Cry, the Beloved Country: Book I, Chapter 12 Summary & Analysis

A town hall meeting is underway. Citizens lament how their taxes have not gone to keeping them safe, that the death of Arthur Jarvis is the second murder in six months. A voice asks a citizen to read a resolution. The citizen announces that the black population, because of their lack of structure, has turned to crime, and until the white population decides whether or not they want an organized black population or a lawless one, they must increase police protection for themselves.

Another conversation: the chorus brings up the question of education. Some ask how many black children attend school. The numbers are low, and even those who attend only go so far. When asked who will pay the money for increased education, the chorus debates that also—some say whites should pay, because if they do not, they will “pay more heavily in other ways.” Others argue that school just makes smarter lawbreakers. A couple argue over the presence of black people at the zoo and other recreational places. They don’t want to mix with them, but there’s nowhere else for them to go.

The chorus cries out for apartheid, to separate the white people from the black people, and let them go their separate ways and govern their own affairs. But then what will happen when the blacks so outnumber the whites, but the whites do not want to give up their power or dominance? No one knows the answer. And so they give up wonderful things, like walks at night, and accept the way the world is, even with these losses. And people meet everywhere, crying out for different means for dealing with “native” crime, including a symposium on the issue, at which the late Arthur Jarvis was to be a speaker.

A woman comes to Msimangu, telling him the police were looking for Absalom. Msimangu tries to deal with this without telling Stephen, but Stephen sees him going out. Msimangu hesitates, but then tells Stephen what he knows. They decide to re-trace the previous path they used to search for Absalom. Msimangu insists on paying for the cab. At each location, they learn that the police have been there, until they reach the home of Absalom’s pregnant girlfriend. There, they learn that the police believe that the trail has ended. Back in the cab, Stephen is shivering, and insists that he is cold. Msimangu offers to take him back to Mission House to warm him up.