in the character Donald Woods. Woods starts out in the film as not really being open to the ideas of black consciousness. He sees them as only causing more problems for black people. After meeting Biko, he begins to get used to the valuable ideas that black people hold, but when Biko dies, Woods becomes a whole new man. Immediately, Woods begins to educate the public about how these black people are being treated. He changes the way he fights for black rights. Previously, he only supported South Africa's black population. After Biko's death, he leads them. He is despised by most white people and hate crimes, such as when police entered his home and shot through the windows, are committed against him and his family. And yet he fights. He moves his entire family and writes a book to help black people in distress in South Africa. After Biko's death, he begins to see himself as the only one who can continue Biko's hope for South Africa. In Cry, the Beloved Country, each character involved goes through serious suffering and it leads to change. Kumalo is going through enormous suffering, with the death of his son. He must face it and begin to understand the many problems facing the black population in South Africa. He leaves Johannesburg with a new and improved view of the changes taking place in the South Africa he knew. We see the change in Kumalo after returning to Ndotsheni. “Kumalo began praying regularly in his church for the restoration of Ndotsheni. But he knew it wasn't enough. Somewhere down here on earth, men must come together, think something, do something” (Paton 263). He now realizes that praying is not enough, that he must work to make South Africa a better place..