In "Cry, The Beloved Country" there are many important themes, but I believe that there is one that drives the whole story and that is fear. Fear is by far the leading theme in the story. The first book begins with fear, carried by fear, and ends with the fear of the unknown.
In the second chapter of the first book it says, "They were silent, and she said (Kumalo's Wife), how we desire such a letter, and when it comes, we fear to open it" (37). This is the first sign of fear in the book, it is the fear of the unknown. This shows that they might have been worried about the way that Kumalo's family has been living in such a large city. They were scared of what information that would be contained in the letter and the inability to unread it. The fear from the first part of the book transitions into the middle of the book.
In the eleventh chapter of the first book it says, "Sadness and fear and hate, how they well up in the heart and mind, whenever one opens the pages of these messengers of doom" (104). This brings fear up again when they are talking about the death of Arthur Jarvis. The fear of losing all of the progress that Jarvis has made with trying to stop native crime and have equal rights for all of South Africa. It also shows the fear of further suppression by the white people. I also think that my first quotation was foreshadowing this quotation in this paragraph and the unablility to unread what you have seen. The death of Jarvis is the center of fear for the rest of book one.
In the sixteenth chapter of the first book it says, "And Kumalo himself could not continue, for the words were like knives, cutting into a wound that was still new and open. She sat down on a box, and looked at the floor, and the tears started to run slowly down cheeks" (144). This is how Absolom's fiance responds to the news of Absolom murdering Jarvis. She is fearful for the fate of her soon to be husband. It does not look very good for Absolom's future because he killed an innocent white man that fought for equal rights for all people. The fear of the unknown fate of Absolom is what carries the rest of the book.
Fear is by far the biggest theme in "Cry, The Beloved Country". There are three points that show fear in the first part of the book, the middle of the book, and toward the end of book one. It begins with receiving a letter, then the death of a supporter of the blacks, and ends with receiving bad news about a loved one. Fear has drove the first book, and I am sure it will drive books two and three. Maybe Absolom will go to jail, or he might get lucky, either way I am sure there will be some fear.
