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Cry, the Beloved Country explores the social unrest at the heart of South African society through the parallel journeys of two fathers who have lost their sons, one Black and one white. The tragic destruction of this second generation serves to illustrate the untenable situation of urban life in South Africa. Through Stephen Kumalo and James Jarvis, Patton illustrates his belief that the lack of education and structure that Black South Africans face after the destruction of the tribal system has led to them living aimless and dangerous lives in cities like Johannesburg. He sets up this dilemma in Chapter 1 with an elegiac description of the green hills and parched valley of Ndotsheni. We later learn that Jarvis lives on a hill and Kumalo in a valley. Just as the grass of the hill traps the water and makes fertile soil for life, Jarvis’s white family is prosperous and educated. Kumalo’s family is poor, like the rest of the village in the valley, and there are not enough resources to go around. This unequal structure underlies the conflict of the novel.
At the beginning of the novel, Kumalo receives a letter from the priest Theophilus Msimangu, urging Kumalo to come to Johannesburg because his sister is ill. This letter is the inciting incident that spurs the action of the novel. Kumalo approaches the journey with great anxiety because he knows it will likely involve answers he doesn’t want to discover. He now has an opportunity to learn what happened to his three family members: his sister Gertrude, his brother John, and his son Absalom, who left for Johannesburg never to be heard from again. Msimangu ushers Kumalo through the dangerous and confusing city, serving as Kumalo’s physical and spiritual guide through the trying journey. The reality of Black life in Johannesburg is grim. Although John has prospered as a businessman and politician, he is insincere, power-hungry, and selfish. Gertrude has become a sex worker who also brews alcohol. Worst of all, Absolom not only has gotten a girl pregnant out of wedlock, but he murdered a white man, Arthur Jarvis, while committing a burglary. These difficult realities threaten to crush Kumalo’s faith.
After the death of his son, Arthur, James Jarvis travels to Johannesburg to put Arthur’s affairs in order. Jarvis knows that Arthur made a name for himself as an activist who strongly believed it was the responsibility of white South Africans to provide Black South Africans with resources and education to help them replace the destroyed tribal structure. Arthur considered the lack of resources, structure, and poverty Black communities face as the true reason behind rising crime rates in cities like Johannesburg. Jarvis initially considers his son’s beliefs quite radical and finds his writings painful and difficult to read. However, he keeps returning to them. When Jarvis and Kumalo encounter each other while Kumalo is on an errand for another resident of Ndotsheni, Kumalo apologizes and offers his condolences. Jarvis appears touched by Kumalo’s behavior, but also troubled by the coincidence of fate that brought them together.
The novel comes to its climax with the conclusion of Absalom’s trial. Because he is the only one of the accused who is honest and tells the truth, he is the only one sentenced to death. The destruction of the second generation is complete, caused by the unequal mechanisms of South African society. In addition to the poverty and aimlessness that draws Absalom into crime in the first place, the legal system is set up to reward those willing to turn to tricks and lies and punish those willing to take responsibility for their actions. In the face of this horror, Kumalo’s faith dwindles. He becomes angrier and can hardly accept the loving greetings from his parishioners back home in Ndotsheni. However, Jarvis, despite seeing some measure of justice in the verdict, cannot stop thinking about his son’s perspective on crime. Encouraged by Margaret, he devotes money and resources to the Black people of Ndotsheni. As soon as he begins, the rain finally falls, signifying the possibility that the earth of South Africa can sustain all its peoples yet. Accordingly, Jarvis’s care bolsters Kumalo’s faith and confidence, and he, too, joins in working for the faith and education of his people.
