Racism In Alan Paton's Cry, The Beloved Country

Imagine living in a place and time where racism is not only unrestrained, but is enforced by the law. In “Cry, The Beloved Country,” Alan Paton discusses racism and its resulting factor; segregation. The novel 's theme is the enormous problem that racism was causing, and how segregation laws were only making it worse.

To begin, South Africa had decided to set forth an apartheid to further segregation under the rule of the National Party from 1948-1994. In Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country, we see how black communities were subjected to segregation, inequality, and a rising crime rate. A few of the most controversial laws that took place during the apartheid include; The Race Classification Act, The Mixed Marriages Act, and the Group Areas Act. The Race Classification Act divided all citizens into different racial classes, examples being White, Black and Indian… (Etc.). The Mixed Marriages Act prohibited marriage between those of different racial classes. And finally, the Group Areas Act appointed segregated areas for housing and services for each race.

The train is clearly divided between “Europeans” and “non-Europeans.” A direct quote from the book states, “As all trains in South Africa are, it was full of black travelers. On this train indeed there were not many other races. For the Europeans of this district, they all have their cars and hardly traveled by trains anymore,” pg. 43. There are many more examples of segregation on the train such as when, “Kumalo climbed into the carriage for non-Europeans, already full of the humbler people of his race…” pg. 43 And yet again there are more problems regarding the train when people were “determined not to use the buses until the fare is brought back again to four-pence,” pg. 73. This same concept is seen in facilities in the