The Beloved Country

Throughout history society has struggled to achieve Utopia: a perfect society where everyone lives in harmony. However, it is evident that this is not possible. War, discrimination, and politics block the way to Utopia. There will always be problems within society which we must face. Chapters one to seven in Cry, The Beloved Country show the struggle against society as a force. The differences between the races and the difference between urban and rural locations showed the struggle against society as a force. What this means is, the racial inequality in South Africa is a conflict addressed throughout the chapters. For example, Msimangu was introducing Kumalo to the area, Msimangu , “got him a newspaper, the Johannesburg Mail, and showed him in large black letters: OLD COUPLE ROBBED AND BEATEN IN LONELY HOUSE. FOUR NATIVES ARRESTED’ ‘That happens nearly every day,’ he said. ‘And it is not only the Europeans who are afraid. We are also afraid right here in Sophiatown.’”(Msimangu 52). He intended to warn Kumalo of the social wrongdoings of the people of Johannesburg. This newspaper article was a common example of how dangerous life was in Afrikaner South Africa away from rural

In Kumalo’s train ride to Johannesburg, he noticed that “from Donnybrook the broad-gauge runs to the great valley of the Umkomaas. Here the tribes live, and the soil is sick, almost beyond healing. Up out of the valley it climbs, past Hemu-hemu to Elandskop. Down the long valley of the Umsindusi, past Edendale and the black slums to Pietermaritzburg, the lovely city.”(Kumalo 45). This shows how united the South Africans were. There were divisions for Blacks, Natives, and Whites: none of which was connected in any way. Not only was there a racial difference, there was a physical distance between the races. Rural and urban areas are different, but to have regions separated by race divides the country instead of uniting