Throughout the text, Johannesburg serves as shorthand for a corrupting, magnetic force that draws in people and destroys them. Some people, notably the devoutly Christian, manage to avoid these effects, but everyone else suffers when they fall into its borders: Absalom Kumalo commits murder, Gertrude Kumalo falls in with a bad crowd, Arthur Jarvis is killed, John Kumalo becomes a corrupted politician. In the city, people are unable to find housing and so shantytowns spring up, there are not enough jobs or money, crime is rampant—each truth of Johannesburg, in turn, begets more suffering. Given that the origins of Johannesburg are that of colonization (invading Dutch forces conquering an already-settled land), this force is explicable. When Johannesburg emerges in the text, both in presence and in name, watch for the slow-creeping presence of metaphorical rot.
Johannesburg Quotes in Cry, the Beloved Country
The Cry, the Beloved Country quotes below all refer to the symbol of Johannesburg. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Book I, Chapter 1
Quotes
Down in the valleys women scratch the soil that is left, and the maize hardly reaches the height of a man. They are valleys of old men and old women, of mothers and children. The men are away, the young men and the girls are away. The soil cannot keep them any more.
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Book I, Chapter 2
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All roads lead to Johannesburg.
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Book I, Chapter 3
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The journey had begun. And now the fear back again, the fear of the unknown, the fear of the great city where boys were killed crossing the street, the fear of Gertrude’s sickness. Deep down the fear for his son. Deep down the fear of a man who lives in a world not made for him, whose own world is slipping away, dying, being destroyed, beyond any recall.
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Book I, Chapter 9
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All roads lead to Johannesburg. If you are white or if you are black they lead to Johannesburg. If the crops fail, there is work in Johannesburg. If there are taxes to be paid, there is work in Johannesburg. If the farm is too small to be divided further, some must go to Johannesburg. If there is a child to be born that must be delivered in secret, it can be delivered in Johannesburg.
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Book II, Chapter 20
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The old tribal system was, for all its violence and savagery, for all its superstition and witchcraft, a moral system. Our natives today produce criminals and prostitutes and drunkards, not because it is their nature to do so, but because their simple system of order and tradition and convention has been destroyed. It was destroyed by the impact of our own civilization. Our civilization has therefore an inescapable duty to set up another system of order and tradition and convention. It is true that we hoped to preserve the tribal system by a policy of segregation. That was permissible. But we never did it thoroughly or honestly. We set aside one-tenth of the land for four-fifths of the people. Thus we made it inevitable, and some say we did it knowingly, that labour would come to the towns. We are caught in the toils of our own selfishness.
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Book II, Chapter 29
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… he prayed for his son. Tomorrow they would all go home, all except his son. And he would stay in the place where they would put him, in the great prison in Pretoria, in the barred and solitary cell; and mercy failing, would stay there till he was hanged. Aye, but the hand that had murdered once pressed the mother’s breast into the thirsting mouth, had stolen into the father’s hand when they went out in the dark. Aye, but the murderer afraid of death had once been a child afraid of the night.
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Johannesburg Symbol Timeline in Cry, the Beloved Country
The timeline below shows where the symbol Johannesburg appears in Cry, the Beloved Country. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book I, Chapter 2
...wife for some food. He then examines the letter and observes that it is from Johannesburg. It is dirty, and has passed through many hands. He muses on how many people...
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...open it. Finally, Stephen’s wife opens the letter. It is from Rev. Theophilus Msimangu of Johannesburg. He implores Stephen to come to Johannesburg, because Gertrude is very sick.
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...wife insists, however, that the money is no longer necessary because Absalom has gone to Johannesburg and won’t be returning, because no one returns from Johannesburg. He doesn’t even write. Stephen,...
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The roads and trains all lead toward Johannesburg. The narrator tells you to be grateful if you can sleep through the ride.
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Book I, Chapter 3
...money it will cost at every turn. He also recalls how dangerous the streets of Johannesburg are, and a story about a woman he knew who went there and saw her...
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...he would inquire after the missing daughter of Sibeko, who was also swallowed up by Johannesburg. Stephen promises to do what he can, though he seems uncertain if it’s possible. As...
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...loudly enough for the train to hear, that he shall inquire after the daughter in Johannesburg, even though he’ll be very busy. The train begins to move, and Stephen needs to...
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Book I, Chapter 4
...work, and Stephen is thrilled by the newness of it. He asks if this is Johannesburg. The passengers laugh, and begin to describe the hugeness of Johannesburg. Stephen insists that this...
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Book I, Chapter 5
...his room, and asks him some questions about his sister Gertrude—why she had come to Johannesburg, if she had ever been married. Stephen says that she came there with her child...
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Book I, Chapter 6
The next morning, Msimangu and Stephen head into Johannesburg to find Gertrude. Msimangu admits that though he is not for segregation, the downside to...
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...her prostitution and not keeping track of her child. She begins weeping, and says that Johannesburg has made her sick and she does not want to be there anymore, though she...
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...room. Stephen feels overjoyed and accomplished, that after only a single day of being in Johannesburg, he is putting right what is broken.
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Book I, Chapter 7
...beautiful day, and Stephen is writing a letter to his wife about his adventures in Johannesburg, and how successful the endeavor has been so far. He tells her that this day,...
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...and John says that Stephen and his community do not understand how life is in Johannesburg, and to write with such details would bring about “unnecessary trouble.” When Stephen presses him...
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...to fetch Gertrude and to take her back with him to Ixopo. John agrees that Johannesburg is not a good place for a single woman, and that this is a wise...
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Book I, Chapter 8
...Msimangu assures Stephen that they cannot catch a wrong one, for they all go into Johannesburg. Then they try to catch a bus to the neighborhood of Alexandra, which is where...
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...that he is in a shantytown. They thank him, and take his cab back to Johannesburg.
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Book I, Chapter 9
...chorus. They tell of how the brokenness of the land and people leads directly into Johannesburg. People go there in droves, and they are constantly in search of a room in...
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Book I, Chapter 13
...done to create such a son, but then considers that that is the power of Johannesburg.
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Book I, Chapter 15
...toward them. He marvels at how so many boys get lost and go astray in Johannesburg—why their son, in this particular way, when there are thousands of others? Father Vincent tells...
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Book I, Chapter 16
...says that she thinks she is sixteen. He asks if she would desire to leave Johannesburg to come and live with him and his wife, in a quiet place. Again, she...
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Book I, Chapter 17
...He says that he will eventually bring her back with him, but until he leaves Johannesburg, he wants her out of the other house. Mrs. Lithebe agrees, though there isn’t a...
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Book II, Chapter 18
...James the bad news—his son Arthur has been murdered that very afternoon, shot dead in Johannesburg by a burglar. Stupefied by this news, James sits down and tries to process what...
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Book II, Chapter 19
James’s daughter-in-law’s brother, John Harrison, meets James and Margaret when they arrive in Johannesburg. John updates them on Mary and the children as they drive to his home. At...
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Book II, Chapter 21
...with James. They smoke and have a drink and continue discussing the crime situation in Johannesburg. Mr. Harrison expresses firm, conservative views on the issues surrounding the black population. He expresses...
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Book II, Chapter 22
...was carrying a gun in the first place. Absalom says that he was told that Johannesburg was a dangerous place, and bought the gun for protection. The judge leads Absalom through...
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Book II, Chapter 23
...in this new place proves to be as much as it promises, perhaps a second Johannesburg will spring up around it.
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Those wet blankets, though, definitely don’t want a second Johannesburg. Sir Ernest Oppenheimer has suggested that this would be a good place to test a...
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Book II, Chapter 25
...looking for the daughter of Sibeko. The mistress says that she had indeed come to Johannesburg and lived there, but she had gone bad and started doing illegal things, and was...
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Book II, Chapter 26
John Kumalo is leading a protest in Johannesburg. His voice electrifies the crowd, makes the policemen uneasy. The protest is about the recently...
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Book II, Chapter 27
...so weak, that she wants to do right by Stephen. She says that she hates Johannesburg and understands it to be toxic, and wants to leave.
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Book II, Chapter 28
...how Mr. Carmichael is trying to make an argument for a simple boy mislead by Johannesburg. But the judge argues, society has created laws, and if those laws are broken, then...
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Book II, Chapter 29
...John that he should be careful for his own son, lest he be consumed by Johannesburg like Absalom. He also cautions John to be careful with his politics, and when pressed,...
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Meanwhile, James and Margaret are also preparing to leave Johannesburg. James leaves a large sum of money to John Harrison to start a club, possibly...
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...and gives Stephen all of his money, to help repay what Stephen has spent in Johannesburg. After he is gone, Stephen counts the money, repents of the fight with his brother...
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Book III, Chapter 30
...the gift. Stephen then prepares to tell her about the events that took place in Johannesburg.
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Book III, Chapter 31
...enough, so he goes to the chief. He feels wise enough from his experiences in Johannesburg to advise the chief on this issue. As he walks to see the chief, he...
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Book III, Chapter 33
...again. He has ridden back to say goodbye to Stephen because he is returning to Johannesburg tomorrow. He promises that he is returning for the holidays, and then rides away. As...
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Book III, Chapter 35
...not be big enough to hold all the people, and some would still go to Johannesburg.
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Book III, Chapter 36
...after Napoleon, and then tells Stephen that he is going to be leaving Ndotsheni for Johannesburg. When James asks Stephen where he is going, Stephen says that he is going into...
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